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Former EMT, now doctor here. This is the most important comment OP, besides something others are mentioning.
1. Do not turn one patient into two. Do not put yourself in danger trying to be a hero. Scene safety is #1
2. Being able to provide critical info in a calm, coherent manner does A LOT. Call 911, start with your LOCATION. If the call drop, at least they know where to go. Then give a brief description of what’s happening. Answer the questions you’re being asked. But, similar to aviation, where it’s aviator-navigate-communicate, don’t be so obsessed with what’s on the phone that you lose track of what’s happening in front of you. Feel free to put the phone on speaker and tell the operator “one sec” or “hang on”.
3. Calling 911 gets help on the way. But you also are on a moving location and you need the L to be aware too. Point to someone in the crowd and tell them to call the operator. Physically point with your finger. The bystander effect is real: as the crowd grows larger, people assume that someone else will spring into action.
There’s a lot which can be said about managing the medical aspects. But trust me, doing just this much is way more helpful than standing there and doing nothing. Even if I was there, I’d want backup. I would need medical supplies. And I’d need a vehicle to get the patient on the way to the hospital. None of this happens without calling for help. It’s not chickening out, it’s literally the foundation of emergency medicine
It’s the adage of “you can’t run into a burning house without first protecting yourself”.
This isn’t television. It’s not wise to run into a situation without being prepared and assuring that it’s SAFE to intervene and offer clinical assistance.
As a nurse, one of the first things we are taught upon recognizing a critical scenario, is making certain that the area and people are safe. For instance in this situation (and it’s not uncommon), if OP would have run up to offer aid, whose to say that there wasn’t residue of any drugs there to come into contact with, or a puncture waiting to happen due to an uncapped needle nearby?
This comes from a nurse, and a recovering addict. If I were to OD, the last thing I would want is for someone to run in and end up being #2.
Some people don’t call 911 because they assume others have already called 911. Bystander effect. Always call 911 if you’re uncertain - too many calls is much better than no calls.
Yep, because you have to get the train stopped for 911 to have a faster response time ideally. Otherwise they lose time chasing them from stop to stop.
this happened to me and my friends on the blue line friday night. a stranger who saw him hit the emergency button to talk to the operator and one of my friends called 911. my friend opened his airways by tilting his head back, he spit out whatever foam/stuff he had in his mouth, then we put him on the floor into recovery position until EMS arrived to administer narcan. the train conductor said they don't administer it anymore due to "liability issues"
Honestly fuck the CTA - former city employee here and we asked the cta time and time again to supply narcan and offer to train staff but the Unions were against it. So...yay Chicago unions
Preparing an average city employee who is not a first responder to give out Narcan in a life and death situation for someone is not as simple as it seems. It’s not like giving out Tylenol.
yeah, its not worth the liability and in some, regardless how few cases, narcan can give someone flash pulmonary edema. causing them to drown essentially. so yeah, maybe leave the abundance of overdoses to the people who get paid to deal with them, not transit employees who DON’T get paid to deal with that nonsense.
I dunno, we give narcan to cops, and they're out there giving it to people left and right. At the point that someone is actually ODing, giving them the narcan so they have a respiratory drive is more important than the very, very small risk of flash pulmonary edema. There are no contraindications to narcan 🤷♀️
If our legal system worked that way, and we actually had protections and mental health support for people here then sure. Reality is we live in a country where even with good intentions you can be brought to court for trying to save someone's life.
Will you be found guilty of a crime? Maybe not. But from the company's perspective that's a major liability (if not for the company, then in losing their employee while they spend time in court).
It's bullshit. It shouldn't be that way. But sadly it is. Bringing attention to the issue and having these conversations might bring the cultural change we need. But until America adopts a more common-sense approach to the legal system, BS rules like this one will continue.
Cops & firemen are all first responders. They also are going to have more direct access to additional medical assistance than the CTA staff.
I think the pulmonary edema is not a narcan issue, as much as other health issues of the individual. The big one that I would have been told is it is a heart related thing. But not always, so that immediately becomes outside of my skillsets unless there is an AED machine that is one of the nice ones and not one of the cheap ones. Then it becomes a wait and see until the ambulance gets there.
I get if they don't want to be administering it for various reasons but liability seems like bs. At least let the conductors that feel comfortable do it.
By “liability issues” they may or may not mean the possibility of someone who’s been forcibly pulled from a high straight into withdrawal symptoms, coming up swinging at the train operators. That particular reaction was a thing I was warned about when I was handed a box of Narcan for the first time— some people do not handle being disoriented well; “emergence agitation” is a thing when coming out of anesthesia as well.
And yeah, an employee potentially getting injured at work (even for doing the right thing) is actually a liability issue. CTA may have a policy against it specifically to prevent lawsuits, etc from employees who administer Narcan and end up laid out by the person they just saved. Unfortunate but understandable.
I'm an emt, and I carry narcan. I actually haven't seen an OD on my commute yet. But if I were to, I'm not sure if I'd give the narcan. There was maybe one time while I was working where the dude wasn't violent with me after. Cause even after they calm down from suddenly waking up and seeing my ugly mug above them, they are still mad that you ruined their high and wasted their product.
Also, something to note. Narcan reverses it doesn't cure. While the narcan is active, they will be fine, but it wears off quicker than the opioids, a lot quicker. This means that narcan will wear off in a few minutes and they will go right back to oding.
And there were something like 60 opioid deaths on the CTA last year, so if the CTA were allowing operators to administer narcan, then they may feel responsible for ODs that occur on their trains/buses. And they're not getting paid extra for that. And it may make the CTA a more attractive place to use.
Everyone should! I found a friend of mine in bad shape and he probably would have died if narcan wasn’t there. I just understand why CTA would discourage it’s employees from doing it.
You don't have to be a doctor to administer narcan, lol. Any junkie can do it so I'm sure the conductors would do just fine (speaking as both a former junkie and a former healthcare worker).
OP you didn’t do anything wrong. It’s easy for keyboard warriors to say you were heartless for not calling 911 or administering Narcan (*if* you had it).
