08/30/2025
�Dr. C wants you to know that every year August 31 is recognized as Inter-National Overdose Awareness Day. This is a time to remember those who have succumbed to a drug overdose and work to prevent future incidences of overdoses. According to the United States Drug Enforcement Agency “International Overdose Awareness Day is the world’s largest annual campaign to end overdose and remember those who have died without stigma and acknowledge the grief of the family and friends left behind.
In 2022, the Center for Disease Control reported that the “American Indian and Alaska Native population had the highest drug overdose death rates in both 2020 and 2021. Tribal communities are experiencing an increase in overdoses stemming from polysubstance use. This is primarily caused by unintentional polysubstance use, which is when a person who takes drugs mixed or cut with other substances, like fentanyl, without their knowledge.”
Do’s and Don’ts in Responding to Opioid Overdose
• DO support the person’s breathing by administering oxygen or performing rescue breathing.
• DO administer naloxone.
• DO put the person in the “recovery position” on the side, if he or she is breathing independently.
• DO stay with the person and keep him/her warm.
• DON'T slap or try to forcefully stimulate the person — it will only cause further injury. If you are unable to wake the person by shouting, rubbing your knuckles on the sternum (center of the chest or rib cage), or light pinching, he or she may be unconscious.
• DON'T put the person into a cold bath or shower. This increases the risk of falling, drowning or going into shock.
• DON'T inject the person with any substance (salt water, milk, “speed,” he**in, etc.). The only safe and appropriate treatment is naloxone.
• DON'T try to make the person vomit drugs that he or she may have swallowed. Choking or inhaling vomit into the lungs can cause a fatal injury.
Naloxone is a medicine that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose. Ask around your community. There may be harm reduction resources that can provide you with a free source of Naloxone and fentanyl test kits. Learning how to use Naloxone (also known as Narcan) can help prevent the death of someone who is overdosing on opioids.
There are a variety of signs and symptoms that can occur when a person overdoses, and each person will respond differently. Signs and symptoms depend on a variety of factors including which drug is taken, the amount taken and the person’s state of health at the time. For more details about overdose symptoms go to: https://tinyurl.com/OverdoseSymptoms
If you can’t get a response from someone, do not assume they are asleep. Sometimes it can take hours for someone who has overdosed to die. If you suspect an overdose, do not hesitate, call an ambulance or 911 and get help.
For more information please go to:
VIDEO: The Overdose Epidemic In Indigenous Communities:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvBOW6yIlFA
VIDEO: Overdose Awareness Month
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvjbCuxC8R0
https://www.cdc.gov/overdose-prevention/health-equity/tribal-communities.html
https://nida.nih.gov/publications/drugfacts/naloxone
https://www.overdoseday.com/overdose-basics/
https://www.dea.gov/ioad
