Drug overdose deaths caused by a mixture of opioid and non-opioid substances are on the rise, this according to the Ohio Department of Health. To combat this, they are recommending that Naloxone, or Narcan, be used in any overdose situation where the drug of choice is unclear.
The O.D.H. told the Columbus Dispatch that preliminary data for 2017 shows that overdose deaths involving fetanyl rose from 58% to 71% last year, a whopping 13 percent difference.
Ultimately whether Narcan is used or not is up to the medical director of each emergency services squad. In Lima, it has been apart of protocol for years now.Â
"We've been using Narcan," says Lt. Doug Corwin with the Lima Fire Department. "We've had it for years as part of our protocol and that's its one job is to reverse any type of opioid overdose. In the last four or five years we've seen a great increase in its use because of the opioid problem that's not only in Ohio but all over the country."
If there are no opioids in their system, Narcan will not really help the situation but it will not hurt either, especially considering a dangerous trend of drugs like K-2 and marijuana being laced with fetanyl—often without the user realizing. It is something prevalent enough that the Lima Police Department addressed in a video on a Facebook.
The potential side affects of administering Narcan to someone who does not have opioids in their system are so few and so minor that there really is no down side to using it.
"With Narcan, it doesn't cause harm to anyone if you do utilize it," says Sgt. Nick Hart with the Lima P.D. "To use it as early as you possibly can could be the difference between life and death."