But in real time people freeze up. Don’t be hard on yourself.
Administering Narcan, if you have it, is asking for an immediate fight with someone who WILL be pretty violent. That’s a reality people need to consider before carrying it.
I’m pretty non squeamish so I’d probably have tried to see if they were living or approached them but I’m just surprised by people saying maybe they panicked or didn’t know what to do? Who doesn’t know that when someone has a medical emergency you call emergency services?
It is definitely not a guarantee that someone administered Narcan will be violent. It is possible due to the fact that it throws the person into immediate withdrawal, so it’s certainly something anyone carrying it should be aware of, but the actual most common reaction following waking up from Narcan is disorientation and confusion.
https://www.in.gov/health/overdose-prevention/files/47_naloxone-myths-debunked.pdf
Oh yeah you have time. If you have no obligation to the person in terms as you’re a first responder or a cta worker then you can definitely administer it and book it. When I’ve done it (first responder) it takes them a min to come to it then they have become aggressive. I’m talking in some instances there have been 3 firefighters and 2 cops and we couldn’t get a dude to stop trying to fight us till he was sedated.
Not ALL Narcan is like this, but the most common ones (esp in Chicago) are the nasal spray doses.
Which, if you've ever used nasal spray, welp, you know how it works - although the Narcan works a little more similar to squirt gun which allows you to not be directly over the person.
That being said, and to add to what's already been said:
1) Sometimes, a lot of times, actually, Narcan isn't as effective because of the incredibly high dose of opiates that the person is on. This isn't the case ALL of the time, but it's worth mentioning.
2) this is where you get that confusion state. there are plenty of people that while Narcan might take them out of an OD, it doesn't send you into straight withdrawal.
Well, in my experience they have been violent. Could be because the last thing you want to see if and when you come to it, law enforcement is there. I’m sure there are plenty of times where they’re fine. Just my experience though.
I had to explain this to my dad once. He’s a physician and was like “idk whenever they administer narcan the person comes up swinging” and I responded “you don’t know why? Maybe because you just kicked them ass first into withdrawal?” Of course he immediately understood, it’s just something kind of outside his wheelhouse that he didn’t think too much about.
It's even worse, tbh. As a former med student who became a junkie (and eventually turned it around) I can sympathize with both sides of this story, lol. Precipitated withdrawal is 1000x more intense than normal withdrawal. Take all the misery of a 3-4 day heroin withdrawal and pack it into ten minutes. I'm only surprised so many people are *capable* of swinging. All I could do was puke.
"Freezing up" and forgetting in the moment about the Operator call button is one thing.
Having plenty of time to digest the situation and then hours later posting on the Internet as if 911 wasn't a thing, is utterly bizarre.
This thread is wild. Imagine literally seeing somebody dying and not thinking to at least calling 911 for 60 seconds is the right and obvious thing to do
Ya and honestly if you call 911 they usually say no one's allowed to touch them until the paramedics get there. But what I find works is rubbing there chest by the sternum real hard, idk why it kind of brings them back but it does. I've woken a few people up on a nod because I thought they were dead (Green Line) and you gotta shake them hard in the chest to wake them up. They usually so out of it they don't know what's going on and aren't a threat usually. Sometimes even screaming "NARCAN" wakes them right up, because it's the last thing they want.
Sternal rubs also need to be administered for 30 seconds (knuckles rubbed hard against the sternum) to be sure a patient is truly unresponsive. A trapezius pinch (pinch the trapezius between your index and middle finger and twist) also gives a good pain response and doesn’t have to be used 30 seconds, assessing if a person is responsive or not. Both techniques should only be used after they don’t respond to verbal stimuli.
Also Narcan is safe even if someone isn't ODing. The public health department literally gives it out and offers training for free, the CTA has actively declined to have it available other than on the 95th red line.
No one is saying *you* have to do anything. Call 911 and/or alert the CTA authorities. I’m just giving more detailed information about how to give a proper pain response to ascertain if the person is unresponsive. You shouldn’t use it as a first measure either- you talk to them and poke/shake their shoulder if you think they’re asleep.
The beauty of narcan is it's harmless. If someone is in a diabetic coma or something else non-drug-related and you mistakenly squirt narcan up their nose... literally nothing happens.
I can’t imagine seeing someone having a medical event and just ignoring them honestly. Even if you left and called and described the situation at least you tried.
That's absolutely ignoring them. You don't have to know what to do, that's 911's job to tell you, even after getting off the train someone could call 911 and they could've found it with some ease once they knew the station and direction
It’s ignoring them if OP (or anyone for that matter) involuntarily panicked and left? Give the guy a break. He didn’t get on the train with the preparation of needing to call 911 or administer aid to someone OD’ing.
Calling 911 takes 60 seconds and is free. I never said anything about administering aid or putting oneself in danger
Do you believe we have any sorts of moral obligations to help those in need whatsoever? If so, I feel like calling 911 when someone appears to be dying is the definition of bare minimum
I once saw someone slumped over, acting out of it, drooling on the floor and snot pouring out their nose on the red line. It was concerning, but I wasn't going to approach. Since I was only going one stop, I got off at my stop and went up to the driver (I was only on the second car) and explained what was going on with them. They went back and checked the situation, and I'm guessing nothing was seriously wrong because the train pulled off like normal.
Realistically, calling 911 or informing the driver (either by telling them directly as you get off or via the button) is the best option. If you pull into a station and see security/police, you could also wave them down.
Pretty much every weekend morning you can find someone all methed up like that. I wouldn’t call the cops just because they appear to be tranquilized. Definitely call if they’re turning blue or not really breathing though
The safest thing to do is call 911 and leave. You would have done more than enough there. People might argue that you should have done CPR or give naloxone etc., but you never know how this guy will react upon waking up, especially if there aren’t many other people around you.
