DAWSON CREEK —
Northern Health is recommending residents carry naloxone kits to prevent more overdose deaths.
This comes on International Overdose Awareness Day.
The day aims to reflect on, honour and prevent drug overdose deaths.
In a recent report by the BC Coroner’s Service, 1,455 people died from toxic drugs since the start of the year.
The report alsop said 3 people in northeast BC died from overdoses over the last month alone.
The Peace Region has also experienced an increase in drug users and open drug use over the past few years.
Medical Health Officer for Northern Health Rakel Kling said to prevent more deaths residents can carry a naloxone kit.
Naloxone is used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
Kling said, “These are widely available from Northern Health sites and they’re available for free.”
She said using the naloxone kit is similar to using an epi-pen where, “it’s in a glass vial where you just break the top open. There’ll be syringes inside the kit as well. You just drop the naloxone that’s inside the vial and just inject into a leg or somewhere kind of fleshy”
It’s still recommended to call 911 if you witness an overdose.
The Fort St. John Women’s Resource Society also held a vigil today honouring the victims of the overdose crisis.
