WCHD offers free training classes for anti-overdose drug

Looking for new ways to address the spread of illegal opioid use, which, has contributed to an increase in heroin and other opioid overdoses, the Worcester County Health Department recently began conducting a series of classes on how to administer the life-saving drug, Naloxone.

Kim Poole, a behavioral health and addictions program worker with the Worcester County Health Department, explained the process during a training session at the Ocean Pines Library last Wednesday.

She said overdose-related fatalities have surpassed motor vehicle accidents as the leading cause of “injury-related accidental death” in the U.S., averaging 105 each day.

Naloxone is used to treat those overdoses by reversing the effects of using harmful amounts of opioids.

“The opiate receptors in the body have a higher affinity [for naloxone]. They love naloxone more than they love heroin,” she said. “Basically, heroin is going to get knocked off the receptors and the naloxone is going to take hold, so it’s going to then reverse the overdose situation.”

Opioids can reattach, however, meaning repeated naloxone doses may have to be given.
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