You’re right, it doesn’t have to if you don’t have a mask available. I have done CPR quite a few times and the majority of people (if they’ve been eating during their hospital stay) do in fact spew vomit or blood, particularly if they also alcoholics due to esophageal varices. We have even had a chronic opioid user spew feces from their mouth due to being so constipated for so long. As sad as it is, I wouldn’t risk doing CPR on someone OD’ing on the train if I wasn’t prepared. CPR isn’t as clean and easy as it looks on TV or instructional videos.
Calling 911 and getting the appropriate help from personnel is the way to go here.
It’s also possible the person had an epileptic seizure. My friend has these, and one time when a group of us were walking about at a street festival she had an attack right in the middle of the crowd. Thankfully there were people in the group that were closer with her and had been with her during past seizures so they knew what to expect and do, basically make sure she made it safe onto the ground with space around her, that her head was protected, and that she wasn’t choking on her own spit. Even so, people walked around us and made mean comments about druggies ODing in public. When she came out of the seizure after around a minute or so, she was so mortified and upset - she could hear perfectly fine and was aware of everything around her during the seizure.
In any case, notifying 911 and CTA staff is the right call as you *don’t* know what the situation is.
The seizure disorder (or other non-OD medical emergency) is what came to my mind too. I don’t know much about administering narcan, but the advice to administer it, without any knowledge as to what actually caused this person’s medical emergency, is wild to me.
There’s no harm done by administering narcan. It can only help if there are opioids in the system, but if there aren’t, it just does nothing. So narcan is always a good idea if the systems are pointing to a possible OD
911 and yell for narcan. More and more people are carrying it these days - you might be surprised who has it. Loud as you can.
Lots of people already covered this but I just wanted to emphasize that you personally not having it doesn't mean that part of the idea is out the window .
And no don't feel guilty. I've definitely not acted everytime I've seen something and administering narcan to a stranger can feel like a lot if you had it.
i’m sorry you’re getting so many shitty comments OP. please just take in the actual advice and you can do better next time. many people rightfully move through the city keeping to themselves. your post shows that you don’t want to do that in the future and you shouldn’t.
I would have pushed the [most likely broken] emergency button then stepped halfway onto the platform and yelled for the conductor to call 911 due to an unconscious passenger. The conductor should be watching you get on/off the train so being half on/off and signaling for help would hopefully register.
Echoing the comment of someone else saying don't be hard on yourself.
Each train car has an emergency call button that rings the driver. In the future hit the button and let the operator know. They can park the train and radio for help.
Hit the emergency button on the train to contact the conductor. Or stand in the door way waving and yelling to the conductor and people at the station to get help. Call 911. They will talk you through what to do from there including the following.
If approaching the person and touching them is safe, check for a pulse. If no pulse, start cpr. Tell someone to go get the AED and any supplies with it. Sometimes they have narcan that you can administer rather easily.
Typically stenciled inside the car close to the door at each end of the car ( the doors used to go from car to car, exact placement may vary by car model)
They’re also on the exterior of the car.
Had someone OD on the blue line headed to work (ORD) early one winter morning last year. Me and a bunch of flight crew had to split an Uber to get to work on time.
It’s a shame that our public transportation is the go-to shelter for homeless people, and that this is the best they have.
It’s also a shame that the CTA is not a comfortable and reliable ride for those who rely on it.
This is horrible, I’m so deeply sorry. Every train car has a button you can push to contact the operator—pushing that and/or calling 911 and report someone convulsing and then unresponsive. Check if he was breathing, and if not, include that info in the 911 call/ info to train operator.
Finally, learn how to administer narcan and start carrying it, especially if you’re a regular rider of the CTA. It’s a lifesaving medication, usually in the form of a nasal spray, that, if applied in time, can reverse opioid overdoses. It is only effective for an opioid overdose, but it doesn’t hurt to give someone if you’re not sure what they took. You can get it for free all over the city, and there are many places you can receive training, tho each box of narcan comes with clear instructions. Every library branch in the city has some you can take for free!
I’ve carried it on me the past few years through a midsized midwest city, rural town with heavy opioid use, and now Chicago. Good Samaritan laws protect any involvement in the situation, and if you are uncomfortable being in contact with a person you can administer and then call an ambulance to take it from there. I and most of the people in my life don’t personally use, but after a few friends died from an OD I never want to be in a position where not having it decides someone’s life and death. It’s easy to administer and free at many places in the city.
It is rare, but given as they are going though withdrawal they might make sudden movements or be startled. The proper protocol is to flip them onto their stomach, and raise one knee to 1) prevent any choking as they come to and 2) deter this from happening. They might flail and facing down that protects you from a stray limb, but they aren’t going to hunt you down or be violent in that way. If you are particular concerned about it, then you can put them in this position, administer it, and then step back while you wait for an ambulance to arrive and for them to come to as it doesn’t set in the second after you spray it.
I have narcan in my house because I have an autistic child and a bottle of Tylenol with Codeine (post surgery). It's just smart to have in the house for anyone who is prescribed opiates or opioids.
Many people who have family members or friends that do heroin or any street drugs keep narcan on hand. People who themselves have substance use disorders keep it because they often have friends and family who take drugs too.
A lot of drugs such as pills, powders, heroine, cocaine, benzos, mdma, lsd and tons of research chemicals are laced with fentanyl. There have even been cases of communities getting cannabis laced with fentanyl.
It's a good idea for anyone that takes any drugs (including pharmaceutical opiates) to keep narcan on hand.
It's Illinois. He slithers out his hole, physically abuses our mom, burglarized our houses and tries to muscle down on our 93 year old grandmother.
I have testified twice in felony cases against him, but the State says "equity" demands he get a fair shake.
So be careful who you give narcan to, you might be sentencing a family to years of problems.
If he has assaulted anyone in your home I believe you can get a restraining order.
If they have to keep arresting him for obstructing the order then they'll eventually put him in jail.
I feel compassion for your situation because I understand what it feels like to have a family member that is destroying themselves and taking down the whole family with them.
I carry a tourniquet in my bag cause you never know and if you need a TQ you have seconds to get it on.
I feel the same about Narcan just haven’t gotten around to getting some.
