Do you know what to do if your child has overdosed on fentanyl? That knowledge could mean someone's life or death, say local health officials.
About eight people gathered at The Collective last week for a free talk on fentanyl awareness organized by PFLAG St. Albert – a parents' group dedicated to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer issues.
PFLAG organizers Terry and Natalie Soetaert said they organized the talk to keep parents abreast of the latest health risks kids may face.
"God forbid the kids get involved (with this drug), we need to find out what we can do," Terry said.
Speaking were St. Albert RCMP Const. Cody Autet and registered nurse Shawna Rambadhan.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid used to treat chronic pain, Autet said. It's up to 100 times more powerful than morphine, and is highly addictive. It's often sold illegally as fake oxycodone or other drugs.
Fentanyl rose to prominence in Alberta last year after 274 people died from it, he continued – a huge spike from the 29 who died in 2012. Like other opiates, the drug stops a person from breathing when taken in excess.
While it's not the most common drug used by youth in St. Albert (that would be alcohol, followed by marijuana), Cpl. Laurel Kading said in an interview that fentanyl's addictive and potentially lethal nature has made it a focus of police attention.
"One of (the drug unit's) biggest fears is that people aren't taking it seriously."
Fentanyl has caught on with drug dealers as it's relatively cheap compared to other substances, Autet said. An odourless white powder in its raw form, it's usually sold and taken as a pill (often green).
"A pound of fentanyl can make up to two million pills," he said, and you only need the equivalent of two grains of salt to trigger a high.
The pills seized thus far by the RCMP usually contain about five milligrams of the drug, Autet said. That's about twice the lethal dose. Police have also noticed dealers adding fentanyl to other drugs such as marijuana to make them more addictive.
Users rapidly build tolerance to the drug, and often start taking many pills at once to counter that, Autet continued. Almost all the overdoses police encounter happen to people who get off the drug but relapse – they lose their tolerance, don't realize it, and assume they still need nine or so pills to get a high.
Symptoms and treatment
The St. Albert drug unit guesses that less than 500 people in St. Albert are addicted to fentanyl, Kading said.
Rambadhan said she encounters fentanyl-using patients daily at the Royal Alexandra Hospital.
"Fentanyl is typically the drug of choice for pain," she said, but because these patients are already tolerant of the drug, they end up needing three to four times the normal dose during treatment.
Youths who are using this drug may show many common symptoms of drug use, Autet said: weight loss, dilated pupils, depression, insomnia, spending a lot of money, etc.
Parents who suspect their children are using need to be helpful and supportive of them, Autet and Rambadhan said. The goal is to get the youth treatment, not to stigmatize them.
"You have to find out why they're using instead of just focusing on the fact that they're using," Rambadhan said.
Parents should also learn to recognize the signs of an overdose, which can include slow breathing, cold skin, vomiting, seizures and unconsciousness.
If you suspect an overdose, Rambadhan said to confirm it by doing a sternal rub, which is when you rub the patient's sternum hard with your fist. This hurts a lot, so the patient should react immediately.
If they don't respond, call or get someone to call 911.
"They have to get to an emergency department," Autet said, and they don't have a lot of time.
First-aid techniques such as rescue breathing (CPR without chest compressions) and using a naloxone kit can buy the patient more time.
Naloxone is a drug that temporarily suppresses the effects of opiates such as fentanyl, Rambadhan said. It's available free from most drugstores and the pharmacists will train you in its use.
Naloxone kits (which are about the size of a glasses case) contain syringes and two doses of the drug. You suck a whole dose into the syringe and inject it into the middle of the patient's thigh.
Anyone who uses fentanyl or knows someone who does should carry one of these kits, Rambadhan and Autet said.
"You could potentially save someone's life," Rambadhan said.
Visit www.albertahealthservices.ca/info/page12491.aspx for more on fentanyl safety.
