Learn about the mechanisms behind opioid overdoses and how safe consumption sites and naloxone kits can be used as interventions.
Hey man it’s chris look i don’t know how to tell you this man but henry died this afternoon we’re both using the same stuff we always use but i don’t know man i guess he just used too much his breathing slowed down and he started making choking noises and i didn’t know what to do man i just panicked i called the ambulance too late i didn’t think you would die
I heard stuff like this could happen from the other people who use but i didn’t think someone could die i thought the chances of that happening were way too slim i need to learn more about how we can avoid something horrible like this happening to us again i’ve heard about these places we can go where we can use safely they call them safe consumption sites or
Safe injection sites look i’m going to visit one tomorrow and see what i can learn hey there welcome to the sunnyvale health center safe injection site my name is laurie and i’m one of the many healthcare professionals who work here how may i be of assistance today hi lori i’m chris this is my first time visiting a place like this i am a heroin user my friends
Are too recently a friend of mine passed away from an opioid overdose and i don’t want to go down the same path he did i came here today to understand how taking too much of the drug that we all use all the time caused my friend’s death and how this site can prevent that from happening to me do you think you can help of course i can help first to understand how
Opioid overdoses occur we must learn about the mechanisms behind the effects of opioids to begin the nerve cells located throughout our body contain opioid receptors there are three main types of opioid receptors mu kappa and delta these receptors have similar but slightly different effects from one another the natural purpose for these receptors are to bind to
Endorphins encephalins and dinorphins which can be thought of as natural painkillers produced by our body let’s take a look at an example here we can see a mu opioid receptor sitting on the membrane of a nerve cell when an opioid binds to the receptor a series of steps occur which ultimately result in a reduction in cyclic amp and hyperpolarization of the nerve cell
Ultimately this creates an euphoric and analgesic effects for the user ah i see the drugs we take binding receptors meant for natural painkillers and since so many receptors are bound in such a short period of time we get a really strong reaction which causes us to feel really good exactly however the dangers of these drugs should be taken very seriously opioids
Are one of the easiest substances to overdose on if too high of a dosage is used it can lead to adverse effects such as respiratory failure coma and even death let’s take a look at breathing for example breathing also known as respiration is controlled by the medullary respiratory centers which are located in the medulla oblongata and pons the respiratory center
Gets information about oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the blood via chemoreceptors which are located in the vascular system opioids inhibit the chemoreceptors via opioid receptors this interrupts the brain from getting important information about the changes in chemical composition of the blood in extreme cases this depression of respiration can result
In hypoxia and even death that’s horrible now i understand what happened to henry so if someone did happen to overdose there must be some way we can help them here right we take multiple precautions to ensure the safety of those who choose to use drugs at one of our sites aside from having multiple health professionals on standby we also utilize naloxone kits
These kits temporarily reverse overdoses if one does occur they are kept on site and are also given out for use at home or wherever an overdose may occur for free when one experiences or notices symptoms of overdose in someone else the naloxone in the kit can either be injected or taken as a nasal spray to provide treatment precise instructions for quick and
Simple administration are contained within the kit so how does this naloxone work exactly naloxone is an opioid antagonist this means that when it enters the body it can prevent opioids from binding to receptors by binding onto the receptors themselves this prevents the opioids from eliciting a response from the body which may lead to the symptoms of an overdose
Think of our body as an airplane and our opioid receptors as pilot chairs if we flood our body with opioids it’s as if we’re putting a person without their pilot’s license in charge of the plane and its responses this is extremely dangerous to the rest of the passengers on board and may lead to the plane crashing when we take naloxone it’s as if we’re placing
Experienced pilots on board to take over the pilot chairs and steer the plane in the correct direction safely this prevents the inexperienced pilots from taking the controls again one thing to consider is that the effects of naloxone are temporary if someone is experiencing an overdose they need to seek immediate medical attention the naloxone is only meant to
Buy time for an individual to receive aid do you understand i understand i am relieved to hear about the precaution you guys take to prevent any unnecessary loss of life the next time i think about using i’ll definitely consider visiting a safe injection site thank you for answering my questions today i am grateful for everything i’ve been told regarding how
Overdoses can occur how serious they are and what steps i can take to prevent one from taking another life thank you you
Transcribed from video
How Opioid Overdoses Occur – Mechanism and Interventions By Demystifying Medicine McMasterliveBroadcastDetails{isLiveNowfalsestartTimestamp2021-03-12T210016+0000endTimestamp2021-03-12T210815+0000}