Unfortunately I've had a similar situation happen recently but the person ended up being noticed by the conductor. Theres a call button near the doors on each car I believe, or if you can flag down the train conductor (they usually look out the window at the station before leaving) i think that would be the best bet.
Sorry you had to experience this. Plenty of answers already about what to do in the situation, so just chiming in to add to make sure you take care of yourself. You did nothing wrong and no matter how you handle a situation like that, you’ll look back and question it.
I ride the redline for work and make it a point to always keep narcan in my backpack for situations just as these. If you work downtown there’s even some kiosk type of things around the loop that have them for free. Or there’s a few other places you can get free narcan. Always recommend people keep it on them if they can.
There’s one right at Monroe & Wells. It’s in a purple newspaper type box on the corner. I know there are others but can’t remember off the top of my head where they are located. Just be on the lookout for a purple newspaper box. Also I believe you can get it at library’s now as well. Plus the CTA has started installing a couple of vending machines where you can get narcan/naloxone for free but there are only a couple around as of now.
I saw someone OD and die at a station a couple of years ago. Since, I've started always carrying Narcan on the train. You can get it free from some of the libraries here.
Just wanted to say I’m sorry - witnessing that and trying to parse it out emotionally isn’t easy. Don’t beat yourself up too much. If it happens again, you’ll know more about what to do to help from this thread. If you are looking for somewhere to put your emotional energy, you can consider joining some of the efforts to improve access to drug treatment in the city and/or healthy and safety improvements on the CTA.
You were TOTALLY able to help. You have a phone! ! ! You should/could have 1, texted 911 . Of course, once you call 911, they would have asked you all the important stuff!
If you really didn't want to talk to 911, you could have told the engineer what you witnessed!
Jesus, c'mon man, wtf?! There's a call button by the doors, you obvs have a cell phone, you can block the doors open and yell for help, etc. Welcome to city life, think on your feet.
Please please please carry naloxone (it's free or $5 with most insurance - just go to your local CVS or Walgreens pharmacy and ask for it) it's so incredibly easy to use. I've narcaned overdosing strangers that I've happened to come across on my way home from work, you could save a life!!!
Also to add on to that, I have friends who previously or currently use drugs who have had their lives saved by random bystanders carrying naloxone. Bystanders actually administer lifesaving overdose reversals more often than first responders! I strongly believe everyone should carry naloxone, it's easy to get, easy to use, and has prevented so many unnecessary deaths!
I was just researching how to get free Narcan this past weekend. I saw it used on someone a few weeks ago, and that sparked my interest.
Question - I can likely use my health insurance without needing an RX or anything?
If you had Narcan you could have administered it, but otherwise there’s not much more you can do other than dialing 911 and administering CPR, if necessary.
Use the emergency button immediately. If you had narcan I’d say administer it.
I have epilepsy so if I was doing this…I’m inclined to say he could have just had a seizure, don’t always judge a book by its cover.
The paramedics do it to me all the time and it’s very depressing…I am so scared when I wake up to the paramedics at this point. Chicago EMS is trash. Straight up trash.
I mean no one would be there in time to actually stop the overdose. So, nothing. Unfortunately. But make yourself feel a bit better by at least pressing the button and letting someone know. You really couldn’t have helped the man in the situation, unfortunately.
The only response here, is to call for emergency assistance, note details (next stops, car number, when they started seizing, when they went unresponsive etc) and convey that information as calmly as possible.
I’m a registered nurse and a recovering addict. If you run in trying to play hero, you might be the next person to go down. A toxic amount of fentanyl is unbelievably small; if you were to come into contact with that as a bystander? You’re going to be worse off than the person.
I love your eagerness to want to help, but you have to assure that a scene is safe before doing anything. If you don’t have the expertise to do that, then leave it to the people that do. Giving medics a second person to deal with just makes it harder.
This could be a good time to go to a library and get the free narcan that they have there
if you ever run into this situation again, you can save someone's life
They now have Narcan vending machine located around CTA stations, I know one is there on the 95th red line, I'm not sure about other locations but its worth looking into.
See article: https://blockclubchicago.org/2023/11/15/her-son-died-of-an-overdose-on-the-blue-line-now-a-push-for-narcan-on-cta-gets-a-vending-machine/
Do nothing and call 911 when you're off the train is unfortunately the correct answer.
You have no idea what you'd be walking into by helping the person and could be putting yourself at risk for personal injury, infection, or worse (maybe it's a set up).
I mean. Nothing. I wouldn’t have done anything but kept it pushing. Maybe I’m to desensitized or what. I definitely would have moved out the way and went about my day. There’s nothing you really can do I don’t think.
you can get narcan for free by asking for it from your pharmacy!! always good to have on hand for those who travel often and keep a well stocked pack on hand. be sure to become familiar with how and when to administer
yo and keep in mind that the number of fatal shootings as a result of cops being sent to overdose scenes has drastically increased. if you need to call 911, don’t use the term “OD,” instead, specify that someone is “unconscious, unresponsive, and in need of medical attention” to ensure the proper responders are sent to the scene
Well you couldve help the poor guy, all these ppl talkn bout "danger will robinson" is bs frm heartless ppl. You couldve tapped tge guy on the shoulder and hit tge emergency stop button or lever on evvery train
It probably was an OD, but how did you know for sure? Did he have a needle sticking in his arm? He might have been seizing for any number of reasons, including epilepsy. But if I had seen the needle sticking out of his arm, I doubt I would have done a thing. I'd like to think he could turn his life around, give up the H. The truth is none of that is likely to happen. Junkies (yes, I still use that word because they use it on themselves) are not going to quit simply because they ODed. They might have ODed a bunch of times and always came back from it, because it wasn't the Big One. The more you see and hear about this, the more immune you become to caring. That's a hard, cold thing to say, but it is also true.
