Nov. 23 – Anyone can use Narcan to save someone who is overdosing, says Chief Joe Batt of the Rogers State University Campus Police.
Batt showed an audience of Claremore Area Chamber of Commerce members Tuesday what to look for to determine if someone is overdosing, how to use Narcan to revive them and when Narcan is ineffective.
Narcan is a nasal spray that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose in a few minutes, Batt said. To administer it, Batt said, all you have to do is insert the mouthpiece into the person’s nostril and press the plunger.
It only works if someone has used opioids like heroin or fentanyl, Batt said; it doesn’t help with overdoses of drugs like meth or cocaine.
“Basically what this means is that if they’re not overdosing on opioids, you can administer it and it won’t hurt them,” Batt said. “This isn’t going to cause a problem for someone who isn’t overdosing on opioids, so that’s the beauty of it.”
Batt said any Oklahoma resident can order a free Narcan kit online at okimready.org.
Shelby Stuart, an agent with Brown & Brown Insurance Services in Pryor, said she was surprised to learn that Narcan is free and can be administered as often as needed.
She said popular culture leads people to think that only people with special training can stop an overdose.
“This is not true at all,” said Stuart. “Anyone could help, anyone who knows this stuff, and it’s easy to get and it’s easy to find and it’s easy to deal with. I think ultimately this is the kind of information that just needs to be done as often as possible are passed on.”
Batt said Narcan is not a miracle cure, but a Band-Aid: People who overdose still need to go to the hospital even if Narcan successfully revives them.
Overdoses usually kill people by asphyxiation by blocking receptors that signal the body to get rid of carbon dioxide, Batt said.
One way to tell if someone is overdosing, he said, is to look for signs of inability to breathe. The victim may make choking or gurgling sounds when trying to breathe, or the victim’s lips and fingernails may turn blue. Batt said small pupils are also a giveaway.
Batt said he first used Narcan when he responded to a benefit for a suicidal woman. He said the woman was behaving normally when he arrived, but within 15 minutes she became lethargic and fell to the ground.
He gave her three doses of Narcan before an ambulance took her to the hospital, where she recovered.
“What surprised me about the whole situation was that everything was fine, and then it wasn’t, and then it was fine,” Batt said. “From that moment on, I believed in Narcan, that it really can work miracles. You just have to recognize it [what’s happening].”
Batt said it’s important for people to carry Narcan and learn how to use it because about 40% of overdose deaths occur when another person is present.
He said about 90% of overdose deaths in Oklahoma in 2021 were unintentional. Seventy people died from unintentional overdoses in Rogers County between 2018 and 2022, according to the Oklahoma Department of Health.
“The thing is, we never know where we’re going to be if this could happen to someone,” Batt said. “It could be in our workplace, it could be in a restaurant, it could be anywhere. This is good to know.”
