Naloxone kits from the BC CDC come with three injections of Naloxone, as well as medical gloves, alcohol swabs and step-by-step instructions. (Government of Canada)

By Jordan Davidson

save a life

Continued spike in overdose fatalities highlighting proper use of life-saving Naloxone

Feb 4, 2022 | 5:28 AM

NANAIMO — With over 35,000 overdose and poisoning calls reported in 2021, the drug toxicity crisis in B.C. is continuing to claim an increasing number of lives.

Naloxone, sold under the brand name Narcan, is a commonly used medication to temporarily reverse the effects of opioids and can be used with little prior training.

Claire Dineen, health promotion team leader with AVI Health and Community Services said Naloxone can be a crucial intervention for someone experiencing drug poisoning.

“Its job is to pull opioids off the surface of the brain, the receptors off the surface of the brain. If there are no opioids it doesn’t do anything.”

The treatment is a temporary stop-gap measure, buying the person subject to an overdose time to get to a hospital and receive more intensive treatment.

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According to the BC Emergency Health Services Nanaimo dealt with a record 891 drug toxicity call-outs in 2021, which is up 26 per cent from 664 in 2020.

Thirty-seven people died in Nanaimo related to the toxic drug crisis during the first 10 months of last year.

What does an overdose look like?
Recognizing when someone is suffering an overdose is vital, with time of the essence.

Dineen said people should err on the side of caution and call 911 if someone is in distress, whether of not they know it’s a drug overdose.

“What you’re looking for is if someone is actually unconscious…shake them, call out to them in a loud voice…you don’t use Naloxone on someone who’s conscious.”

She said another key symptom is cyanosis, where lips or fingertips turn shades of blue or purple. It is a sign oxygen is not getting around the body to the extremities.

The person’s eyes might be rolling, sometimes foaming at the mouth, with their body potentially experiencing a seizure.

Where to get Naloxone
Kits are available free of charge at to those at risk of experiencing or witnessing an overdose.

In Nanaimo, Naloxone is available at the overdose prevention site on Wesley St., Nanaimo Mental Health and Substance Use Services on Wentworth and NRGH, among many other places.

Pharmacies and health centres in Nanaimo and Oceanside also have kits available. A searchable list is available here.

The kits come with the drug itself along with medical gloves and a plastic face mask for mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Instructions on its proper use are also posted inside the small packages.

How to administer Naloxone
Providing the patients with oxygen every five to seven seconds using mouth-to-mouth resuscitation is a critical step.

“Naloxone is fantastic, but breath is more important,” Dineen said. “What we are finding is people are being resuscitated but with brain damage, because they didn’t get enough oxygen during the time they are overdosing.”

CPR is not a recommended step unless the person’s heart has stopped.

Dineen encourages anyone who wants to learn about the proper way to respond to a suspected overdose and how to use a Naloxone kit to reach out to them at their Nanaimo office. They also offer their services to Gabriola Island residents as well.

Naloxone is also covered under a Good Samaritan law, meaning those administering it in good faith won’t face criminal charges if the dose is given to someone not experiencing an overdose.

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jordan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @JordanDHeyNow