Overdose response — what to do right now

Read this first

Call 112 and stay with them.

Tell the dispatcher that the person may be overdosing and is not breathing normally. Stay with them, put the call on speaker, and follow the dispatcher’s instructions. Threshold does not provide legal advice.

Call 112 Tap here, put it on speaker, and keep reading

Checking reviewed regional guidance…

Say exactly this

"Someone is not breathing. I think it's an overdose. I need an ambulance." Then give the address. Do not hang up.

What to do, in order

  1. Check if they respond

    Shout their name. Rub your knuckles hard on their breastbone. If they don't wake up, keep going.

  2. Give naloxone

    Tilt the head back. Put the nozzle in one nostril until your fingers touch the nose. Press the plunger all the way. That's the whole dose — one nostril, one press.

    If nothing changes in 2–3 minutes, give a second dose in the other nostril. You cannot hurt someone by giving naloxone when they don't need it.

  3. Breathe for them

    Tilt the head back, pinch the nose, and give one breath every five seconds. Follow the circle below.

    Ready

    One breath every five seconds. Watch their chest rise.

  4. Put them on their side

    Once they're breathing on their own, roll them onto their side with the top knee forward and the head tilted back. This stops them choking if they vomit.

    A person lying on their side. The head is tilted back and resting on the lower arm, the upper arm is bent in front of the chest, and the top knee is drawn forward across the body to stop them rolling onto their front.

  5. Stay until help arrives

    Naloxone wears off before the opioid does. They can stop breathing again. Do not leave, and do not let them sleep it off alone.

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