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If you have an opiate/opioid addict in your family, get Narcan. You can buy it over the counter – without a prescription – in most states, and – if your state requires a prescription – your doctor will write you a prescription in most cases.
What is Narcan?
NARCAN® (naloxone HCl) is a Nasal Spray that can be used in to temporarily reverse the effects of opioids (prescription painkillers, heroin, fentanyl, and other opiate/opioid-containing drugs) during an overdose.
The primary cause of death during an overdose is hypoxia (lack of oxygen to the brain) due to suppressed breathing. Narcan can immediately reverse the effects of opioids – including suppressed breathing – and thus save the brain and the life of the overdose victim until proper medical attention can be administered.
Narcan saves lives.
Family First Intervention’s Lead Interventionist Mike Loverde Gives His Experiences with Narcan for an Overdose:
Narcan is the Same Life-Saving Antidote that First Responders Use for Opioid Overdoses
Narcan has been instrumental in working with first responders to develop and implement a Naloxone Protocol. This protocol, implemented in Law Enforcement Agencies across the United States, serves as the best practice for saving lives.
Further, Narcan manufacturer Emergent Biosolutions committed to providing Narcan kits to 16,568 public libraries and 2,700 YMCAs across the United States in late 2018. The goal is to make the drug available in as many public places as possible to act as a safety net, buying time during an overdose for the victim to survive an overdose and seek further treatment.
Narcan Is Simple To Use
It isn’t often that communities strive to make a drug as widely available as with Narcan, and one of the reasons is that it is so simple to use, the risks are low, and the lifesaving benefits far outweigh the costs.
Narcan Can Also Prevent Permanent Brain Damage After Heroin and Opioid Overdoses
Without quick intervention, an opioid overdose can reduce or completely cut off the supply of oxygen to the brain, and without oxygen, brain death will occur in just a few short minutes. Because the timeline of brain death due to hypoxia moves so quickly, many forget that brain damage and permanent neurological effects are also a risk of overdose – if the victim survives.
Permanent Effects of Heroin & Opioid Overdoses
The risk of brain damage after a heroin overdose or opioid OD is another reason why Narcan is being made readily available across the US in public places and a further reason why you should have it available if you are living with an addict.
The effects of brain damage in survivors are heart-wrenching and horrific to witness. The families of these survivors know that seconds count during an overdose, and the more quickly you can restore oxygen to the brain, the less likely the chance of permanent brain damage.
Family First Intervention is a Certified Narcan Training Center
Family First Intervention has used Narcan and given it to families we work with. We have seen the miraculous effects of Narcan when used in life-threatening overdose cases.
Looking For Narcan Training in Illinois & Arizona?
Family First Intervention is Happy to Assist Families with Narcan Training in Illinois & Arizona
If your son, daughter, mother, father, or loved one had any other life-threatening illness, you would do everything in your power to protect them. If your loved one had a life-threatening food allergy, you would keep medicine that could save their lives in an emergency; why wouldn’t you do the same if your loved one has a life-threatening chemical dependency?
Don’t be afraid of the stigma or any other issues that would hold you back from finding out more about a drug that could save your loved one’s life.
Family First Intervention Illinois
Family First Intervention Arizona
We offer Narcan Training for Illinois families at our Illinois Intervention Facility:
Family First Intervention
Illinois Intervention Center
9200 W 191st Street
Unit 6 Ste ABC
Mokena, IL 60448
(877) 335-1752
Family First Intervention Arizona
We offer Narcan Training for Arizona families at our Arizona Intervention Facility:
Family First Intervention
Arizona Intervention Center
1838 W Parkside Ln
Suite 210
Phoenix, AZ 85027
(877) 335-1752
Why Heroin Interventionists Carry Narcan
Not only are we a Certified Narcan Training Site, but all our interventionists out in the field always carry Narcan with them. We do this because we know that we are around opioid addicts much of the time. The drugs that opioid addicts are taking today come with a much higher risk of overdose than just 10 years ago, and an opioid overdose can happen at any time.
If You Are Living with an Opiate/Opioid Addict, Get Narcan Today!
Families that are also around opioid addicts constantly should carry also carry Narcan with them and get trained on how to use it properly. Knowing the timeline and knowing what to do in case of an emergency is critical for parents, brothers, sisters, and loved ones of addicts because opioid addicts are walking emergencies waiting to happen. When the emergency strikes and your loved one has overdosed, will you know what to do and how to save their life when seconds count?
Opioid & Narcan Resources
Learn More About Naloxone, Narcan, and Opioid Antagonists…
What To Expect When Using Narcan
Contact Us to Speak with a Certified Interventionist
An intervention is not about how to control the substance user; it is about how to let go of believing you can.
“The most formidable challenge we professionals face is families not accepting our suggested solutions. Rather, they only hear us challenging theirs. Interventions are as much about families letting go of old ideas as they are about being open to new ones. Before a family can do something about the problem, they must stop allowing the problem to persist. These same thoughts and principles apply to your loved one in need of help.”
Mike Loverde, MHS, CIP