Overdose deaths due to fentanyl spark debate over treatment : NPR

Because it has already been absorbed through the skin, fentanyl can continue to be effective for 13–24 hours after the patch is removed. Over time, however, the brain adapts to fentanyl, making it hard for a person to experience positive emotions from anything but the drug. As with other opioid drugs, fentanyl binds to the receptors in the brain that affect pain and emotions. This causes feelings of well-being (euphoria) and relaxation, and it also relieves pain. When the drug is injected or smoked, overdose symptoms can occur within minutes.

In nearly 40% of overdose deaths, someone else was present.4 Having naloxone available allows bystanders to help a fatal overdose and save lives. All opioids cause similar overdose symptoms, but the side effects of fentanyl can occur more rapidly than the effects of other drugs. Some people accidently how long does fentanyl stay in your system overdose on prescription fentanyl because they misunderstand the instructions on the drug’s label. Regardless of the cause, fentanyl deaths have been increasing at an alarming rate in recent years. People with opioid addiction tend to have high tolerances to opioids, such as oxycodone or heroin.

Everything you need to know about fentanyl

People with substance use disorders may not know about the addition of fentanyl, which puts them at a higher risk of accidental overdose or death. Most https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/alcohol-poisoning-signs-and-symptoms/ deaths occur after someone unknowingly consumes the drug. People have overdosed after purchasing pills they thought contained another drug. Fentanyl works in the brain to block pain and is in the same class of drugs as morphine or hydrocodone but is about 50 to 100 times more potent. It blocks opioid receptors and its most dangerous side effect is respiratory depression (slowed or absent breathing), which can quickly lead to coma and death.

Along with big increases in state and federal funding for addiction care over the last year, corporate cash could make addiction treatment far more accessible and affordable — especially for people in poor rural areas and urban neighborhoods. As a result of these reviews and the new scientific evidence that has accrued since 2016, CDC determined that an update of the Guideline, and an expansion to certain acute conditions, was warranted. The draft 2022 CDC Clinical Practice Guideline for Prescribing Opioids was posted for a 60-day public comment period from February 10, 2022, to April 11, 2022. Release of a final updated Guideline is anticipated in late 2022, along with a suite of translation and communication resources to facilitate effective implementation. Drug dealers may mix fentanyl with other drugs such as heroin, cocaine, meth, and MDMA to increase the drugs’ effects — sometimes without the user’s knowledge. Over the last decade, drug companies that fueled the first wave of the opioid crisis by aggressively marketing and distributing pain pills, agreed to pay more than $50 billion in compensation to communities battling addiction.

How the country is dealing with fentanyl deaths

As a result, studies show roughly 90 percent of people with addiction get no healthcare at all. “Overdose deaths are increasing,” said Kenneth Kochanek, a statistician with the CDC. “The majority of those deaths are to younger people, deaths to younger people affect the overall life-expectancy more than deaths to elderly.” She’s been addicted to opioids for 18 years and prefers heroin, but says fentanyl is now the only drug street dealers are offering. The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collects and reports these data, which are available to the public and can be accessed from an ad-hoc query system called CDC Wonder—Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research. NIDA does not fund or assist in the collection of these data but does analyze NCHS data to create the figures and descriptions on this page.

• “No amount of money will ever make up for the lives lost and families destroyed,” Hassan told NPR.
• Fentanyl is classified as schedule 2 under the controlled substances act (CSA).
• Pain, particularly chronic pain, can lead to impaired physical functioning, poor mental health, and a reduced quality of life.
• Do not change to another form of fentanyl eg injection, skin patch, dissolving film, or “lollipop” device.
• If you see anyone experiencing any symptoms of a fentanyl overdose, call 911 immediately.

CDC is continuously using data to drive prevention action in states, territories, tribes, and local communities. We are continuing to make vital strides in accelerating data collection, analysis, and dissemination of nonfatal and fatal overdoses and increasing the use of innovative data science and modeling efforts to fight the current crisis and predict where it will go next. Fentanyl is ~30–50 times more potent than heroin, and smaller volumes of heroin and other drugs that are adulterated with fentanyl can produce powerful effects with lower production costs.

Fentanyl key facts

Even if you are uncertain whether a person is experiencing a fentanyl overdose, call 911. However, if someone is experiencing confusion, changes in consciousness, or trouble breathing, don’t hesitate to call emergency services right away. Whether it’s an overdose or something else, medical intervention could save their life. Some of the symptoms of a fentanyl overdose are nonspecific, which means that they can be caused by something other than an overdose. 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. If someone has built up a tolerance to the drug, they may take a much larger dose to feel the same effects, which can be lethal.

Selling or giving away any form of prescription fentanyl is against the law. One case describes the accidental occupational skin exposure of a worker with a large volume of pharmaceutical grade fentanyl citrate (10 microgram fentanyl base per mL). In addition, the fentanyl was in contact with some areas of broken skin increasing the risk for fentanyl absorption. All authors have completed and submitted the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. Driven in part by the carnage of fentanyl deaths, 2022 was the year that changed that. But NPR found the overwhelming majority of opioids being smuggled across the border came through legal points of entry.