If you or a loved one take an opioid for any reason, you’re at higher risk of overdosing than you might think. It doesn’t matter how old you are, your gender, race or ethnicity, where you live, or how much money you make.
Did you know that most people killed by an opioid overdose die in their home or the home of a loved one or someone they know?
Did you know that there’s a medication that might have kept those people alive by preventing fatal overdoses?
You probably know about the opioid epidemic and the damage it has done. Maybe it has affected you, a loved one, or someone you know.
But did you know that it can affect you and your family directly, even if you have a doctor’s prescription? Opioids such as oxycodone (OxyContin, Percocet), hydrocodone (Vicodin), and fentanyl are medications that manage acute and chronic pain, but they need to be used carefully.
Opioid overdoses happen to anyone and kill tens of thousands of people every year. In 2018, 543 people in Colorado died because of an opioid overdose, and between 1999 and 2017 more than 730,000 Americans have died.
While some of those people died after using heroin, fentanyl, or other illegal drugs, many didn’t. Some of those people battled opioid use disorder, but many didn’t.
Many of those people got a prescription from their doctor and filled it at the pharmacy. They might have mixed opioids with the wrong medications, like a sleeping pill, or taken them with alcohol. Many of those people didn’t understand they were at risk – or that there was an easy tool to stop the overdose. Naloxone.
Naloxone is a medication you can buy at a pharmacy without getting prescription. It’s a medication that’s easy to use and has been proven to save lives.
This website will tell you what you should know about naloxone – it could save the life of someone you love. So Bring Naloxone Home.
