How does Narcan work, and why after it being administered does the recipient have to go to the hospital?

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How does Narcan actually work, what does it do to a person who had overdosed on opioids? Also after being given a dose of Narcan, why do the EMTs always take the person to the ER?

In: Chemistry

4 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Opioids like heroin bind to opiate receptors in the brain, causing potentially lethal nervous system depression.

Chemically, Narcan zooms in and knocks all of those opioids off the receptors and strongly binds to them instead, nullifying the effects of the opoids.

The reasons you take the victim to the hospital aftee are twofold.

1- you’ve just put that person into severe withdrawal by instantly reversing all the effects of those opoids in their blood. That can be quickly lethal in an addict.

2- The half-life of Narcan is less than that of most opoids. So it will flush out of the system relatively quickly, allowing all those opoids to reattach to the receptors and start the process over again. Hospital detox is required to clear the victim’s system.

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