Top 5 Reasons You Should Carry Kloxxado®, the Orange Naloxone
Chances are, you know someone who has lost a friend or loved one to an accidental drug overdose or illicit fentanyl poisoning. Maybe you have been more personally affected by this kind of tragedy. If so, you’re not alone. Drug overdose is the leading cause of accidental death in the US, and more than a million Americans will die in this decade of an opioid overdose.1,2, Although these statistics may seem overwhelming, don’t despair. There’s something you can do that could save the life of someone experiencing an opioid overdose: Be ready by including naloxone in your first aid kit. Read on to learn more about naloxone and the top 5 reasons you should carry this life-saving medicine3 with you, as well as keep it in your home.
What is naloxone?
Naloxone can help restore consciousness in a person who is experiencing an overdose by blocking the effects of opioids in the brain.4 It is available in multiple forms, the simplest of which to use is a nasal spray.4 Two well-known naloxone nasal spray brands are Kloxxado® (naloxone HCl) nasal spray 8 mg and Narcan® (naloxone HCl) Nasal Spray 4 mg.3,5
See some important differences between Kloxxado® and Narcan® here.
Who should keep naloxone on hand?
Be sure to keep naloxone in your home or at work if you are (or someone you associate with is):6-8
- Taking an opioid for pain
- Being treated for mental illness
- Taking a benzodiazepine (a certain kind of anxiety, insomnia or seizure medicine)
- Living with a respiratory condition such as COPD or sleep apnea
- Living with, in recovery for or has a history of substance use disorder (SUD)
- Using cocaine, methamphetamines or other drugs (non-opioids sometimes are contaminated with fentanyl)
- Consuming excessive amounts of alcohol
An opioid overdose can happen anywhere, at any time. Keep naloxone with you if you are a:9-14
- First responder
- Teacher
- School nurse
- Librarian
- Law enforcement officer
- Bus driver
- Parent
You may also want to consider carrying naloxone if you live or work in an area where there is higher incidence of overdose.6 You get the idea—naloxone should be a part of every person’s first aid kit.
Top 5 reasons to carry naloxone
A potentially deadly opioid overdose could happen nearly anywhere.15,16 Here’s why it’s so important to always be ready:
1) You could save a life.
No one plans to come face to face with a deadly opioid overdose situation, but it happens.1,2,17 More than 150 people die every day from overdoses related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl.17 What’s even more tragic is that nearly 40% of fatal overdoses happen with someone nearby.18 If you’re carrying naloxone and you encounter a person suffering an opioid overdose, you could save their life.4
2) Many overdose victims don’t know they are taking opioids.
Opioid overdose doesn’t happen to people who use opioids.17,19 In many cases, the victim doesn’t even realize they’re taking an opioid.17,19 Here are two ways this can happen:
Fentanyl Contamination: Because illicit fentanyl is powerful (50 times stronger than heroin) and relatively cheap, some dealers mix it into the other illegal drugs they sell (such as cocaine or methamphetamine) without the user’s knowledge.17,19 Doing so helps them to not only “stretch” their inventory, but create a final product that is more addictive.20 This practice is not an exact science, however, and just two (2) milligrams of fentanyl can be enough to cause a fatal overdose.8,19 This means that all illegal drugs are potentially deadly because they could contain lethal amounts of fentanyl.17,19,20
Counterfeit Pills: Fake pills are everywhere, thanks to the criminal drug networks that mass produce and distribute them.8,21 Some are counterfeit versions of prescription opioids (like OxyContin® and Vicodin®), but others are fake antianxiety medicines (like Xanax®) or fake ADHD medicines (like Adderall®).21 Although they may look like different kinds of medicines, one thing all of these lookalikes have in common is the fact that they are potentially deadly.21 They are also easy to get—you don’t even need a prescription.21 According to the US Drug Enforcement Administration, lab testing has shown that 7 out of every 10 pills seized by the organization contains a lethal dose of fentanyl.21
3) A person may succumb to opioid overdose quickly.
When a person gets too much of an opioid, their breathing can slow down or even stop.22 Because the brain is deprived of oxygen, the person can lose consciousness, fall into a coma, suffer brain damage and/or die.22 Depending on how strong the opioid is, this loss of consciousness can occur in a matter of minutes.22,23 Research published in 2022 showed that fentanyl can begin to slow down a person’s breathing before they even realize they are overdosing.24,25 That’s why it’s critical to have naloxone on hand—so you can start to reverse the overdose as soon as you see it happening.
4) Naloxone is easy to use.
With naloxone nasal spray, lifesaving medicine to reverse opioid overdose is literally at your fingertips. 3,4,6 You shouldn’t hesitate to use it if you suspect opioid overdose.3,4,6 It’s harmless to someone who is not overdosing, and there is no potential for abuse.4,6 If you encounter someone experiencing a life-threatening opioid overdose, give a dose of naloxone right away and then call 911.6 Naloxone is effective for about 30 to 90 minutes.26 A person can still experience the effects of an overdose after a does of naloxone wears off. It’s important to stay with the person until medical professionals arrive.26
5) Naloxone is easy to get.
Naloxone is available in all 50 states.18 If you have health insurance, check with your provider to see if naloxone is covered under your plan. If it isn’t (or you are underinsured or do not have health insurance), you may be able to get naloxone from your local health department or a community-based organization for a minimal cost or no cost. Naloxone may also covered by Medicare and Medicaid. Contact your insurance, Medicare or Medicaid rep to check your coverage.
