Snoring or gurgling sounds (this can mean that a person’s airway is partly blocked)
Slow or no heart rate and/or pulse
Face is pale or clammy
Bluish purple, or ashen skin color
Fingernails turn blue or blue-black
Floppy arms and legs
No response to stimulus
Disorientation
Unrousable (can’t be woken up)/unconscious
THIS IS A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Get help if you encounter someone with these symptoms.
CALL 911 IMMEDIATELY.
If you can’t get a response from someone, don’t assume they are asleep. Not all overdoses happen quickly and sometimes it can take hours for someone to die. Action taken in those hours could save a life.
The Fairfax County Police Department has found that numerous youth overdoses have involved burnt tin foil, which is often used to facilitate the inhalation of the pills (other Northern Virginia jurisdictions are also observing this).
Prevention Matters
The best way to prevent overdose is to not use drugs.
Opioid use disorder is a medical condition—it requires care just like any other condition.
Opioid use disorder, or opioid addiction, can be deadly and affect people of any race, gender, income level, or socio-economic background. Opioid addiction includes physical and psychological dependence. The powerful effects of addiction can make it very hard to stop, even if someone wants to. Overdoses can be deadly, but there are steps you can take to keep safe.
Find Treatment
Treatment is available. It works. Recovery is possible.
Or, come in person to the Sharon Bulova Center for Community Health at 8221 Willow Oaks Corporate Drive, Fairfax. No appointment needed. Hours: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday.
An overdose of heroin or opioid painkillers can be lethal. Know what to do in case someone you are with overdoses.
DO
Call 911 immediately.
Stay with the person.
If naloxone (sometimes known by the brand name Narcan) is available and you've been trained to use it, do so. If it's available and you haven't been trained, let the 911 operator know you have it available and ask for instructions.
Naloxone is a medicine that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose.
DON'T
Apply "old school" remedies that do not work such as putting the person in a cold bath or becoming physical with them (i.e., kicking, slapping, or punching the individual).
Inject them with salt water or stimulant drugs (methamphetamine).
Have them walk it off.
Sleep it off.
Induce vomiting.
Will I get in trouble?
Virginia law provides anyone who calls 911 or otherwise alerts the authorities in the case of an overdose a "safe harbor" affirmative defense.
Virginia law provides immunity for anyone who administers naloxone in good faith.
