New Hampshire 6-year-old boy revived with Narcan after possible opioid overdose

As the opioid epidemic continues across the U.S., a 6-year-old boy had to be revived with Narcan after found unconscious from an alleged opioid overdose

Photo Narcan pen seen on sidewalk outside apartment screen capture from YouTube/WMUR-TV

In what is considered to be the first time the narcotic antidote had been used on a child in the state of New Hampshire, a six-year-old was revived with Narcan at 6 a.m. on Tuesday morning, after suffering a possible overdose.

Child overdoses on opioids in a Manchester apartment

Police responded to a Manchester apartment on Tuesday morning to find a six-year-old boy, lying unresponsive from a possible overdose of some kind of opioid drug. According to Manchester Police, the boy came around as soon as Narcan was administered.

Now detectives are investigating the incident as a possible overdose as Narcan will only revive someone exposed to an opioid. Lt. Brian O’Keefe told WBZ that it was “gut-wrenching,” saying it was particularly tough on their officers, who regularly respond to overdose calls, but not calls involving young children. 

One of the paramedics who responded to the scene said he had never seen the anti-overdose drug used on a child in his more than two decades on the job.

In his more than two decades on the job, a New Hampshire paramedic had never seen Narcan used on a child until yesterday pic.twitter.com/HfWTV0IY9x

— David Robichaud (@RobiWBZ) July 19, 2017

So far no arrests have been made and the child was still in hospital on Thursday and in a stable condition. However the child will be placed in the care of another relative, other than those he was with when he suffered the overdose. Police have not released the type of opioid drug the six-year-old boy was exposed to, or which family members he was with at the time of the overdose. However, O’Keefe said when a young child is involved it could be something as simple as touching something in the home, like a kitchen table, sink or a doorknob. He said if there are trace amounts of an opiate derivative such as fentanyl or carfentanyl, the results could have been far worse.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, opioids are easily absorbed even with simple skin contact and the drug takes effect very quickly. They say just 2 or 3 milligrams of fentanyl could be fatal. However, when it comes to a child, it would take only 1 to 1.5 milligrams to have a fatal effect.

New Hampshire becomes a focal point in the U.S. opioid epidemic

According to AMR communications director Kim Warth, New Hampshire has become a focal point for the opioid epidemic in America. According to CNN, there have been 176 youths from 10 to 19 years of age involved in opioid-related visits to the emergency room, while five children under the age of ten have also been hospitalized.

Children should never be exposed to opioids

Neighbors in the area are shocked and concerned over the child’s overdose incident, with Al Pellerin saying you cannot let a six-year-old be exposed to something like this and almost die from the experience.

American Airlines flight evacuated due to man passing gas? Maybe not

An American Airlines flight had landed at Raleigh-Durham International Airport when passengers were evacuated due to nausea and headaches.

According to an airport official at Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina, an American Airlines flight had to be evacuated after a man passed gas so violently it caused people to suffer headaches and nausea. However, the airline does acknowledge there was a bad odor, but says it wasn’t a passenger’s gas.

Rumors spread worldwide of American Airlines 'gassy' evacuation

These days there are many horror stories in the media about various airlines, including American Airlines. News of the latest incident soon went viral worldwide due to its almost humorous (and very human) “gassy” nature. It reportedly happened on July 16 at around 4 p.m. when the passenger on the plane allegedly “passed gas” so violently the smell was overpowering, causing fellow passengers to become ill. The RDU official reportedly said the smell was so bad, fellow passengers became nauseous and developed headaches, leading to them being rushed off the plane. While the American Airlines flight in question was not identified, it was landing at Raleigh-Durham airport to avoid being diverted.

American Airlines: A foul odor causing fliers to experience headaches and nausea wasn't "passed gas." https://t.co/HCOYI0rnhN

— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) July 17, 2017

Officials at the airport later said in a statement that there had been a “medical issue” on the American Airlines flight after passengers suffered eye irritations and headaches, and that a passenger had been treated by Wake County Emergency Medical Services. The International Business Times reported that a lack of more information left many questions unanswered, as it is unsure whether the passenger boarded the plane in an unwell condition or became “gassy” during the flight.

Meanwhile, and as noted by the Charlotte Observer, American Airlines issued a statement to say one of their planes at the Raleigh-Durham airport was taken out of service over a bad odor, but the spokesperson said it was definitely not due to “passed gas.”  Their statement said an American Airlines plane traveling from Charlotte to the Raleigh-Durham airport had landed at 2:19 p.m. and was out of service over a mechanical issue, along with a bad odor in the cabin. The statement went on to stress that this odor was not caused by “passed gas” as had been widely reported in the media. 

CBS North Carolina later learned that it was crew members who complained about the odor and that this was after the passengers had left the plane. However this, along with the airline’s statement, went contrary to the earlier alleged statement by the airport official, so we’ll probably never know for sure.