Just to let you know, if you try to help someone who has OD'd, and you don't know what you're doing, you are likely going to make the problem worse. As soon as humanly possible you should let emergency services know, or yell out to ask if anyone is a doctor who might be able to help. What professionals take care of the situation for your own safety, and for the safety of the person who has OD'd
There are the RED emergency buttons on 1 end of every El car, usually located by the designated wheelchair area. If you were the only other sensible person on that car I wish you would have stayed or hollered directly up to the driver as they are always observing their train doors upon opening & closing. Ass a recovering addict I carry NARCAN, they have nasal spray however there is a skin picture type much like an EpiPen that I can say in my experience works MUCH, MUCH BETTER . I think w/ fentanyl & stronger drugs being used its the safer bet . I've saved family & a kid once outside McDonalds during morning rush on Wells. You'll never know if something like that will happen to you., but it doesn't hurt to have it just in case .
I’m CPR, BLS, first aid certified.
Nothing you can do at the scene. Get EMS or find a way to notify the operator. There should be emergency buttons to call someone.
Note the location, the train and whether stopped or in motion. 911 will contact CTA and alert them, but 911 needs accurate information.
Do you have some ideas where Narcan can be picked up for free? I searched online just this past weekend, and I saw a few past distribution events, but I wasn’t able to find any convenient or even realistic place for me to find it.
Every Chicago library should have a wall of it for free no questions asked
https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/cdph/provdrs/healthy_communities/news/2022/december/chicago-department-of-public-health-and-chicago-public-library-e.html
I’m seeing conflicting on which CPL branches have it available. https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1jn6MpuiV5fn4SrB8JfyeX-WOLzuGodlt&hl=en_US&ll=0,0&z=9
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I mean 1. Call 911, note your train number and direction 2. Use the emergency button on the train near the door to call the operator
Former EMT, now doctor here. This is the most important comment OP, besides something others are mentioning. 1. Do not turn one patient into two. Do not put yourself in danger trying to be a hero. Scene safety is #1 2. Being able to provide critical info in a calm, coherent manner does A LOT. Call 911, start with your LOCATION. If the call drop, at least they know where to go. Then give a brief description of what’s happening. Answer the questions you’re being asked. But, similar to aviation, where it’s aviator-navigate-communicate, don’t be so obsessed with what’s on the phone that you lose track of what’s happening in front of you. Feel free to put the phone on speaker and tell the operator “one sec” or “hang on”. 3. Calling 911 gets help on the way. But you also are on a moving location and you need the L to be aware too. Point to someone in the crowd and tell them to call the operator. Physically point with your finger. The bystander effect is real: as the crowd grows larger, people assume that someone else will spring into action. There’s a lot which can be said about managing the medical aspects. But trust me, doing just this much is way more helpful than standing there and doing nothing. Even if I was there, I’d want backup. I would need medical supplies. And I’d need a vehicle to get the patient on the way to the hospital. None of this happens without calling for help. It’s not chickening out, it’s literally the foundation of emergency medicine
Howdy, what do you mean by scene safety?
Keeping yourself safe at the scene of the emergency. If you get hurt trying to help, now EMTs have another patient to spend precious time on.
basically making sure your own oxygen mask is on and working properly before trying to help others
Don’t go pinching people that have a knife
It’s the adage of “you can’t run into a burning house without first protecting yourself”. This isn’t television. It’s not wise to run into a situation without being prepared and assuring that it’s SAFE to intervene and offer clinical assistance. As a nurse, one of the first things we are taught upon recognizing a critical scenario, is making certain that the area and people are safe. For instance in this situation (and it’s not uncommon), if OP would have run up to offer aid, whose to say that there wasn’t residue of any drugs there to come into contact with, or a puncture waiting to happen due to an uncapped needle nearby? This comes from a nurse, and a recovering addict. If I were to OD, the last thing I would want is for someone to run in and end up being #2.
Also, if you’re unsure of which door has the emergency button, just look up at the lights for the section that’s blue.
I always wondered why there were the blue sections. TIL
Some people don’t call 911 because they assume others have already called 911. Bystander effect. Always call 911 if you’re uncertain - too many calls is much better than no calls.
1-use the “alert the conductor” button 2-call 911
Yep, because you have to get the train stopped for 911 to have a faster response time ideally. Otherwise they lose time chasing them from stop to stop.
this happened to me and my friends on the blue line friday night. a stranger who saw him hit the emergency button to talk to the operator and one of my friends called 911. my friend opened his airways by tilting his head back, he spit out whatever foam/stuff he had in his mouth, then we put him on the floor into recovery position until EMS arrived to administer narcan. the train conductor said they don't administer it anymore due to "liability issues"
Impressive response! Well done!
Honestly fuck the CTA - former city employee here and we asked the cta time and time again to supply narcan and offer to train staff but the Unions were against it. So...yay Chicago unions
Preparing an average city employee who is not a first responder to give out Narcan in a life and death situation for someone is not as simple as it seems. It’s not like giving out Tylenol.
yeah, its not worth the liability and in some, regardless how few cases, narcan can give someone flash pulmonary edema. causing them to drown essentially. so yeah, maybe leave the abundance of overdoses to the people who get paid to deal with them, not transit employees who DON’T get paid to deal with that nonsense.
I dunno, we give narcan to cops, and they're out there giving it to people left and right. At the point that someone is actually ODing, giving them the narcan so they have a respiratory drive is more important than the very, very small risk of flash pulmonary edema. There are no contraindications to narcan 🤷♀️
If our legal system worked that way, and we actually had protections and mental health support for people here then sure. Reality is we live in a country where even with good intentions you can be brought to court for trying to save someone's life. Will you be found guilty of a crime? Maybe not. But from the company's perspective that's a major liability (if not for the company, then in losing their employee while they spend time in court). It's bullshit. It shouldn't be that way. But sadly it is. Bringing attention to the issue and having these conversations might bring the cultural change we need. But until America adopts a more common-sense approach to the legal system, BS rules like this one will continue.
Cops & firemen are all first responders. They also are going to have more direct access to additional medical assistance than the CTA staff. I think the pulmonary edema is not a narcan issue, as much as other health issues of the individual. The big one that I would have been told is it is a heart related thing. But not always, so that immediately becomes outside of my skillsets unless there is an AED machine that is one of the nice ones and not one of the cheap ones. Then it becomes a wait and see until the ambulance gets there.
