When someone overdoses the EMT will typically use naloxone which is injected intravenously.
Naloxone is a medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designed to rapidly reverse opioid overdose.
It is an opioid antagonist—meaning that it binds to opioid receptors and can reverse and block the effects of other opioids, such as heroin, morphine, and oxycodone.
Naloxone's effects last from 20 to 90 minutes and allow the patient to breathe again until he or she can receive further help.
Naloxone is a medication that is frequently administered in the field by paramedics for suspected opioid overdoses.
Naloxone reverses an opioid overdose. Naloxone works by blocking the effects of opiates on the brain and by restoring breathing.
Naloxone will only work if a person has opiates in their system. It will not work with other drugs.
When naloxone was first approved to reverse opioid overdoses, its brand name was “Narcan.”
There are now other formulations and brand names for naloxone, but many people continue to call all of these products “Narcan.”
However, the proper generic name is “naloxone.”
Naloxone injection is in a class of medications called opiate antagonists.
It works by blocking the effects of opiates to relieve dangerous symptoms caused by high levels of opiates in the blood.