ALLENTOWN, Pa. (WLVT) - Fighting an epidemic -- one dose at a time.
"As long as we have individuals whose lives are at risk on a consistent basis, we need to be proactive," said Vicky Kistler, Allentown's health director.
Pennsylvania is tackling opioid abuse head on by giving out an overdose antidote called naloxone. Last week, the Wolf administration kicked off "Get Help Now Week."
"We have the three pillars to the opioid crisis," said state secretary of health Dr. Rachel Levine. "We have prevention that we've been discussing. We have rescue with the medication naloxone, and, of course, expansion of treatment."
Across the state, 95 health centers handed out naloxone on September 18 and 25. In Allentown, more than 150 took advantage of the giveaway, including students at Muhlenberg College.
"There's a lot of stigma surrounding people who are addicted to opioids, and given this solution, it helps de-stigmatize it a little bit, because you can save lives," said senior Julia Termine, who's a member of the club Peer Health Advocates at Muhlenberg (PHAM). The club went to a seminar a few weeks ago to learn about Narcan, a name-brand nasal spray of naloxone.
"One of the things that we were focusing on this year was looking at ways to kind of combat the opioid crisis and ways to kind of just educate ourselves so that we can be equipped to deal with things in the community," said fellow PHAM member Miranda Salters.
"We have people for years who have learned CPR because they want to be able to protect others," Kistler said. "This is the same."
To use Narcan, hold a thumb on the bottom of the plunger and place two fingers on the nozzle. The spray goes up one nostril, pressing the plunger to release the dose.
"You always call 911 when you're going to administer Narcan," Kistler warned. "If the Narcan works, the individual goes into an immediate withdrawal, so you also want 911 there to help support that individual."
Kistler said naloxone can cost anywhere between $40 and $90 for a two-dose box, depending on the source. Local pharmacies sell it, and no prescription is needed.
"It's not an inexpensive medication to carry, and that's why when the state makes it available, we do the best we can to get it into the hands of people who could use it," Kistler said.
"It's really important to be active bystanders and to be able to do something like this, because in any public place, or anything, anyone could have overdosed on opioids," Termine said. "So, it's really cool that we would be able to help them out and just to know how to do that."
"There isn't one single profile of a person who could be at risk for an opioid overdose, and therefore, it's not something that you simply take to the high school football game," Kistler said. "It's something that when you have Narcan, you take it with you, because you never know when you're going to encounter somebody who could get into trouble."
if you have questions about using naloxone and how to get it, click HERE for answers from the Pennsylvania Department of Health.