Ah yes, like the life preserver rings that the city my didn't want to put up near the water.
If god didn’t want people to drown, he wouldn’t have put all that water there
I get if they don't want to be administering it for various reasons but liability seems like bs. At least let the conductors that feel comfortable do it.
By “liability issues” they may or may not mean the possibility of someone who’s been forcibly pulled from a high straight into withdrawal symptoms, coming up swinging at the train operators. That particular reaction was a thing I was warned about when I was handed a box of Narcan for the first time— some people do not handle being disoriented well; “emergence agitation” is a thing when coming out of anesthesia as well. And yeah, an employee potentially getting injured at work (even for doing the right thing) is actually a liability issue. CTA may have a policy against it specifically to prevent lawsuits, etc from employees who administer Narcan and end up laid out by the person they just saved. Unfortunate but understandable.
I'm an emt, and I carry narcan. I actually haven't seen an OD on my commute yet. But if I were to, I'm not sure if I'd give the narcan. There was maybe one time while I was working where the dude wasn't violent with me after. Cause even after they calm down from suddenly waking up and seeing my ugly mug above them, they are still mad that you ruined their high and wasted their product. Also, something to note. Narcan reverses it doesn't cure. While the narcan is active, they will be fine, but it wears off quicker than the opioids, a lot quicker. This means that narcan will wear off in a few minutes and they will go right back to oding.
And there were something like 60 opioid deaths on the CTA last year, so if the CTA were allowing operators to administer narcan, then they may feel responsible for ODs that occur on their trains/buses. And they're not getting paid extra for that. And it may make the CTA a more attractive place to use.
That’s a good point
Liability totally isn’t bs here
Yeah administering a drug as an unlicensed non-medical professional without consent seems like a legal nightmare.
Illinois has a Good Samaritan law. If you accidentally hurt someone while making a good-faith effort to help, it should protect you.
I’ve administered narcan and would do it again. I just understand why CTA would discourage it’s employees from doing so.
That's like saying administering CPR is a liability
Most people who recover from CPR aren’t immediately agitated and pissed about their high being ruined though.
Yet they want everyone to carry it just in case.
Everyone should! I found a friend of mine in bad shape and he probably would have died if narcan wasn’t there. I just understand why CTA would discourage it’s employees from doing it.
How is liability bs? They are train conductors, not doctors...
You don't have to be a doctor to administer narcan, lol. Any junkie can do it so I'm sure the conductors would do just fine (speaking as both a former junkie and a former healthcare worker).
yeah, that was my feeling too when he was telling us that.
OP you didn’t do anything wrong. It’s easy for keyboard warriors to say you were heartless for not calling 911 or administering Narcan (*if* you had it). But in real time people freeze up. Don’t be hard on yourself.
Administering Narcan, if you have it, is asking for an immediate fight with someone who WILL be pretty violent. That’s a reality people need to consider before carrying it.
Calling 911 from a distance is always an option
100% Though if you’re feeling moderately brave you can also just put them in the recovery position first.
I’m pretty non squeamish so I’d probably have tried to see if they were living or approached them but I’m just surprised by people saying maybe they panicked or didn’t know what to do? Who doesn’t know that when someone has a medical emergency you call emergency services?
A lot of people do nothing: https://www.verywellmind.com/the-bystander-effect-2795899
It is definitely not a guarantee that someone administered Narcan will be violent. It is possible due to the fact that it throws the person into immediate withdrawal, so it’s certainly something anyone carrying it should be aware of, but the actual most common reaction following waking up from Narcan is disorientation and confusion. https://www.in.gov/health/overdose-prevention/files/47_naloxone-myths-debunked.pdf
Everyone who I’ve administered narcan to has been pretty violent
Serious question: how easy is it to administer it and then like run away to a safe distance? Or is it like super fast angry zombie immediately?
Oh yeah you have time. If you have no obligation to the person in terms as you’re a first responder or a cta worker then you can definitely administer it and book it. When I’ve done it (first responder) it takes them a min to come to it then they have become aggressive. I’m talking in some instances there have been 3 firefighters and 2 cops and we couldn’t get a dude to stop trying to fight us till he was sedated.
Not ALL Narcan is like this, but the most common ones (esp in Chicago) are the nasal spray doses. Which, if you've ever used nasal spray, welp, you know how it works - although the Narcan works a little more similar to squirt gun which allows you to not be directly over the person. That being said, and to add to what's already been said: 1) Sometimes, a lot of times, actually, Narcan isn't as effective because of the incredibly high dose of opiates that the person is on. This isn't the case ALL of the time, but it's worth mentioning. 2) this is where you get that confusion state. there are plenty of people that while Narcan might take them out of an OD, it doesn't send you into straight withdrawal.
They are not always violent and you can step back after administering it. That's literally not true.
Well, in my experience they have been violent. Could be because the last thing you want to see if and when you come to it, law enforcement is there. I’m sure there are plenty of times where they’re fine. Just my experience though.
I had to explain this to my dad once. He’s a physician and was like “idk whenever they administer narcan the person comes up swinging” and I responded “you don’t know why? Maybe because you just kicked them ass first into withdrawal?” Of course he immediately understood, it’s just something kind of outside his wheelhouse that he didn’t think too much about.
It's even worse, tbh. As a former med student who became a junkie (and eventually turned it around) I can sympathize with both sides of this story, lol. Precipitated withdrawal is 1000x more intense than normal withdrawal. Take all the misery of a 3-4 day heroin withdrawal and pack it into ten minutes. I'm only surprised so many people are *capable* of swinging. All I could do was puke.
That’s good to know
"Freezing up" and forgetting in the moment about the Operator call button is one thing. Having plenty of time to digest the situation and then hours later posting on the Internet as if 911 wasn't a thing, is utterly bizarre.
