Here’s What Happens During a Fentanyl Overdose

fentanyl overdose

In 2023 the overdose death rate topped 112,000 in a 12 month period for the first how long does iv fentanyl stay in your system time, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But predictions that this new overdose crisis would fade as American life returned to normal have evaporated. Often Mexican drug cartels press these chemicals into pills, which are counterfeited to resemble pharmaceutical-grade medications for depression, pain and ADHD. After exposure, the patient underwent a standard decontamination procedure and a brief medical exam. According to the report, no clinical effects of opioid exposure were observed. Naloxone can reverse a fentanyl overdose if an adequate dose is given right away when symptoms appear.

Overdose Data to Action

fentanyl overdose

But speaking this month during a press conference in Maryland, White House drug czar Dr. Rahul Gupta acknowledged the gravity of the public health crisis. The “fentanyl death pose” is a phrase that has been used in media to refer to the stiffening of the body when someone overdoses on fentanyl. Fentanyl-induced muscle rigidity of the torso may also be known as “wooden chest syndrome”. The presence of unconsciousness or a coma, pupil constriction, and respiratory depression (slowed or absent breathing) occurring together strongly suggests an overdose with an opioid like fentanyl.

Which age groups have high overdose death rates?

  • Users may not realize the street drug they are buying from a dealer contains this potentially lethal compound.
  • Fentanyl withdrawal causes irritability, anxiety, muscle pain, nausea and vomiting.
  • Gupta called for more funding for addiction treatment and healthcare services, especially in Black and Native American communities where overdose deaths remain catastrophically high.
  • But most public health experts and some people living with addiction told NPR they believe catastrophic increases in drug deaths, which began in 2019, have ended, at least for now.

And your doctor can link you to resources for treating addiction, understanding addiction better and getting treatment. The liquid form can also be masked in https://ecosoberhouse.com/ a lot of different substances as well. The take-home message here is that any medication not obtained from a legitimate pharmacy could be a lethal dose of fentanyl. Inpatient treatment is also an intensive way for patients to become sober and to help with addiction, to give them specific tools to help them stay sober. After receiving naloxone, people who have overdosed should take an ambulance to a hospital.

  • From 2021 to 2022, rates decreased for drug overdose deaths involving heroin, natural and semisynthetic opioids, and methadone.
  • Other mental disorders, such as depression, insomnia, and suicidality, can also occur with fentanyl abuse, contributing to relapse and a higher risk of respiratory depression or overdose death65,67.
  • One of the most common reasons is that the human body quickly develops a tolerance to fentanyl, which means that more of the drug is needed to have the same euphoric effects.

Epidemic and evolution of illicit fentanyl use

Patients can sometimes use drugs of abuse or inappropriately use drugs to treat trauma or stress. Sometimes patients use it to treat when they have an untreated mental health issue. Sometimes patients can become addicted when using legitimately prescribed drugs for conditions. One unifying thing is that the longer a patient uses drugs than the easier it is to become addicted. The drug is too risky to intentionally misuse, and its presence has increased the risk of overdose from several other street drugs.

fentanyl overdose

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fentanyl overdose

The CDC tracks drug overdose data with the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10), which records fentanyl overdose deaths together with those caused by other synthetic opioids. However, they note that fentanyl accounts for most synthetic opioid deaths. Drug overdose deaths may involve multiple drugs; therefore, a single death might be included in more than one ICD-10 category when describing the number of drug overdose deaths involving specific drugs. Collaboration is essential for success in preventing opioid overdose deaths. Together, we can better coordinate efforts to prevent opioid overdoses and deaths. It will also require strengthening the education of health care professionals in pain management, in safe use of opioids, and in how to screen and treat substance use disorders (including OUD).

  • It is, therefore, hugely profitable to drug dealers (50‐100 times more than heroin), which can be expected to result in an expansion of the illicit fentanyl market across the globe.
  • Because there was no way to immediately know why this man had stopped breathing on a Tuesday afternoon last July, Rost couldn’t be sure it would work now.