What Is An Opioid Overdose?

0:00What is an opioid overdose?

0:04I'm going to tell you.

0:05I'm Dr. Rodriguez from Healing Sky.

0:07I'm also the medical director of the Diarrhea Center for Healing, and today we're going

0:10to talk about what is an opioid overdose.

0:15An opioid overdose results from taking too much opioids.

0:19It can also result from mixing opioids with other controlled substances, such as benzodiazepines

0:26or mixing them with alcohol.

0:28It has to do with excessive central nervous system suppression caused by excessive opioids

0:36binding to the mu opioid receptors in the brain.

0:41When you have excessive opioid action there, it will suppress breathing.

0:46The person will lose their natural impulse to breathe, and life is not compatible with

0:54the absence of breathing, hence why overdoses are dangerous and often lethal.

1:02If you see somebody that has consumed opioids and they're having trouble breathing or they

1:07have stopped breathing, they are most likely experiencing an opioid overdose, which is

1:14a medical emergency.

1:16If you see this, call 911 and get the paramedics there right away.

1:22If you happen to have any naloxone, whether it be the nasal spray or a shot, administer

1:27that immediately.

1:30If you administer naloxone, you still call 911 because the drug that caused the opioid

1:36overdose will most likely have a longer half-life than the naloxone.

1:43Naloxone will often reverse the overdose, but the naloxone will wear off and the person

1:48will fall back into the overdose again if they are not in the hospital receiving more

1:55and more naloxone for an extended period of time.

1:59Again, you typically see it with a difficulty breathing or a reduction in breathing.

2:04They're breathing really, really slow.

2:06They're not responsive.

2:08They're very intoxicated.

2:10They can be uptended.

2:13You touch them, you pull on them, they don't respond.

2:16They're barely breathing or worse, they stopped breathing.

2:18They're turning blue.

2:20That is an overdose and you got to call 911.

2:22That is a medical emergency.

2:24Don't try to handle it on your own.

2:27If you have naloxone, do administer that, but you still call 911 to get them there as

2:32quickly as possible and get them to the hospital or they will die.

2:37This is very dangerous not to be toyed with.

2:41Again, administer naloxone if you have it, call 911, get help and get them to the hospital.

2:49Even if they come out of it with the naloxone, they still have to go to the hospital because

2:54they're going to fall back into the overdose once that naloxone wears off because the drugs

3:00that cause overdose almost always last longer than the naloxone ever could.

3:07I hope you find this helpful.

3:10If you would like to learn more about opioid dependence or addiction or mental health conditions,

3:15please like, follow and subscribe to my content here on Healing Sky.

3:19Also, please look for my podcast launching in the fall.

3:23If you would like help with a problem with opioids, you can find many providers here

3:28on Healing Sky or if you would like to receive help from me, you can find me at delraycenter.com.

3:36Thank you.