On August 31, vigils will be held worldwide to mark Overdose Awareness Day, which provides parents, family members and others affected by an overdose a moment to unite and grieve the loss of a loved one.
Please take a few minutes and educate yourself.
Do you know what to do if someone is over dosing? Chances are you don't know much except to call 911. But by the time an ambulance arrives it may be too late. And fact of the matter is the difference between life and death is in your hands many times.
Even if you don't know someone who uses drugs (prescription medications included), you should still educate yourself.
Consider this: The average American is much more likely to die from a drug overdose than a violent crime. Drug overdose death count for more than 28,000 deaths per year, and are the number-one cause of accidental death for Americans aged 25 to 54.
The Centers for Disease Control considers it a new epidemic. Last week in Congress, Rep. Donna F. Edwards (D-MD) and Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-CA) introduced the Stop Overdose Stat (SOS) Act to ramp up federal aid for lifesaving overdose prevention programs.
This type of program is highly effective and cost-effective including training and availability of life saving drugs to counteract overdose. Family members and law enforcement are among the many encouraged to get informed of the current options available if put in the situation where they witness an overdose.
These overdose prevention programs train people to recognize the symptoms of overdose and to properly administer first aid, including how to administer life saving drugs to counteract the overdose, such as naloxone.
The American Medical Association declared its support for overdose prevention programs, and earlier this year the Food and Drug Administration held a workshop to discuss making naloxone more available.
More than 180 overdose prevention programs across the U.S. have already saved more than 10,000 lives, according to a recent CDC report. In addition to saving lives, overdose prevention programs are also thought to reduce healthcare costs. Failure to secure medical intervention during an overdose can result in additional serious complications, including coma.
Unfortunately, many communities do not yet have these programs in place.
The pressure for government and health officials to bring an end to this epidemic will not cease until the tools to prevent deaths are in every community and being put to good use. The hundreds of thousands of friends and family members lost to overdose cannot be ignored.
Resource: Grant Smith via AlterNet
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