HOW NALOXONE WORKS

Heroin, like OxyContin and other opiates, binds to opiate receptors in the
brain, stopping the receptors' other functions. In an overdose, too many
receptors shut down, and the brain can no longer tell the lungs to breathe.
Victims of the most severe overdoses turn blue around the lips and
fingernails from lack of oxygen flowing to the brain.

Naloxone, an anti-overdose drug also known by the brand name Narcan,
blocks heroin and other opiates from reaching the brain's receptors,
restoring a person's breathing function almost immediately. But an opiate
overdose may cause other emergency medical conditions, such as cardiac
arrest, that naloxone does not address.