Skip to main content

Most Americans Unsure How to Help Someone in Opioid Overdose

By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Aug 26, 2024.

via HealthDay

MONDAY, Aug. 26, 2024 -- The U.S. opioid epidemic has caused a startling number of overdose deaths, but a new survey shows that most Americans still have no idea how to help an OD victim.

More than 3 in 4 people (77%) said they would not know how to respond if they saw someone having an overdose, according to survey results from Ohio State University.

“While I'm not surprised about this result, I am deeply concerned because we know that the more of us who are prepared to save a life, the more lives we can save,” said Dr. Trent Hall, an addiction medicine physician at Ohio State.

Overdose deaths have increased fourfold over the past two decades in the United States, Hall said.

An estimated 293 people die from a drug overdose every day, making it the leading cause of accidental death in the United States, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

Two FDA-approved drugs are now available to reverse an overdose caused by opioids like heroin or fentanyl, experts noted.

Naloxone and nalmefene, sold under the brand names Narcan and Opvee, are simple-to-use nasal sprays that block the effects of opioids on the brain and body.

However, most people say they wouldn’t be comfortable administering the drugs, the survey found.

“Some people tell me that they're nervous or uncomfortable with the idea of using naloxone to save a life,” Hall said in a university news release. “But there's nothing more terrifying than being in the moment, seeing someone who's having an overdose, and being powerless to help. Carrying naloxone empowers you to save a life in your community.”

Naloxone is available over the counter without a prescription, and also can be obtained for free from many community-based programs, researchers noted.

“We know that we're losing more than 100,000 lives in the United States every year due to drug overdose,” Hall said. “Naloxone has saved countless lives across this country. We'll really never know how many lives have been saved because so many overdoses go unreported.”

Naloxone should be administered if someone is unconscious, not breathing and unable to respond when gently shaken, experts said. If a person has passed out but isn't suffering from an opioid OD, giving them naloxone will not cause them any harm.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, signs of an opioid overdose include:

To administer naloxone:

“Our own research shows that when patients come here for treatment of opioid use disorder, the average patient has survived five accidental overdoses before coming here. And each one of those was a potentially fatal event,” Hall said.

“Imagine someone showing up for treatment who'd had five heart attacks before, or five strokes,” Hall continued. “This is every bit as dangerous, and naloxone is something that we can all use to save a life.”

Sources

  • Ohio State University, news release, Aug. 26, 2024

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Read this next

Medicaid, Medicare Don't Adequately Cover Addiction Treatment, Study Says

TUESDAY, July 1, 2025 — Opioid addicts covered by Medicare and Medicaid are less likely to receive the mental health and substance use treatment that they need, a new study...

Texas Invests $50M in Psychedelic Drug Research into Ibogaine to Treat Addiction

MONDAY, June 16, 2025 — Texas has moved to fund research into ibogaine, a psychedelic drug that may help treat addiction, depression, and brain injuries. Gov. Greg Abbott...

Turnaround Month In U.S. OD Death Crisis Pinpointed By Researchers

MONDAY, June 16, 2025 — The turning point in America’s drug overdose (OD) crisis came in August 2023, a new study says. That’s the month when the national drug...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.