District 4 Public Health Opioid

All the information below can be found at DPH

Preventing and Responding to an Overdose:

• Drug overdose and overdose deaths are preventable through awareness, education, access to treatment, outbreak detection, and the use of naloxone.
• How Can You Help?
  • Carry naloxone if you or someone you know is at risk. (See “Naloxone” link above for more information)
  • Visit the Georgia Crisis & Access Line (GCAL) at 1-800-715-4225, available 24/7, for access to services and immediate crisis help.
  • Increase awareness and educate others of the risks associated with drug use, signs of an overdose, and how to respond.

Signs of an Overdose:

• #1 sign of opioid overdose is unresponsiveness
• Other signs include:
  • Awake, but unable to talk
  • Limp posture
  • Face is pale or clammy
  • Blue fingernails and lips
  • For lighter skinned people, the skin tone turns bluish purple; for darker skinned people, the skin tone turns grayish or ashen
  • Breathing is very slow and shallow, erratic or has stopped
  • Pulse is slow, erratic or not there at all
  • Choking sounds or a snore-like gurgling noise (sometimes called the “death-rattle”)

Steps to take if you suspect a drug overdose:

1. Call 911 immediately, report a drug overdose, and give the street address and location of the suspected overdose. If there are other persons available, send someone to wait for the ambulance and guide the emergency medical technicians to the individual. Georgia has a medical amnesty law that protects individuals who may be experiencing an overdose and callers seeking medical attention for alcohol and drug overdoses.
2. Try to wake the individual by speaking loudly, pinching, or rubbing your knuckles vigorously up and down the sternum (the bony part in the middle of the chest.)
3. Make sure the individual is breathing. If not, administer rescue breathing (mouth-to-mouth) if appropriate, by pinching the individual’s nose shut and blowing into the mouth. Lay the individual on their side after they have resumed breathing on their own.
4. Administer Naloxone, if you have it and know how to use it.
5. Stay with the individual until help arrives, and act quickly to administer rescue breathing if they stop breathing.
6. Encourage the individual to cooperate with the ambulance crew.

Fentanyl:

• Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that can be prescribed by a doctor to treat severe pain.
• Fentanyl is also illegally made and can be found in all types of street drugs such as heroin and/or cocaine.
• Drugs that contain fentanyl cannot be detected by sight or smell and even a small amount can cause an overdose.
• See “Preventing and Responding to an Overdose” link above to learn how you can prepare yourself and others.
• Additional Fentanyl Resources:
  • CDC - Fentanyl Basics
  • CDC - Health Alert Network Advisory
  • Fentanyl: Preventing Occupational Exposure to Emergency Responders

About 80% of overdose deaths each year occur inside a home. 

Naloxone is a life-saving medication that can reverse an overdose of opioids, including heroin, fentanyl, and prescription opioid medications—when given in time. Carrying naloxone and using it on someone who is overdosing on opioids could immediately help save a life.

Those considered at high risk can request a free Naxolone kit while supplies last: http://ow.ly/gtF550LyI1q

In addition, naloxone can be purchased at Georgia pharmacies without a prescription. Not all pharmacies carry naloxone, so call ahead to see if your pharmacy stocks it.