Fentanyl: How to Stop an Overdose with Narcan

MEDICAL ANIMATION TRANSCRIPT: Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid drug. The pharmaceutical form is prescribed to treat severe pain, usually from cancer or after surgery. There’s also an illicit form that’s made and sold illegally on the drug market. People take it because it produces a strong “high” and intense feelings of well-being. It’s potency, or strength, is up to fifty times that of heroin, an illegal opioid, and one hundred times that of morphine, another opioid used to treat severe pain. As with any opioid, fentanyl addiction is a brain disease where you have an overwhelming craving for the drug. You can’t stop taking the drug despite the harm it may cause you. If you’re addicted and stop taking the drug, you can feel sick. This sickness is called withdrawal. An important treatment for addiction to opioids, such as fentanyl, is called medication-assisted treatment, or “MAT.” MAT is a “whole patient” approach that combines medication to help you stop using opioids, with counseling and behavioral therapy. Three common medications used to treat opioid addictions, including fentanyl, are methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone. In the brain, each drug attaches to the same receptors on cells as fentanyl does. Methadone activates the receptors, but it's a slower acting drug than fentanyl because it takes longer to reach the brain when used as prescribed. This reduces the “high” feeling and prevents withdrawal symptoms. Buprenorphine is a weaker drug than fentanyl because it doesn’t activate the receptors as strongly. This makes it much less likely to cause an overdose than a drug that fully activates the receptors. It also blocks fentanyl from attaching to the receptors. As a result, it reduces uncomfortable cravings for fentanyl without making you feel high. Naltrexone blocks the opioid receptors by attaching to them so fentanyl can’t. This prevents fentanyl from getting you “high”. It does reduce cravings, but does not stop withdrawal symptoms. Drug treatment is more effective when combined with behavioral therapy. Therapy can help you handle stress and life events that can trigger cravings for fentanyl. A fentanyl overdose is a condition where taking too much of the drug may cause life-threatening symptoms. An overdose of fentanyl can slow or stop your breathing. As a result, the lack of oxygen can lead to coma, permanent brain damage, and even death. Call nine-one-one immediately if you think a fentanyl overdose has happened. Start CPR if the person isn’t breathing or doesn’t have a pulse. The most effective and life-saving treatment for an overdose is naloxone. It’s an injectable drug or nasal spray that quickly blocks the effects of fentanyl and can stop an opioid-related overdose. For more information about treating fentanyl addiction and overdose, talk to your healthcare practitioner.
#fentanyl #opioids #overdose
ANH23267

[@OreWaSulekDesu]

soon part of curriculum in american elementary schools

[@weedwanker4884]

Good one

[@CoreyRobertson-qu4rg]

That's savage I just od' last night

[@pharmaNutshell.]

Thank you for amazing animated video.

[@_Blade_gaming]

Thanks Coz I was just stuck on this topic thank you so much

[@pacifiquebusiness]

Thank You 🙏

[@mohammad_alnasser]

The tranq “Xylazine” is making the situation worse…

[@paulakelly6457]

It sure is…. Just had a relative die from one pill containing it 😢

[@WaBuguthu]

Actually I am a OCPD patient and this videos make me feel perfect. 😊😊😊

[@javidahmad3607]

Great ❤

[@Da_v_id38]

Now i can finally stop using that, very good.😊

[@Semper_Iratus]

Just say no. ♥️

[@Dance77791]

Great

[@mehraban_shah00100]

I like this type of video's video ❤❤❤

[@asifalithaheem5390]

Hi nucleus please make videos about rabbies lyssavirus

[@NiaDouglas]

Yess rabies

[@zuelapooh4366]

One thing that wasn’t said is that you can get exposure to this drug accidentally by touching a surface where fentanyl is or has been. So be careful when assisting someone who may have overdosed on this drug. Wear gloves if possible. Definitely be mindful of the surfaces you touch.

[@187producedit]

this is not true; “are there any reported cases of harm caused by touching fentanyl? “No.” says Dr. Ryan Marino. He is a medical toxicologist and an associate professor at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio. He is also one of a handful of experts frequently pushing back against opioid myths. His stance on this issue is backed up by the American College of Medical Toxicology, which deems the risk to emergency responders as “extremely low,” and is echoed in the Journal of Emergency Medical Services, in which rescue specialist Simon Taxel reminds us that this position is unanimously agreed upon by physicians and toxicologists. “If there was a real hazard, it would stand to reason that the people who produce fentanyl, distribute it, or use it would suffer similar exposures. This is simply not happening.” Same with carfentanyl, the extremely potent synthetic opioid. “It’s more potent, but it’s not magically more dangerous.” says Dr. Joshua Radke.”

[@GusAlo17]

American moment

[@alexdacostausa9471]

Wow

[@user-ik7pu6rg4q]

도파민은 진통 역할도 하죠

[@drghomadrghom7290]

❤

[@saud9947]

Disabled comments incoming.

[@emilyl6746]

This is a genuine question. Do addicts not have any regard for the people who are killed in the drug trade to get them their drugs? Does the fact that hundreds of thousands of people in Mexico have been murdered to facilitate the supply of illegal drugs enter into an addict's mind whatsoever? I've always wondered this as I've traveled to Mexico often and have firsthand seen the devastation and loss of life due to drug violence. A cartel member's dismembered head thrown across the floor of nightclub following a dispute over a product that will cause an overdose on the other side. I guess as an addict there is no capacity to ponder who had to die to get them their high.

[@harlans1901]

The thought doesn’t cross their minds usually and at a certain point they don’t care the biggest factor that needs to be realized is that they need to accept that they have a problem because their addiction doesn’t seem like an addiction till they try to stop

[@roosterwithnoname9020]

They don't care. They're too consumed with their addiction.

[@zacharyjarnagin7944]

You guys ever been addicted to drugs or had brothers, sisters, parents, or grandparents, or even friends that have fought this war on drugs or let alone lost the fight?

[@joelfan2001]

it's a sickness. people don't just get addicted to drugs for the hell of it

[@khanhduytran3129]

Kneel on the patient neck