SHEBOYGAN, WI (WHBL) - Narcan has become more public thanks to news stories of how it helps revive a person from a heroin overdose. WHBL News reached out to one local EMS to find out what they think about the drug.
Nick Noster, a paramedic with the Sheboygan Fire Department, says there has been no change to how the drug Narcan has been used since he has been a paramedic the past ten years. "If we find someone that is confused, disoriented, unresponsive, and we don’t know what’s going on, we may use it on that person as an effort to – maybe they have taken too much of a medication, but it might not be a specific heroin problem."
That can cause some problems when a count is needed to find out what official reason Narcan was used for. Noster did not have those numbers on him when he talked, but says he's confident the department’s use of Narcan has gone up in recent years, most likely due to heroin.
"I would say that overall heroin use has probably increased a little bit over the last couple of years, especially the exposure that I have to it," says Noster.
Noster says the department does try to find out why a person needed Narcan when they administer it, and that can take time due to the investigation. He also added that Narcan use can vary from time to time. Sometimes it is not used at all for a period of time, while other times it is administered often in a certain time period - especially when a bad batch of heroin is purchased by users in the area.