Call 911 first if your loved one won’t wake up, is breathing slowly or not at all, has blue or gray lips, or is having a seizure. If opioids could be involved, give naloxone right away and stay with them. For suicidal talk, call or text 988. Then fill in this plan.
Fill this plan in on a calm day and put it on the fridge. Unsure it’s an emergency? Take the 30-second emergency check.
What do I do right now?
- Call 911 on speaker.
- Opioids or any street pill possible? Give naloxone right away. Don’t wait for the ambulance.1
- Support their breathing. Give rescue breaths if you’re trained, or follow the dispatcher’s directions.13
- No normal breathing after 2–3 minutes? Give another dose with a new device.211
- Lay them on their side so they don’t choke.1
- Stay until help arrives, even if they wake up. Naloxone wears off quickly, and they can stop breathing again.3
Still very sleepy after naloxone? Some illegal fentanyl now contains medetomidine, a sedative naloxone can’t reverse. Focus on their breathing, not on waking them up.4
- Passed out from drinking: this can kill. Can’t wake them, or slow breathing? Call 911, roll them onto their side, and don’t leave them alone.5
- Seizure: call 911, especially if it’s their first seizure, it lasts over 5 minutes, or they have trouble breathing or waking after. Turn them on their side, clear the space around them, put nothing in their mouth, and time it.6
- Suicidal talk: stay with them and call or text 988 together.7 Lock up guns and pills.9 Immediate danger? Call 911.
- Swallowed unknown pills, awake and breathing normally: call Poison Control, 1-800-222-1222, for advice.4 Any overdose sign? Call 911.
Practice now: how to give naloxone, step by step.
Suddenly stopping alcohol or benzodiazepines after regular use can cause seizures, so talk with a doctor before your loved one quits.1213
What do I tell 911 during an overdose?
Lead with the danger and the address, then follow the dispatcher.
What to say to the dispatcher
“Please hurry, something’s wrong with my son.”
“My son isn’t breathing and won’t wake up. He may have taken fentanyl. I gave naloxone at 10:42. We’re at 14 Oak Street, apartment 2.”
What goes in a family emergency plan?
Anything you’d have to look up in a panic. Fill it in together, show everyone the naloxone, and update it after a hospital stay.
Our family emergency plan
- Where we are
- Naloxone
- About our loved one
- Our people
- Numbers
What do we do after the emergency?
Reconnect your loved one with care the next day and plan for a possible return to use. More printables are in our family tools section.
Frequently asked questions
Is naloxone safe if I'm wrong about opioids?
Will calling 911 for an overdose get us arrested?
Most states have Good Samaritan laws that may protect the person overdosing, or the person who called for help, from legal trouble.2 What they cover varies by state. Call anyway.
Who do we call when it isn't an emergency?
The SAMHSA National Helpline, 1-800-662-4357, gives free, confidential treatment referrals 24/7.10
Sources
- CDC — Fact Sheet: Family and Caregivers, How and When to Use Naloxone for an Opioid Overdose (April 2024). cdc.gov/overdose-prevention/media/pdfs/2024/04/Naloxone-Fact-Sheet_Fam… — accessed Oct 2026
- CDC — 5 Things to Know About Naloxone (May 2, 2024). cdc.gov/overdose-prevention/reversing-overdose/about-naloxone.html — accessed Oct 2026
- FDA — Access to Naloxone Can Save a Life During an Opioid Overdose (Consumer Update, content current as of June 2026). fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/access-naloxone-can-save-life-durin… — accessed Oct 2026
- CDC Health Alert Network — Medetomidine in the U.S. Illegal Fentanyl Supply Increasing Risk for Overdose and Severe Withdrawal Syndrome, HAN-00527 (April 2, 2026). cdc.gov/han/php/notices/han00527.html — accessed Oct 2026
- NIAAA — Understanding the Dangers of Alcohol Overdose. niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/understanding-dan… — accessed Oct 2026
- CDC — First Aid for Seizures (May 2024). cdc.gov/epilepsy/first-aid-for-seizures/index.html — accessed Oct 2026
- SAMHSA — 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. samhsa.gov/mental-health/988 — accessed Oct 2026
- CDC — Suicide Prevention Resources. cdc.gov/suicide/resources/index.html — accessed Oct 2026
- CDC — Preventing Suicide (May 2026). cdc.gov/suicide/prevention/index.html — accessed Oct 2026
- SAMHSA — National Helpline. samhsa.gov/find-help/helplines/national-helpline — accessed Oct 2026
- FDA — Summary Review, NDA 208969, naloxone hydrochloride nasal spray (2023). fda.gov/media/167747/download — accessed Oct 2026
- American Society of Addiction Medicine — The ASAM Clinical Practice Guideline on Alcohol Withdrawal Management (2020). asam.org/docs/default-source/quality-science/the_asam_clinical_practic… — accessed Oct 2026
- FDA — FDA requiring Boxed Warning updated to improve safe use of benzodiazepine drug class, Drug Safety Communication (September 23, 2020). fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-requiring-boxed-warning… — accessed Oct 2026