Reversing An Overdose Isn’t Complicated, But Getting The Antidote Can Be
A few months ago, Kourtnaye Sturgeon helped save someone’s life. She was driving in downtown Indianapolis when she saw people gathered around a car on the side of the road. Sturgeon pulled over and a man told her there was nothing she could do: Two men had overdosed on opioids and appeared to be dead.
“I kind of recall saying, ‘No man, I’ve got Narcan,’ ” she says, referring to the brand- name version of the opioid overdose antidote, naloxone. “Which sounds so silly, but I’m pretty sure that’s what came out.”
Sturgeon sprayed a dose of the drug up the driver’s nose, and waited for it to take effect. About a minute later, she says, the paramedics showed up.