About Overdose Prevention Overdose Prevention

When it comes to drug overdose, being proactive is essential to reversing overdose and preventing death. If you see these signs of overdose, do not abandon the person out of fear of getting in trouble. †† Drug categories are not comprehensive; some deaths are excluded because they contain drug combinations that are not presented in the panels (e.g., deaths with only IMFs and prescription opioids detected). An overdose occurs when an individual is exposed to a higher-than-recommended amount of a substance. Not all overdoses are poisonings, but because dosing is an important factor in determining whether an exposure to a substance may result in poisoning, it is important to remember that overdosing on a substance can often result in poisoning. It is important that more is done to prevent overdoses and deaths.

How can a person prevent drug overdose?

• However, if eye drops are swallowed, they can cause sleepiness, low blood pressure, and a low heart rate.
• Know that medical and mental health community support is available, and you don’t need to go through this alone.
• Even a taste of the plant can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and other severe symptoms in adults, children, and pets.
• Drinking a lot of alcohol in a short time (binge drinking) can rapidly increase the amount of alcohol in the blood.
• National Harm Reduction Coalition creates spaces for dialogue and action that help heal the harms caused by racialized drug policies.
• For example, fentanyl is a very powerful opioid painkiller, and injection or ingestion of small amounts of fentanyl can be fatal to humans.
• This article will explain what an overdose is, the signs and symptoms of overdose to watch for in yourself and others, and what to do in case of an overdose.

It discusses what a drug overdose is, why it occurs, and how to prevent it. There are some first aid measures for poisonings that make a difference if done within seconds to minutes of a poison exposure. Be familiar with the steps below for ingested poisons, poisons in the eye (ocular exposures), on the skin (dermal exposures), or inhaled (breathed in). Call 911 right away if the individual collapses, has a seizure, has trouble breathing, or can’t be awakened. We often think of natural products as being safe or good for us, but natural products can also be poisonous.

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• By Michelle PugleMichelle Pugle writes health articles for award-winning websites, as seen in Healthline, Verywell, Everyday Health, and Psych Central.
• The first step when responding to an overdose of any kind is to contact emergency services.
• The percentage of drug overdose deaths with evidence of smoking increased sharply in all U.S. regions from 2020 to 2022, indicating the importance of an updated response.
• The term venomous is used to describe living things that bite or sting to inject their toxins.
• Follow a doctor or pharmacist’s directions for taking any prescription.
• When an opioid overdose is suspected, naloxone hydrochloride should be administered as soon as possible to reverse the effects of an overdose.
• According to the National Harm Reduction Coalition, ingesting too much of one or multiple drugs can harm the body.

It may happen accidentally or intentionally; both are emergencies. It can be difficult to determine if someone meaning of overdose is overdosing, but erring on the side of caution can save a life. An overdose (OD), or drug overdose, is when someone accidentally or intentionally consumes more than a safe or typical amount of a substance such as a prescription medication or drug. Knowing the signs and symptoms of an overdose and what to do if you think you or someone else may be overdosing is life-saving information.

Observed decreases might reflect transitions to noninjection routes and response to public health efforts to reduce injection drug use because of its risk for overdose and infectious disease transmission (3,4,10). Despite these declines, more than 4,000 drug overdose deaths had evidence of injection during July–December 2022. Lessons learned from implementing syringe services programs could be applied to other harm reduction and outreach models to reach more persons who use drugs by any route. During January 2020–December 2022, a total of 139,740 overdose deaths occurred in 28 jurisdictions; deaths increased 20.2%, from 21,046 during January–June 2020 to 25,301 during July–December 2022. The percentage of deaths with IMFs detected increased 8.4% from 71.4% during January–June 2020 to 77.4% during July–December 2022. Evidence of at least one route of drug use was documented in 71,480 (51.2%) overdose deaths.

Routes of Drug Use Among Drug Overdose Deaths — United States, 2020–2022

One way CDC is working to address drug overdoses is to advance overdose prevention in communities across the country. There were two funding announcements made available in 2023 for city, county, state, and territorial health departments known as the Overdose Data to Action (OD2A) cooperative agreements. Through these funding opportunities, we support innovation, expand harm reduction strategies, link people to life-saving care, and make the latest data available so that we can get ahead of the constantly evolving epidemic. To prevent an overdose, follow a doctor’s directions for all prescription medications. With the right care and prevention strategies, it is possible to treat drug overdoses or prevent them altogether. Using substances without others present increases the risk of an overdose becoming fatal.

From January–June 2020 to July–December 2022, the number and percentage of overdose deaths with evidence of smoking increased 109.1% (from 2,794 to 5,843) and 73.7% (from 13.3% to 23.1%), respectively (Figure 1). The number and percentage of deaths with evidence of snorting increased 43.1% (from 2,858 to 4,090) and 19.1% (from 13.6% to 16.2%), respectively. In contrast, the number and percentage of overdose deaths with evidence of injection decreased 14.6% (from 4,780 to 4,080) and 29.1% (from 22.7% to 16.1%), respectively, from January–June 2020 to July–December 2022. Although the number of deaths with evidence of ingestion increased 14.6%, from 3,189 to 3,656, the percentage of such deaths declined 4.6%, from 15.2% to 14.5%. During July–December 2022, most deaths with evidence of smoking (79.7%), snorting (84.5%), or ingestion (86.5%) had no evidence of injection; among deaths with information on route of use, 81.9% had evidence of a noninjection route. The findings in this report are subject to at least four limitations.

Trends by Drugs Detected

Another method for decreasing overdose risk is drug checking or testing substances for adulterants. Harm reduction organizations, such as syringe services programs, often distribute fentanyl and xylazine test strips or use more advanced technology to conduct point-of-service checking for multiple substances in a sample of drugs. Laws that limit access to harm reduction programs or criminalize these tools can discourage their use.

Although naloxone is now available over the counter, cost and lack of insurance reimbursement or coverage can prevent those most at risk from accessing it. For this reason, programs that distribute naloxone at no cost should be supported by opioid settlement and other public funding mechanisms. And states should retain in perpetuity naloxone access laws that lower barriers to various naloxone formulations, including injectable. A drug overdose can occur after an individual takes too much of a medication or substance. The leading cause of drug overdoses today is opioid medications.

The term venomous is used to describe living things that bite or sting to inject their toxins. The term poisonous is typically used to describe substances that can cause harm to the body when swallowed (ingested). However, a poison is really any substance that can cause harm to the body if ingested, breathed in (inhaled), injected into the body, or absorbed through the skin.