Month: January 2022

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Harm Reduction For Opioids

Harm reduction is a term used to describe Public Health approaches that are designed to minimize negative consequences. Relating to misusing substances, quitting alcohol and drugs. This includes the range of policies, practices, and programs proven to reduce harm. That may be associated with substance use. These include safe consumption sites, needle exchanges, opioid substitution programs, education, and rehab c

Three main reasons for the rise of opioid overdoses

Equipment with the support of healthcare providers can have public health agency has identified three main reasons for the rise of opioid overdoses.

  • The first reason was the prescription of opioids during the 1990s. Many were unaware of The Addictive nature of opioids. The overprescription of opioids for acute and chronic pain by physicians significantly contributed to the crisis we see today. A lack of understanding of opioids addictive potential led to misuse for many who had otherwise never interacted with drugs.
  • The second reason is the criminalization of drugs. Criminalization of drugs contribute to the Vicious Cycle of stigma.Because people who are criminalized are less likely to get employed, get clean and get support.

Decriminalization is an evidence-based strategy aimed at reducing the harms associated with the criminalization of drugs. These harms include criminal charges, stigma, high-risk consumption patterns, overdose, and the transmission of blood-borne disease. Decriminalization aims to decrease harm by removing mandatory criminal sanctions, replacing them with responses that promote access to education and reintegration back into society. It is not a single approach or intervention. Rather, it describes a ranger’s principles, policies, and practices that can be implemented in various ways.

  • The third reason was that we observe the contamination of fentanyl into the drug Supply. Fentanyl is an opioid that is 100 times more powerful than morphine. Which, when ingested, increases the likelihood of an overdose its potency poses a concern for substance users. As they may not know that the drug they’re consuming has been contaminated with fentanyl.

Conclusion:

They are still a big source of the statement, which we have dealt with in our community engagement for years and years still there still deal with it. And that one is just another level of earlier stigma that’s compounded on the population continuing to make sure that these services are provided because they’re saving lives. So if you reduce it to that level, that is simply a life-saving provision. This is what has to be done for the very important provision of naloxone to people. And that can be very much a very practical thing that could be done right across the board across the committee, all of you couldn’t have a naloxone kit and your work, and it’ll turn out to be a very important piece of equipment.

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Difference between CPR v/s Rescue breathing & how to perform it?

CPR and Rescue breathing are the two techniques. Which is used to combat a person’s life having a cardiac attack or breathing problem. They both play their part differently in the victim’s body who is suffering from cardiac arrest.

What is CPR :

Basically, CPR stands for Cardiopulmonary resuscitation. It is a lifesaving method that is valuable in numerous crises. for example, a cardiac failure or breathing problem, in which somebody’s breathing or heartbeat has failed. These types of issues occur mostly during drug overdose or drowning but there are many factors too.

CPR can maintain oxygen-rich blood flowing to the brain and different organs till an emergency clinical remedy can repair a regular heart rhythm. When the heart stops, your body now not receive oxygen-rich blood. The loss of oxygen-rich blood can be the reason for brain harm in just a few minutes.

Currently, approximately nine in 10 humans who have a cardiac arrest outside the health center die. But CPR can assist enhance one’s odds. If it is achieved in the first couple of minutes of cardiac arrest, CPR can double or triple a person’s risk of survival.

What is Rescue breathing ?

Rescue Breathing is also referred to as mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. It is artificial airflow that objectives at stimulating respiration. The victim, in this case, is not breathing or experiencing problems in the respiratory. This method is also termed pulmonary airflow achieved manually via the mouth to mouth or through the usage of mechanical devices. The technique uses the air we breathe out to assist every other individual. According to research, a healthful person is most effectively capable of using 20% of the oxygen they breathe in their bodies.

The Procedure of Performing CPR and Rescue Breathing:

First, test the scene for factors that might put you in danger, which includes traffic, fire, or falling masonry. Next, test the person. Do they want help? Tap their shoulder and shout, “Are you OK?”

If a person is subconscious but still respiration, do not carry out CPR. Instead, in the event that they do not appear to have a spinal injury, place them withinside the healing position. Keep tracking their respiration and carry out CPR if they stop respiration.

Use the following steps to perform CPR:

1. Perform 30 minutes chest compression:

Place one of your hands on top of the other and clasp them together. With the heel of the hands and straight elbows, push hard and fast in the center of the chest, slightly below the nipples.

