[LifeStyle] How Narcan, the first over-the-counter drug approved in the US to combat the overdose crisis, works

[Mr.Hacker]

 

It is intended to be one more tool to combat the opioid death crisis that is plaguing the United States.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave the green light on Wednesday for the over-the-counter sale of Narcan, the main version of naloxone, an overdose reversal drug.

"Today's approval of the over-the-counter naloxone nasal spray will help improve access, increase the number of places where it is available, and help reduce opioid overdose deaths across the country. We encourage the manufacturer to make the accessibility to the product a priority, making it available as soon as possible and at an affordable price," the agency said in a statement.

More than 100,000 people die each year in the United States from overdoses, 80,000 of them from opioid use, according to the most recent data from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), a number that has increased in 850% in two decades.

Opioids are compounds that are often prescribed to treat pain. Although highly addictive, they are commonly used, and their use for non-therapeutic purposes is also widespread, due to the feeling of euphoria they cause.

As policymakers debate and strategize to curb growing opioid addiction, they are also embracing measures to—as it is called in medical jargon—"harm mitigation."

And the decision of this Wednesday of the FDA is framed in the latter.

nasal spray
Naloxone is a generic drug that the National Institute on Drug Abuse defines as an "opioid antagonist," and Narcan is its best-known version and is sold as a nasal spray.

For it to take effect, you just have to insert it into your nose and press. Although the health authorities instruct that it always be done while calling the emergency services.

 

https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-internacional-65118695