2021 Theme: Recognising Overdose
#StopTheDeaths encourages all members of the public – including people who use drugs, their families and communities as well as services, policymakers and wider Scottish society - to act to prevent overdose deaths.
This year, #StopTheDeaths highlights the role we all have in recognising and intervening when a person overdoses.
#StopTheDeaths / Recognising Overdose
Overdose is not a rare occurrence and the difference between an overdose and a fatal overdose depends upon the immediate actions of people present at the time. You could save a life by recognising an overdose.
Seconds can matter and it is vital that people can immediately recognise when someone is experiencing an overdose.
If you see someone who is
Unresponsive
And has any other signs –
Snoring
Shallow breathing
Pale skin
Blue lips
Pinpoint pupils
Then you should immediately phone 999 and ask for an ambulance and follow the instructions of the emergency services call handler.
When someone is experiencing an overdose, they are unconscious and therefore completely unresponsive.
When you try to wake them by shaking their shoulders or shouting to them, an unresponsive person will not respond by speaking to you, opening their eyes or moving in any way.
This is different from being heavily under the influence of drugs where the person may be extremely drowsy, slurring their speech and unsteady in their movements.
Snoring, or rasping breathing, is sometimes mistaken for a person being asleep. However, it is usually a sign that the person is becoming more deeply unconscious and their airway is being blocked or restricted.
When someone is experiencing an overdose, they are dying because they cannot breathe due to drugs like opiates switching off this vital signal to the lungs. Shallow breathing means their breaths can be reduced to 3-4 breaths per minute instead of the usual 12-20 breaths. A person who has an overdose may stop breathing completely.
The lack of oxygen in the body can lead to brain injury if not treated quickly.
The person’s skin will be pale or ashen and the person may also feel cold or sweaty to touch.
Often the persons lips, or fingertips, will turn blue (cyanosis) due to the lack of oxygen in the blood.
Pinpoint pupils usually indicate that the person has had an opiate overdose because these drugs make the pupils appear very small. Other drugs may dilate your pupils, making them bigger. So, the size of the pupils is not always a guide to what drugs the person may have overdosed on.
Naloxone
Carrying Naloxone means that not only can you recognise an overdose and help, but that you can potentially reverse it.
Timing is crucial and every second counts.
You can find out more about overdose and naloxone on this FREE e-learning course available at
https://www.sdftraining.org.uk/online-learning/156-overdose-prevention-intervention-and-naloxone-3
If you are in Scotland, you can get a supply of naloxone through the Click and Deliver service established through Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs
https://www.sfad.org.uk/our-click-deliver-take-home-naloxone-service-is-now-live
#StopTheDeaths
You can support this year’s #StopTheDeaths on Twitter and Facebook or by uploading a photo showing your support via social media using #StopTheDeaths or you can submit a short statement here.