Details

Naloxone blocks or reverses the effects of opioid medication, including extreme drowsiness, slowed breathing, or loss of consciousness. An opioid is sometimes called a narcotic. Naloxone is used to treat a narcotic overdose in an emergency situation. This medicine should not be used in place of emergency medical care for an overdose. Naloxone is also used to help diagnose whether a person has used an overdose of an opioid. To make sure naloxone is safe for you, tell your doctor if you have heart disease.

Typical Uses

Naloxone is used for the emergency treatment of known or suspected narcotic (opiate) overdose. Serious overdose symptoms may include unusual sleepiness, unusual difficulty waking up, or breathing problems (ranging from slow/shallow breathing to no breathing). Other symptoms of overdose may include very small "pinpoint" pupils, slow heartbeat, or low blood pressure. If someone has serious overdose symptoms but you are not sure if he or she has overdosed, give this medication right away anyway, since lasting slow/shallow breathing may cause permanent damage to the brain or death. The effects of naloxone will not last as long as the effects of the narcotic. Since treatment with this medication is not long-lasting, be sure to get medical help right away after giving the first dose of naloxone. Treatment of narcotic overdose should also include breathing treatment (such as oxygen given through tubes in the nose, mechanical ventilation, artificial respiration).

Side Effects

Because naloxone reverses opioid effects, this medicine may cause sudden withdrawal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, stomach pain fever, sweating, body aches, weakness tremors or shivering, fast heart rate, pounding heartbeats, increased blood pressure feeling nervous, restless, or irritable goosebumps, shivering runny nose, yawning or (in babies younger than 4 weeks old) seizures, crying, stiffness, overactive reflexes.

Drug Interactions

• Naloxone+oxycodone- The following interaction applies only if you are taking naloxone in an injectable formulation: Using oxycodone together with naloxone can reverse the effects of oxycodone. If you are a physically dependent patient you may experience withdrawal symptoms. This can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, aches, fever, runny nose, sneezing, nervousness, irritability, shivering, and abdominal cramps.
• Naloxone+alfentanil- The following interaction applies only if you are taking naloxone in an injectable formulation: Using alfentanil together with naloxone can reverse the effects of alfentanil. If you are a physically dependent patient you may experience withdrawal symptoms. This can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, aches, fever, runny nose, sneezing, nervousness, irritability, shivering, and abdominal cramps.
• Naloxone+butorphanol- The following interaction applies only if you are taking naloxone in an injectable formulation: Using butorphanol together with naloxone can reverse the effects of butorphanol. If you are a physically dependent patient you may experience withdrawal symptoms. This can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, aches, fever, runny nose, sneezing, nervousness, irritability, shivering, and abdominal cramps.
• Naloxone+levorphanol- The following interaction applies only if you are taking naloxone in an injectable formulation: Using levorphanol together with naloxone can reverse the effects of levorphanol. If you are a physically dependent patient you may experience withdrawal symptoms. This can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, aches, fever, runny nose, sneezing, nervousness, irritability, shivering, and abdominal cramps.

Mechanism of action

Naloxone belongs to a class of drugs known as narcotic (opiate) antagonists. It works by blocking the effects of the narcotic in the brain. This medication may not work as well to block the effects of certain types of narcotics (mixed agonist/antagonists such as buprenorphine, pentazocine). With these types of narcotics, blocking may be incomplete or you may need a higher dose of naloxone.

Pregnancy Category : C