Push at least 2 inches deep. Compress their chest at a rate of least 100 times per minute. Let the chest rise fully between compressions.

2. Perform 2 rescue breath:

Make sure their mouth is clear, tilt their head back slightly, and lift their chin. Pinch their nose shut, place your mouth fully over theirs, and blow to make their chest rise.

If their chest does not rise with the first breath, tilt their head. If their chest still does not rise with a second breath, the person might be choking.

3. Repeat:

Repeat the cycle of 30 chest compressions and two rescue breaths until the person starts breathing or help arrives. If an AED arrives, carry on performing CPR until the machine is set up and ready to use.

Only perform CPR if the person is not breathing, while they may be not breathing normally, and their blood is not circulating. This is why it’s far critical to make sure that the individual does not reply to verbal or physical calls to attention earlier than starting the CPR process.

Summary:

CPR is a life-saving first aid procedure. It can extensively enhance someone’s adjustment of surviving in the event that they go through a heart attack or prevent breathing following a coincidence or trauma.

The steps vary relying on whether or not the individual is an infant, child, or adult. However, the primary cycle of chest compressions and rescue breaths will stay the same.

Only use CPR when a person has stopped breathing. Check the person to look whether or not they reply to verbal or physical stimuli earlier than starting CPR.

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What is Fentanyl? Mental & Physical Effects of it

Initially, Fentanyl was a labeled and unaware toxin. It was first developed in 1959 and was largely used as a medical sedative and pain reliever without the negative effect of nausea. It has a 100-fold higher toxicity than morphine and a 50-fold higher toxicity than heroin.

What is Fentanyl?

It is a strong synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. It is a prescribed medicine that is also illegally manufactured and consumed. A drug that’s similar to morphine except that it’s used to treat people who are in a lot of pain, particularly after the operation. As it is also used to treat chronic pain patients who are physically tolerant of other opioids.

Use of Fentanyl:

Fentanyl may be habit-forming, especially with prolonged use. Use it exactly as directed. Do not use a larger dose of it. Do not use the medication more often. Or use it for a longer period of time than prescribed by your doctor. While using fentanyl, discuss with your doctor first. About the pain treatment goals, length of treatment, and other ways to manage your pain.

Heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine are mixed with fentanyl because it produces a high with a small amount of drug, making it a less expensive option. This is especially harmful when users are unaware that their medications may include fentanyl, a cheap but lethal addition. They may be taking higher opioids than their bodies are adapted to, increasing their risk of overdosing.

Mental & Physical Effects of it:

Fentanyl, like heroin, morphine, and other opioid medications, operates by attaching to the body’s nerve terminals, which are present in pain and emotion-controlling parts of the brain. After frequent use of opioids, the brain adapts to the drug, reducing sensitivity and making it difficult to derive pleasure from anything other than the drug.

Relaxation, disorientation, nausea, and other unpleasant side effects might range from mild to severe. Because it is 50 to 100 times more strong than morphine, the negative impacts may be more severe, arrive faster, and persist longer.

  • Drowsiness or fatigue
  • Confusion
  • Trouble concentrating
  • Tightness in the throat
  • Stiff or rigid muscles
  • Relaxation and euphoria
  • Constricted pupils
  • Physical weakness
  • Itching
  • Depressed breathing, shallow breaths, or irregular breaths
  • Slowed heartbeat
  • Sweating
  • Flushing
  • Constipation
  • Dry mouth
  • Nausea

Effects of Fentanyl overdose:

Even with a valid prescription, tolerance and reliance can develop. when the body requires more of a drug to achieve the same effect. A common occurrence with opioid painkillers that fentanyl is designed to combat, allowing those with severe chronic pain to still receive relief when other opioids fail. To achieve chemical equilibrium, the brain requires a particular amount of substance. A doctor will most likely taper or replace the fentanyl with another medicine. Fentanyl is rarely provided to persons whose pain will go away, therefore tapering off the medicine is uncommon.

Low blood pressure
Drowsiness
Dizziness
Vomiting and nausea
Changes in pupillary size in a limp body
Cold and clammy skin
Lips and fingernails are blue in tone (cyanosis)
Breathing has slowed or ceased.
Low heart rate
Consciousness loss or reduction
Coma

Fentanyl causes serious damage or death to the kid or an adult who has consumed it without the prescription Even partially used fentanyl can contain enough drugs to injure or kill children or adults. Children should not have access to fentanyl.