Overdosing is a term primarily used when a person or patient has ingested or injected a lethal dose of a substance and is causing distress in the respiratory and cardiac systems. Overdosing is very serious and requires immediate, proactive reactions to save a life. It's important to know that not all overdoses have the same required reactions, and some actions taken on an opioid overdose can be harmful and damaging to another type of overdose. The signs of an overdose can be slowing breaths, lowering heart rate, pinpointed pupils, and/or decreased levels of consciousness.

Narcan is the branded name for Naxolone. Naxolone is an opioid antagonist - in simple terms, it binds to the same receptors that opioids bind to. This prevents further bindings of the opioid, and allows your body to filter out the bindings left in the bloodstream. The administration of Naxolone can be intravenous, intraosseous, or through inhalation.  If you are not in a hospital and in the medical field, you will likely never see intravenous or intraosseous injections - and it is not recommended that those without IV or IO experience conduct these methods of delivery, unless absolutely and utterly necessary. Narcan is a Naxolone Nasal Spray that is normally as effective as an IV or IO, however the results are not as quick (IV/IO within a minute, respiratory within minutes).