76 / WOMEN’S HEALTH
With a little shockingly simple know-how, you can
step into a serious sitch and thwart a problem. Con-
sider yourself someone else’s very own superhero.You, to the
Rescue
By Amy Wilkinson
Imagine you’re out walking with a friend at a local
park and someone nearby collapses, turns blue, and
can’t seem to breathe. What would you do? Sadly, al-
though that situation seems straight out of a movie,
it’s not that far-fetched: An estimated 130 Ameri-
c a n s d ie f rom a n opioid-relate d overdose ever y d ay,
per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The misuse of opioids—the class of addictive drugs
that includes heroin, fentanyl, and oxycodone—has
become such a problem that the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services declared it a nation-
wide public health emergency. People are now more
l i kely to d ie f rom a n overdose t ha n i n a c a r cr a sh.
Te r r i f y i ng , we k now.
Yet more t r ag ic i s t hat m a ny of t he se de at h s c ou ld
have been prevented if a friend or bystander had
be en c a r r y i ng Na rc a n (na loxone) —t he d r ug
that can reverse an overdose, says Pamela Mautte,
a Narcan trainer and director of the Alliance for
P revent ion a nd Wel l ne s s i n A n son ia, C on ne c t ic ut.
But administering this drug is just one way you
can help save a life (more on Narcan in a minute).
The four interventions that follow are realistic ways
you can step in—sans a medical degree—in a variety
of situations to feel like a total health all-star. Your
spouse’s, friend’s, colleague’s, or pet’s life just may
depend on it. Superpowers, unlocked!Wa
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