Kloxxado® is a registered trademark of Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA Inc.
Narcan®, OxyContin®, Vicodin®, Xanax® and Adderall® are all registered trademarks of their respective owners.
Please see the Full Prescribing Information and Medication Guide for Kloxxado® for complete product details.
NOTE: This article was not written by a medical professional and is not intended to substitute for the guidance of a physician. These are not Hikma’s recommendations, but rather facts and data collected from various reliable medical sources. For a full list of resources and their attributing links, see below.
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References
- Addressing the Opioid Crisis. National Safety Council website. Available at: https://www.nsc.org/community-safety/safety-topics/opioids/prescription-drug-misuse?. Accessed February 11, 2024.
- Humphreys K, et al. Responding to the opioid crisis in North America and beyond: recommendations of the Stanford-Lancet Commission. Lancet. 2022;399(10324):555-604.
- Kloxxado® (naloxone HCl) nasal spray 8 mg [prescribing information]. Columbus, OH: Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA Inc.; 2021.
- Jordan MR, Morrisonponce D. Naloxone. [Updated 2023 Apr 29]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023 Jan-. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK441910/.
- Narcan® (naloxone HCl) nasal spray 4 mg [prescribing information]. Plymouth Meeting, PA: Emergent Devices Inc.; 2021.
- Should I carry Narcan/naloxone? The Ohio State University/Ohio State Health & Discovery website. Available at: https://health.osu.edu/community-health/substance-use/should-i-carry-narcan. Accessed February 11, 2024.
- Naloxone: The Opioid Reversal Drug that Saves Lives. US Department of Health and Human Services website. Available at: https://www.hhs.gov/system/files/naloxone-coprescribing-guidance.pdf. Accessed February 11, 2024.
- Facts About Fentanyl. US Drug Enforcement Administration website. Available at: https://www.dea.gov/resources/facts-about-fentanyl. Accessed February 11, 2024.
- Guidance for Law Enforcement and First Responders Administering Naloxone. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website. Available at: https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/guidance-law-enforcement-first-responders-administering-naloxone.pdf. Accessed February 21, 2024.
- Why Districts Are Stocking Naloxone in Response to the Opioid Crisis. Education Week website. Available at: https://www.edweek.org/leadership/why-districts-are-stocking-naloxone-in-response-to-the-opioid-crisis/2022/10. Accessed February 21, 2024.
- The Opioid Crisis and Administering Narcan in Libraries. Public Libraries Online website. Available at: https://publiclibrariesonline.org/2018/09/the-opioid-crisis-and-administering-narcan-in-libraries/. Accessed February 21, 2024.
- Commissioners Provide Naloxone Kits and Training to School Bus Drivers Countywide. Camden County website. Available at: https://www.camdencounty.com/commissioners-provide-naloxone-kits-and-training-to-school-bus-drivers-countywide/. Accessed February 21, 2024.
- What parents should know about medicine that reverses opioid overdose. American Academy of Pediatrics website. Available at: https://publications.aap.org/aapnews/news/24716/What-parents-should-know-about-medicine-that?autologincheck=redirected. Accessed February 21, 2024.
- States Split on Whether to Stock Overdose Drugs in Scho Governing website. Available at: https://www.governing.com/health/states-split-on-whether-to-stock-overdose-drugs-in-schools#:~:text=The%20federal%20Substance%20Abuse%20and,from%20the%20potent%20drug%20fentanyl. Accessed March 19, 2024.
- Drug Overdose Mortality by State. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/drug_poisoning_mortality/drug_poisoning.htm. Accessed February 11, 2024.
- Opioid Misuse in Rural America. US Department of Agriculture website. Available at: https://www.usda.gov/topics/opioids. Accessed February 11, 2024.
- Fentanyl Facts. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/stopoverdose/fentanyl/index.html. Accessed February 11, 2024.
- Lifesaving Naloxone. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/stopoverdose/naloxone/. Accessed February 11, 2024.
- Drug Overdose Death Rates. National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Drug Abuse website. Available at: https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates. Accessed February 11, 2024.
- If fentanyl is so deadly, why do drug dealers use it to lace illicit drugs? Good Morning America website. Available at: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/wellness/story/fentanyl-deadly-drug-dealers-lace-illicit-drugs-96827602. Accessed March 19, 2024.
- One Pill Can Kill. US Drug Enforcement Administration website. Available at: https://www.dea.gov/onepill. Accessed March 21, 2023.
- Non-Fatal Opioid Overdose and Associated Health Outcomes Final Summary Report. US Department of Health and Human Services/ASPE website. Available at: https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/migrated_legacy_files//190846/Nonfatal.pdf. Accessed October 13, 2023.
- Fentanyl overdose: What to do when someone overdoses and stops breathing. UC Health website. Available at: https://www.uchealth.org/today/fentanyl-overdose-facts/. Accessed February 11, 2024.
- Study reveals fentanyl’s effects on the brain. Harvard University/The Harvard Gazette website. Available at: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2022/08/study-reveals-fentanyls-effects-on-the-brain/. Accessed February 11, 2024.
- Balanza GA, et al. An electroencephalogram biomarker of fentanyl drug effects. PNAS Nexus. 2022;1(4):1-7.
- Opioid Overdose. Cleveland Clinic website. Available at: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24583-opioid-overdose. Accessed March 19, 2024.