UMass Dartmouth is vigorously fighting back against the area’s opioid problem.

Seven Hills Behavioral Health teamed up with UMass to offer students Narcan training. Seven Hills representatives Maria Alves, Natasha Vieira and Giovanna Borges educated attendees on how to handle an opioid overdose and how to administer Narcan during an emergency.

Heroin addiction is now so commonplace on the South Coast that Narcan, a medication that blocks the effects of opioids and reverses an overdose, is regularly carried by emergency responders and police.

Though Narcan is available in injectable form, an aerosol version is more widely used both by civilians and emergency responders.

When an individual overdoses on opioids, which are depressants, the brain sends signals to the body to stop breathing. Narcan displaces the drugs and attaches to the brain receptors, staving off the effects of the overdose. The opioids remain in the body, however.

Without emergency responder intervention, the effects of Narcan can wear off from 30 to 90 minutes after being administered. Once the drug wears off, the opioids will reattach to the brain’s receptors and re-induce the overdose. This is why contacting 911 after someone overdoses is essential.

Alves recommended that, in the event someone should encounter another person who is overdosing, he or she should call 911, administer rescue breathing at a rate of two short breaths and one long breath every five seconds, and then administer Narcan until emergency responders arrive. Should the person stop breathing, perform CPR.

“You never want to wait if a friend or loved one overdoses because they can get permanent damage,” Vieira said.

Signs of an overdose include slowed or halted breathing, decreased heart rate, blue skin, unresponsiveness or foaming at the mouth – sometimes referred to as “dead man’s snoring” or a “death rattle.” Borges warned that the “death rattle” can often be mistaken as a sign of breathing.

Risk for overdosing increases when users mix substances because Narcan only targets opioids. Additionally, tolerance for substances can decrease within three days of discontinuing use. People who detox are particularly vulnerable to overdosing because of the rapid decrease in tolerance.

The team from Seven Hills warned against “street methods” of reviving someone who has overdosed. These methods can include cold showers, slapping, burning or “coke shots,” doses of cocaine or “uppers” that people often believe will reverse the effects of “downers.”

“They are not going to get up [from a coke shot,]” Vieira said.

Some of these methods can even shock the system and cause more distress to the victim.

“You don’t want to add insult to injury,” Borges said.

Beth-Ann Guthrie, UMass’ Assistant Director of Health Education & Promotion, reminded attendees of UMass’ Medical Amnesty Policy in which neither the user or the witness will face disciplinary action for calling for help in the event of a drug-related incident.

“When we established this policy, we wanted to remove any barrier that existed in any student’s mind about not calling emergency response for help,” Guthrie said.

The Narcan training events is just one of several events addressing the heroin problem on the South Coast. On Jan. 29, UMass student Colin Gear, 20, died of a suspected heroin overdose. Just two days after his apparent overdose, another student suffered an overdose but survived after a friend called 911. UMass held a “Corsairs Care” event to shed light on opioid addiction.

The next Narcan Opioid Overdose Prevention Training seminar will be held on Wednesday, March 23 from noon to 1:30 p.m.