International Overdose Awareness Day is a worldwide campaign held each Aug. 31 that acknowledges the grief of family and friends left behind from those who have died from a drug overdose. This year's campaign theme "Together we can" highlights the power of the community standing together to help end overdose.
However, a new survey of 1,000 Americans from The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine found more than three in four Americans say they would not be able to step in to treat an overdose. "A recent Ohio State survey found that 77% of people are concerned that they wouldn't be able to respond if they saw someone having an overdose. And while, I'm not surprised about this result, I am deeply concerned because we know that the more of us who are prepared to save a life, the more lives we can save," said Trent Hall, DO, an addiction medicine physician in Ohio State's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health.
Drug overdose is the leading cause of accidental death in the United States, with an estimated 293 people dying from overdose daily, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Two FDA-approved medications are now available for anyone to use to help treat an overdose caused by opioids, such as fentanyl. Both naloxone and nalmefene, which are sold under the brand names Narcan and Opvee , are nasal sprays that are simple to use to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose .
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