Oregon nurses want you to start carrying naloxone, the medication that can reverse an opioid overdose.

If it is given in time, it can stop fentanyl, heroin or any prescription opioid from killing someone.

Carry it and you can save a life.

In Oregon, you can get it by asking a pharmacist. A person giving a dose of the nasal spray is not going to harm someone.

It may cost you a small bit of money. It’s not all that different from carrying an EpiPen for people who have allergies. It simply provides an extra layer of protection for those at a higher risk for overdose.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 50,000 people died from an opioid-involved overdose in 2019. One study found that bystanders were present in more than one in three overdoses involving opioids. With the right tools, bystanders can act to prevent overdose deaths. Anyone can carry naloxone, give it to someone experiencing an overdose, and potentially save a life.

Naloxone quickly reverses an overdose by blocking the effects of opioids. It can restore normal breathing within 2 to 3 minutes in a person whose breath has slowed, or even stopped, as a result of opioid overdose. More than one dose of naloxone may be required when stronger opioids like fentanyl are involved.

You might think that you don’t know anyone who uses opioids. But accidents happen. People take the wrong drug or too much of the right drug. Kids experimenting, when they should not be, get something dosed with fentanyl.

Do you want to not have it at that moment? When the lips are turning blue, when the pupils contract to a point, when breathing struggles? There won’t be much time.

Even after administering a dose, you do have to call 911. You do have to wait with them. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says try to keep the person awake. Lay them on their side to help prevent choking.

Most overdoses occur in a home. About 40% occur when someone else is around. Naloxone gives the people nearby a chance to save a life.

Ask a pharmacist for more information. They know this stuff.