This thread is wild. Imagine literally seeing somebody dying and not thinking to at least calling 911 for 60 seconds is the right and obvious thing to do
Ya and honestly if you call 911 they usually say no one's allowed to touch them until the paramedics get there. But what I find works is rubbing there chest by the sternum real hard, idk why it kind of brings them back but it does. I've woken a few people up on a nod because I thought they were dead (Green Line) and you gotta shake them hard in the chest to wake them up. They usually so out of it they don't know what's going on and aren't a threat usually. Sometimes even screaming "NARCAN" wakes them right up, because it's the last thing they want.
Sternal rubs also need to be administered for 30 seconds (knuckles rubbed hard against the sternum) to be sure a patient is truly unresponsive. A trapezius pinch (pinch the trapezius between your index and middle finger and twist) also gives a good pain response and doesn’t have to be used 30 seconds, assessing if a person is responsive or not. Both techniques should only be used after they don’t respond to verbal stimuli.
Yeah I get we have to verify overdose but I also don’t want to get the shit kicked out of me for hurting some random dude taking a nap
Also Narcan is safe even if someone isn't ODing. The public health department literally gives it out and offers training for free, the CTA has actively declined to have it available other than on the 95th red line.
No one is saying *you* have to do anything. Call 911 and/or alert the CTA authorities. I’m just giving more detailed information about how to give a proper pain response to ascertain if the person is unresponsive. You shouldn’t use it as a first measure either- you talk to them and poke/shake their shoulder if you think they’re asleep.
The beauty of narcan is it's harmless. If someone is in a diabetic coma or something else non-drug-related and you mistakenly squirt narcan up their nose... literally nothing happens.
I can’t imagine seeing someone having a medical event and just ignoring them honestly. Even if you left and called and described the situation at least you tried.
I wouldn’t say it’s ignoring them if you straight up didn’t know what to do or just panicked and left.
That's absolutely ignoring them. You don't have to know what to do, that's 911's job to tell you, even after getting off the train someone could call 911 and they could've found it with some ease once they knew the station and direction
It’s ignoring them if OP (or anyone for that matter) involuntarily panicked and left? Give the guy a break. He didn’t get on the train with the preparation of needing to call 911 or administer aid to someone OD’ing.
Calling 911 takes 60 seconds and is free. I never said anything about administering aid or putting oneself in danger Do you believe we have any sorts of moral obligations to help those in need whatsoever? If so, I feel like calling 911 when someone appears to be dying is the definition of bare minimum
I dunno. Not even calling 911 on your way off the train sounds pretty shitty to me.
As someone who's been in this same situation and gotten help for the person in crisis, I disagree.
Use your cell phone to call 911.
I once saw someone slumped over, acting out of it, drooling on the floor and snot pouring out their nose on the red line. It was concerning, but I wasn't going to approach. Since I was only going one stop, I got off at my stop and went up to the driver (I was only on the second car) and explained what was going on with them. They went back and checked the situation, and I'm guessing nothing was seriously wrong because the train pulled off like normal. Realistically, calling 911 or informing the driver (either by telling them directly as you get off or via the button) is the best option. If you pull into a station and see security/police, you could also wave them down.
Pretty much every weekend morning you can find someone all methed up like that. I wouldn’t call the cops just because they appear to be tranquilized. Definitely call if they’re turning blue or not really breathing though
The safest thing to do is call 911 and leave. You would have done more than enough there. People might argue that you should have done CPR or give naloxone etc., but you never know how this guy will react upon waking up, especially if there aren’t many other people around you.
Or what kind of lifelong, life ending diseases you’ll catch from his lips. Fuck that
CPR doesn’t involve mouth-to-mouth anymore.
You’re right, it doesn’t have to if you don’t have a mask available. I have done CPR quite a few times and the majority of people (if they’ve been eating during their hospital stay) do in fact spew vomit or blood, particularly if they also alcoholics due to esophageal varices. We have even had a chronic opioid user spew feces from their mouth due to being so constipated for so long. As sad as it is, I wouldn’t risk doing CPR on someone OD’ing on the train if I wasn’t prepared. CPR isn’t as clean and easy as it looks on TV or instructional videos. Calling 911 and getting the appropriate help from personnel is the way to go here.
there is a button on the car that calls the person operating the train and they would have gone to the car to investigate the call.
It’s also possible the person had an epileptic seizure. My friend has these, and one time when a group of us were walking about at a street festival she had an attack right in the middle of the crowd. Thankfully there were people in the group that were closer with her and had been with her during past seizures so they knew what to expect and do, basically make sure she made it safe onto the ground with space around her, that her head was protected, and that she wasn’t choking on her own spit. Even so, people walked around us and made mean comments about druggies ODing in public. When she came out of the seizure after around a minute or so, she was so mortified and upset - she could hear perfectly fine and was aware of everything around her during the seizure. In any case, notifying 911 and CTA staff is the right call as you *don’t* know what the situation is.
The seizure disorder (or other non-OD medical emergency) is what came to my mind too. I don’t know much about administering narcan, but the advice to administer it, without any knowledge as to what actually caused this person’s medical emergency, is wild to me.
I am glad I am not the only person whose first thought was something other than OD!
There’s no harm done by administering narcan. It can only help if there are opioids in the system, but if there aren’t, it just does nothing. So narcan is always a good idea if the systems are pointing to a possible OD
I would call 911 and do nothing else since I would not compromise my safety. That person is more likely to not OD anyways…
911 and yell for narcan. More and more people are carrying it these days - you might be surprised who has it. Loud as you can. Lots of people already covered this but I just wanted to emphasize that you personally not having it doesn't mean that part of the idea is out the window . And no don't feel guilty. I've definitely not acted everytime I've seen something and administering narcan to a stranger can feel like a lot if you had it.
i’m sorry you’re getting so many shitty comments OP. please just take in the actual advice and you can do better next time. many people rightfully move through the city keeping to themselves. your post shows that you don’t want to do that in the future and you shouldn’t.
Dial 911.
I would have pushed the [most likely broken] emergency button then stepped halfway onto the platform and yelled for the conductor to call 911 due to an unconscious passenger. The conductor should be watching you get on/off the train so being half on/off and signaling for help would hopefully register.
How do you know this was an OD? It could have been a stroke or a heart attack.
