Lafayette fentanyl overdose deaths have nearly tripled since 2019; heath leaders sound alarm

Fentanyl overdoses, both non-fatal and fatal, are on the rise in Lafayette Parish, a trend concerning community and health leaders.

Louisiana Department of Health Region 4 Medical Director Dr. Tina Stefanski said the Lafayette Parish Coroner's Office raised the alarm bells in the spring of 2021 about a sharp increase in fatal drug overdoses, a similar trend seen across the country.

And personnel at hospitals, emergency departments and law enforcement also told LDH they're seeing an increase in overdoses.

Illicitly manufactured fentanyl can be fatal even in small doses and is often laced in other drugs, including fake prescription pills, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Fentanyl is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine.

"We've seen an increase in young and middle-aged adults dying from overdoses," Stefanski said. "These deaths and overdoses in general or driven by illicitly manufactured fentanyl."

"A big concern is that you have people who might use drugs occasionally or young adults and these kids who are experimenting and ordering pills online not realizing that these pills contain fentanyl, which is much more potent and much more likely to lead to overdose," she added.

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In 2019, there were 55 people who reportedly died from drug overdoses in Lafayette Parish, according to data from the coroner's office. Of those deaths, seven were caused by fentanyl overdoses. In 2020, there were 83 people who reportedly died from drug overdoses, six of which were caused by fentanyl.

Both of those numbers spiked in 2021 and have continued to rise in 2022. There were 136 people who reportedly died from drug overdoses in 2021, 16 of which were caused by fentanyl.

Data through October 2022 shows that 124 reportedly died from drug overdoses, 18 of which were caused by fentanyl, fentanyl and THC, or fentanyl and alcohol.

Preventing fentanyl overdoses

Stefanski and Louisiana Department of Health Opioid Prevention Outreach Coordinator Stacy Green-Conrad said raising awareness about fentanyl and its dangers is one of the ways to prevent overdoses. It's one of the reasons LDH is launching a public service announcement about fentanyl in Acadiana.

Both Stefanski and Green-Conrad said guardians should talk to their children about the dangers of fentanyl, even if they think their children already know about it.

"In today's society, I think that everybody is just so busy with after-school activities. I don't think it's something on the forefront of people's minds. And it's those conversations that we all had as children growing up around the dining room table that we may need to have in the car or on our way to the grocery store or on our way to soccer practice," Green-Conrad said.

"A lot of these kids have no idea and it's a hard conversation to have," she said, "but it's definitely a priority conversation."

Resources: Information from the DEA for parents and caregivers

Even adults who don't think the children in their lives are using drugs should still have those difficult conversations, Stefanski said.

"I would encourage them to talk to our coroner. Because he has seen and he has been to homes of parents who wish they would have talked to their kids," she said. "Nobody is immune. This could happen to anybody. It can happen to anybody's kid regardless of how wonderful we all want to think our children are."

Stefanski recommended adults also talk to their children about having a way to say no that they're comfortable with and watch the DEA's "Hiden in Plain Site" informational video on where children may be hiding drugs.

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Conrad also warned that people who have substance use disorder and are just getting out of rehabilitation or are released from incarceration are at a high risk of overdosing because they may try to use a drug at the same level as before but their tolerance has lowered.

Louisiana has a standing prescription for Narcan, meaning anyone can walk into a pharmacy and request the opioid-overdose reversal nasal spray. It's covered by Medicaid, often covered by insurance and there are coupons on sites like GoodRx, Stefanski said.

An overdose will happen quickly after someone ingests the drug. Signs include constricted "pinpoint pupils," losing consciousness, a limp body, choking or gurgling sounds, clammy skin, or slow, weak or no breathing.

Narcan works immediately and is safe to administer even if someone is not having an overdose. After someone receives Narcan, they should be taken to a hospital because they can still experience an overdose when the Narcan wears off, Green-Conrad said.

"The more people who know what going on - education - and the availability of Narcan, we feel, is the key to preventing more overdose deaths," she said.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Fentanyl overdoses in Lafayette Parish: How to recognize, prevent ODs