BELL COUNTY, Texas — We’re starting to see more Narcan nasal spray popping up at local grocery stores. It’s the first opioid overdose reversal medication approved to buy over-the-counter.
More than 100,000 people died in the U.S. due to overdoses in each of the last two years, the majority of those involved opioids. The FDA approved the over-the-counter sales back in March in hopes of slowing the opioid crisis.
Now Narcan nasal spray is available online and in several stores like CVS and Walgreens. It is around $40 to $45 dollars.
Local health expert Amy Mersiovsky with Texas A&M Central Texas said there are things that Narcan can do and cannot do. This nasal spray can help with overdoses of opioids like fentanyl, vicodin and morphine. However, it cannot help with overdoses of drugs like cocaine and Xanax.
“Even though you give someone Narcan and they start to wake up, they still need to go to the hospital. Narcan last from 30-60 minutes and sometimes the medication people take last a lot longer. They may need more care and more support," Mersiovsky said.
Mersiovsky also said it is a good idea to know CPR. It can help a person experiencing an overdose breathe until paramedics arrive.
“Usually within a couple of minutes the patient is going to start to wake up a little bit, breathing should get a little better, but don’t waste time. Go ahead and call 911. They may have some other medications on board you may not know about," Mersiovsky said.
