#Fentanyl antidote how to#
#Fentanyl antidote Patch#

In 14 percent of the cases, the form of the drug that the person had used was not known. The death records revealed that 82 percent of the fatalities involved the illegal powdered form of the drug, and just 4 percent involved the prescription patch. They also said that sometimes, people didn't know if the heroin they had purchased also contained fentanyl. In the interviews, the participants said that fentanyl powder can be purchased on its own or mixed with heroin. The drug comes as a transdermal patch, which slowly releases the drug into the person's body at a rate that is considered safe.īut the drug can also be found in an illegal, powdered form.

#Fentanyl antidote Patch#

Story continues From pain patch to deadly powderįentanyl can be used legally - doctors prescribe the drug for people with chronic pain. In addition, the researchers gathered information from death records to track fatalities that occurred during the same time period. Īll of the people in the study had either used the drug in the previous year and survived an overdose in past six months, or had witnessed an overdose between October 2014 and March 2015.The researchers asked them about their experiences, knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about opioid overdoses.

#Fentanyl antidote how to#

In an effort to better understand the effects of this powerful drug, as well as educate first responders and bystanders on how to best identify and treat people who have overdosed on fentanyl, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention interviewed more than 60 people from southeastern Massachusetts, who were recruited from harm-reduction programs. During the first half of 2016, the percentage of fentanyl-related opioid deaths had more than doubled, jumping to 74 percent, according to a new report. In Massachusetts, for example, from 2013 to 2014, 32 percent of opioid overdose deaths involved fentanyl. Fentanyl is between 50 and 100 times more powerful than another opioid, morphine, and its use seems to be on the rise in the U.S. Deaths due to opioid overdoses have risen sharply in the past few years, partly due to a particularly potent drug called fentanyl.