Fentanyl is Very Deadly… Here’s Why

Fentanyl has become a primary cause of the opioid overdose epidemic in the past decade. But what is it about this drug that's so dangerous? There's more to the story than meets the eye.

If you’re ever in the position where you think someone may have overdosed, but aren’t sure, the CDC says to look for things like pinpoint pupils, slow, weak, or absent breathing, and the person going limp and unconscious.

If you think an overdose really is happening, call 911 – most states have what are called Good Samaritan laws, which protect people from getting in legal trouble when calling authorities for help. Try to keep them awake and breathing and lay them on their left side to help prevent choking. If you have it, administer naloxone as soon as an overdose is suspected - there are Narcan training courses out there, and some even give you free Narcan to be used in an emergency. Stay with the person until emergency services arrive.

To learn more about overdose and drug addiction:
https://www.cdc.gov/stopoverdose/fentanyl/index.html.
https://nida.nih.gov/publications/drugfacts/naloxone
https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline
https://www.overdoselifeline.org/opioid-training-and-courses/layperson-naloxone-administration/

Hosted by: Reid Reimers (he/him)
----------
Support SciShow by becoming a patron on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/scishow
----------
Huge thanks go to the following Patreon supporters for helping us keep SciShow free for everyone forever: Matt Curls, Alisa Sherbow, Dr. Melvin Sanicas, Harrison Mills, Adam Brainard, Chris Peters, charles george, Piya Shedden, Alex Hackman, Christopher R, Boucher, Jeffrey Mckishen, Ash, Silas Emrys, Eric Jensen, Kevin Bealer, Jason A Saslow, Tom Mosner, Tomás Lagos González, Jacob, Christoph Schwanke, Sam Lutfi, Bryan Cloer
----------

Sources:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41398-019-0625-0#Sec3
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867422012600[v]
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5657806/
https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/bulletin/bulletin_1953-01-01_2_page004.html
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2622774/
https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev-med-062613-093100
https://elifesciences.org/articles/52694
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2022134118
https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_chem_info/fentanyl.pdf
https://www.medscape.org/viewarticle/518441_2
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22747535/
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Morphine
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Fentanyl
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-21262-9#Abs1
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-21262-9
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867422012600
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jcim.0c00890
https://harmreductionjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12954-019-0311-9
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673610623537
https://harmreductionjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1477-7517-1-9
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0749379721002750?casa_token=xCGA5SxAOI8AAAAA:wlx2Q0gX4A3MEoovqR8OhnJm_HT0rRsnH-LAph9XAVyp6ceLjQJ66xRu4adpOpAvkxM8SWOfAg
https://www.cdc.gov/stopoverdose/naloxone/index.html
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00213-022-06125-5
https://ww2.uthscsa.edu/artt/addictionjc/2020-01-28-hill.pdf
https://nida.nih.gov/publications/naloxone-opioid-overdose-life-saving-science
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31158402/

Image Sources:
https://tinyurl.com/4nzf7fax
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fentanyl-xtal-3D-balls.png
https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/deaths/fentanyl-encounters/index.html
https://tinyurl.com/ye29kbx5
https://tinyurl.com/4xb97myj
https://tinyurl.com/4dtm6pmp
https://tinyurl.com/yrenpkpc
https://tinyurl.com/yxkskxh8
https://tinyurl.com/4tbjfecb
https://tinyurl.com/26bua33k
https://tinyurl.com/mrx3mvt8
https://tinyurl.com/bdh66v9p
https://tinyurl.com/ynztb62n
https://tinyurl.com/bdcpjb3w
https://tinyurl.com/2sjm956w
https://tinyurl.com/ydzhpdjc
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fentanyl._2_mg._A_lethal_dose_in_most_people.jpg
https://tinyurl.com/rdz3md8j
https://tinyurl.com/scj8eww3
https://tinyurl.com/28u2ejea
https://tinyurl.com/nzvnntf7
https://www.statista.com/chart/18744/the-number-of-drug-overdose-deaths-in-the-us/
https://tinyurl.com/3wud55xt
https://tinyurl.com/npwxbd2s
https://tinyurl.com/3mur4t84
https://www.cdc.gov/stopoverdose/fentanyl/fentanyl-test-strips.html
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SCMR_Argos_Strasbourg_novembre_2016-4.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Controversial_Safe_Injection_Site.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Harm_Reduction_Drug_Testing_Table.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Naxolone_kit.jpg
https://tinyurl.com/bdexm7wm
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-01990-0
https://tinyurl.com/4msuudf4