Heroin Overdose
If you or a loved one started to experience an overdose – would you know how to save a life?
Opioids are the leading cause of overdose in Kentucky. Heroin in particular is responsible for 3% of all overdoses that occurred in 2022 in the state. Opioid overdoses can very quickly become deadly. Knowing how to spot the signs of an overdose and how to react can save lives.
As a facility dedicated to offering comprehensive treatment, we’re not afraid to educate people in our community about substance use. The more knowledge you have, the better equipped you can be to make informed decisions about substance use. Today we’re going to specifically look at heroin overdoses, how they happen, how to spot them, and what you can do to help.
What Is a Heroin Overdose?
Our bodies are both complex and delicate. They can handle the filtering of foreign substances like medications and illicit drugs, but this system has its limits. Things like heroin aren’t natural within the body, and having too much of it in your system can lead to an overload.
An overdose is an experience that occurs when your body reaches its limits with the substances present within it. This can be fatal depending on the substance or substances, your history of substance use, and the specific quantities in your body.
How to Spot the Warning Signs of a Heroin Overdose
Since a heroin overdose can be fatal, it’s important to be able to spot one when it happens. If it’s happening to you, your window of reaction time can be limited, so it’s important to act fast if you suspect an overdose is occurring.
The exact symptoms that can occur with a heroin overdose are mostly visible from the outside, but we will also discuss what it might feel like to be the one experiencing the overdose. Let’s take a closer look.
The Most Common Signs & Symptoms of Heroin Overdoses
Heroin and other opioids are considered depressants. This means that it slows down feelings and reactions within the body. This slowness is mirrored in the specific symptoms that show up during an overdose.
From the outside, someone experiencing an overdose will slowly become non-responsive. They often have slowed breathing and heart rate. This can translate to limpness in the body, blue-tinted skin, gurgling sounds, and unconsciousness. Often those experiencing a heroin overdose will also have pinpoint pupils.
From the perspective of a person experiencing the overdose, you will start to feel disoriented. You might blink and miss chunks of time. You can feel lightheaded from a lack of oxygen. It can be easy to lose control of your situation during an overdose. If you have people around you, try to get them to help, or text or call a loved one or 911 if you can.
Are There Risk Factors for a Heroin Overdose?
Several things can be considered risk factors for heroin overdoses. This includes everything from the most common demographics to have a heroin use disorder, to physical attributes and history of substance use overall.
- Age – The most common age group to engage in substance use is people aged 18-30. Your age can also play a role in your chance of overdosing because of your health.
- History of substance use – Those who have a longer history of substance use have a higher risk of experiencing an overdose. This is both a probability increase as well as running the risk of encountering a “bad batch” of heroin. Fentanyl and other substances are often hidden, or laced, into things like heroin. When the person consuming the heroin is unaware of this, they can have a much higher chance of overdosing.
- Polysubstance use – Polysubstance use is when you have more than one substance in your system at the same time. This can happen both intentionally and unintentionally. When you have multiple substances working their way through your system, you increase your odds of your system becoming overwhelmed.
- Taking heroin during a relapse – When someone returns to use after going through a recovery program, it’s very common for them to take what used to be their old “dosage” and overdose. This is because their bodies had lost their level of “tolerance” to the substance, making it a shock to the system.
- Mental health – Those who are managing both a mental health condition and a substance use disorder, especially depression, can have an increased risk of intentionally overdosing.
Other factors can impact heroin overdoses such as metabolism and your specific batch of heroin and its contents. No one recipe will guarantee an overdose for everyone.
Are There Ways to Prevent Heroin Overdoses?
There are many myths out there about how to get substances out of your system faster or how to “sober up,” but these stories are fictional. There is no way to speed up the process of substances leaving your body.
The only surefire way to prevent a heroin overdose is to not take heroin in the first place.
What to Do in the Event of a Heroin Overdose
If you think someone might be overdosing on heroin, the first thing you should do is call for medical help. The Good Samaritan Law is in place in all 50 states, protecting you from legal prosecution when you seek medical help for a drug overdose. Lives are important, don’t hesitate. Make sure you’re honest with the medical team about any substances you know of that are in a person’s system. This can help ensure they get the best care possible.
Another way to be prepared for a heroin overdose is to keep Naloxone on hand. Naloxone, commonly referred to by its brand name Narcan, is a substance that stops opioid overdoses in their tracks. There is a program known as NEXT that distributes Narcan throughout the state of Kentucky. You can find distribution locations near you on their website.
Treatment Options Available for Heroin Use Disorders in Kentucky
No matter your history with substance use, whether you’ve personally experienced a heroin overdose or not, there’s no wrong time to step away from heroin and toward a path of recovery. It can seem overwhelming, daunting, or even impossible to imagine taking this step. At times it may seem like you can’t possibly live a life without substance use in it, but we’re here to assure you that that’s not the case. Many people have found recovery and healing – and you can be one of them.
There are many quality heroin treatment programs available right here in Kentucky. When looking for recovery, you want to consider a few things. You’ll want to find a program that works with you to help you reach your unique goals. You’ll also want to determine what medication options you want or don’t want to assist you as you step away from opioids.
Medication-assisted treatment, or MAT, is a program that utilizes FDA-approved medications to assist in your recovery journey alongside therapy and other treatments. MAT medications are approved specifically for those seeking recovery from opioids. These options can be a great asset during your healing journey.
CleanSlate, with locations right here in Bowling Green, KY, has both MAT and therapy treatment programs to set you up for long-term success in recovery. We want to see you reach your healing goals. With consistent availability, you can get started the moment you’re ready to. Just give us a call at 833-505-4673 today and our team will be happy to help.
Begin your recovery journey with a clean slate.
