if narcan doesn’t harm people who aren’t ODing, why do paramedics wait before administering another dose?

Question

The only reasonable explanation I can think of is ability

In: Other

Answer 1

Narcan’s purpose in EMS is to help the patient breathe on their own by reversing the effects of the opiates. But there are also other tools we can use to manage the airway and breathe for the patient until they get their respiratory drive back, so it’s not absolutely critical that we have to go hard on the narcan.

As mentioned by others, narcan can put someone into a crisis from acute withdrawal. This can be *terrible* if not anticipated and the patient treated safely. So sometimes you need a calm head and just go in small doses while managing the airway and respiratory manually.