If you are worried that someone is getting too high, it is important that you don’t leave them alone. If the person is still conscious, walk them around, keep them awake, and monitor their breathing.
The following are signs of an overdose:
Loss of consciousness
Unresponsive to outside stimulus
Awake, but unable to talk
Breathing is very slow and shallow, erratic, or has stopped
For lighter skinned people, the skin tone turns bluish purple, for darker skinned people, it turns grayish or ashen.
Choking sounds, or a snoring like gurgling noise
Body is very limp
Face is very pale or clammy
Fingernails and lips turn blue or purplish black
Pulse (heartbeat) is slow, erratic, or not there at all
If someone is making unfamiliar sounds while “sleeping” it is worth trying to wake him or her up. Many loved ones of users think a person was snoring, when in fact the person was overdosing. These situations are a missed opportunity to intervene and save a life.
It is rare for someone to die immediately from an overdose. When people survive, it’s because someone was there to respond.
If you think that someone has overdosed call 999 immediately.
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