Need help right now?
If someone needs immediate help with opioid overdose, use emergency mode.
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DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — A person is barely responsive after taking opioids or unknown drugs — breathing is slow or stopped, lips may be blue.
The essentials if you need to act right now.
Call 112. Naloxone if you have it. CPR if not breathing. Repeat naloxone if needed.
What might I see? Observable signs — no diagnosis required.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Cannot wake them; limp body; slow or absent breathing.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Pinpoint pupils, blue lips, gurgling snore (agonal breathing).
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Needle marks, powder, or pills nearby.
Optional deeper explanation — not required to act.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Opioids slow or stop breathing. Brain damage starts within minutes without oxygen.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Naloxone temporarily reverses opioid effects but wears off — emergency care is still required.
Check the scene before you approach.
Civilian-safe actions you can take.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Shake shoulders and shout. If no response — call 112 on speaker.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Check breathing. If slow or absent — start rescue breaths or CPR.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Give naloxone: nasal spray in one nostril, or inject into thigh per device instructions.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — If no improvement in 2-3 minutes and another dose available — give second dose.
When and how to get professional help.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Identify what was taken, call Poison Control and emergency services, and follow their instructions. Do not guess treatments.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Call 112 or 108. Say: "Possible opioid overdose — not breathing properly. Gave naloxone."
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Good Samaritan laws may protect callers — prioritize saving life.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Hospital care always required — naloxone wears off and re-overdose is possible.
Dangerous actions, when not to attempt rescue, and common myths.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Do NOT assume they are "just sleeping it off."
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Do NOT leave them alone after naloxone — effects can wear off.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Do NOT induce vomiting.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Naloxone makes overdose worse if you are wrong about opioids
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Naloxone is safe in non-opioid overdose — it simply will not help other causes. When opioids are involved, it saves lives.
Other scenarios in the same family.
Child swallowed poison
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — A child has swallowed household cleaner, medicine, plants, or another toxic substance. Small amounts can be serious in children.
Alcohol poisoning
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — A person who drank heavily is unconscious, vomiting, breathing slowly, or cannot be woken — beyond normal drunkenness.
Adult swallowed poison
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — An adult has swallowed an unknown or known toxic substance — household chemical, medicine, or other poison.
Button battery
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Someone swallowed a small coin-shaped battery from a toy, remote, or watch. It can burn through tissue within hours.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — When breathing returns — place on side. They may vomit or become confused.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Reverses opioid overdose temporarily
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Rescue breathing and CPR until ambulance arrives
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Withholding naloxone while waiting for certainty.