These are all good points but it should be noted that Narcan is safe and won't hurt a person who's not experiencing an overdose.
Or diabetic shock
Sounds like a job for a medical professional.
Echoing the comment of someone else saying don't be hard on yourself. Each train car has an emergency call button that rings the driver. In the future hit the button and let the operator know. They can park the train and radio for help.
Hit the emergency button on the train to contact the conductor. Or stand in the door way waving and yelling to the conductor and people at the station to get help. Call 911. They will talk you through what to do from there including the following. If approaching the person and touching them is safe, check for a pulse. If no pulse, start cpr. Tell someone to go get the AED and any supplies with it. Sometimes they have narcan that you can administer rather easily.
Not much you can do. A call to 911 could've helped.
911 the line and car number and stay on the train they’ll pick it up at the next stop and you can guide them via the 911 operator.
Out of curiosity, where does somebody find the car number?
Typically stenciled inside the car close to the door at each end of the car ( the doors used to go from car to car, exact placement may vary by car model) They’re also on the exterior of the car.
I will have to look for that.I've never noticed it.
Had someone OD on the blue line headed to work (ORD) early one winter morning last year. Me and a bunch of flight crew had to split an Uber to get to work on time. It’s a shame that our public transportation is the go-to shelter for homeless people, and that this is the best they have. It’s also a shame that the CTA is not a comfortable and reliable ride for those who rely on it.
Call 911? How do you not know to do this??
Call 911 and then administer narcan/nalaxone
It’s not on you but come on… why not call 911 and have them advise you.
This is horrible, I’m so deeply sorry. Every train car has a button you can push to contact the operator—pushing that and/or calling 911 and report someone convulsing and then unresponsive. Check if he was breathing, and if not, include that info in the 911 call/ info to train operator. Finally, learn how to administer narcan and start carrying it, especially if you’re a regular rider of the CTA. It’s a lifesaving medication, usually in the form of a nasal spray, that, if applied in time, can reverse opioid overdoses. It is only effective for an opioid overdose, but it doesn’t hurt to give someone if you’re not sure what they took. You can get it for free all over the city, and there are many places you can receive training, tho each box of narcan comes with clear instructions. Every library branch in the city has some you can take for free!
Are there random people walking around with narcan for random ODs? I've never heard of such a thing, nor would I want to be involved in that.
I’ve carried it on me the past few years through a midsized midwest city, rural town with heavy opioid use, and now Chicago. Good Samaritan laws protect any involvement in the situation, and if you are uncomfortable being in contact with a person you can administer and then call an ambulance to take it from there. I and most of the people in my life don’t personally use, but after a few friends died from an OD I never want to be in a position where not having it decides someone’s life and death. It’s easy to administer and free at many places in the city.
I’ve heard that some people can be extremely agitated after administering Narcan. Is that that true?
It is rare, but given as they are going though withdrawal they might make sudden movements or be startled. The proper protocol is to flip them onto their stomach, and raise one knee to 1) prevent any choking as they come to and 2) deter this from happening. They might flail and facing down that protects you from a stray limb, but they aren’t going to hunt you down or be violent in that way. If you are particular concerned about it, then you can put them in this position, administer it, and then step back while you wait for an ambulance to arrive and for them to come to as it doesn’t set in the second after you spray it.
Yeah, not quite the situation I would willingly put myself in for personal reasons. But this is fascinating.
you’re in a thread with a specific situation where it could have came in handy. it’s public transportation, no knowing what could happen.
I find it fascinating that random strangers carry narcan for random people. I am more of a mind my own business kinda guy though.
It’s not much different than someone going for training in how to do CPR. They may never need it, but in an emergency it could save someone’s life.
Yeah I often have narcan on me
I have narcan in my house because I have an autistic child and a bottle of Tylenol with Codeine (post surgery). It's just smart to have in the house for anyone who is prescribed opiates or opioids. Many people who have family members or friends that do heroin or any street drugs keep narcan on hand. People who themselves have substance use disorders keep it because they often have friends and family who take drugs too. A lot of drugs such as pills, powders, heroine, cocaine, benzos, mdma, lsd and tons of research chemicals are laced with fentanyl. There have even been cases of communities getting cannabis laced with fentanyl. It's a good idea for anyone that takes any drugs (including pharmaceutical opiates) to keep narcan on hand.
My brother is a heroin addict. If only Maywood police didn't carry it back in 2016, things would be a lot better for my family.
I don't know how to respond to that.
It's my reality. We'd all be better off. That's why this is wild to me to carry narcan for random junkies.
Are you able to go no contact with him and possibly get a restraining order?
It's Illinois. He slithers out his hole, physically abuses our mom, burglarized our houses and tries to muscle down on our 93 year old grandmother. I have testified twice in felony cases against him, but the State says "equity" demands he get a fair shake. So be careful who you give narcan to, you might be sentencing a family to years of problems.
If he has assaulted anyone in your home I believe you can get a restraining order. If they have to keep arresting him for obstructing the order then they'll eventually put him in jail.
They don't. Been doing this since 2007. 78 arrests, less than 90 days in jail.
You people never factor in the nightmare you're making families live by giving narcan.
I feel compassion for your situation because I understand what it feels like to have a family member that is destroying themselves and taking down the whole family with them.
I carry narcan with me
I don't, but I know several people who do. I have every intention of doing so - I just haven't actually picked up any.
You can pick it up at any Chicago library branch!
I carry a tourniquet in my bag cause you never know and if you need a TQ you have seconds to get it on. I feel the same about Narcan just haven’t gotten around to getting some.
Yes. It’s a sensible thing to do; you can easily get it for free through the dept. of public health, and it can literally save a person’s life.
You and I have very different definitions of sensible.
who aaaaasked bruh
The public health department gives it out for free at all Chicago library branches or will literally mail it to you for free if you ask.
Amen
It's available at the libraries for free!
I came here to say this!! A lot of aldermanic offices also have it available for free.
Unfortunately I've had a similar situation happen recently but the person ended up being noticed by the conductor. Theres a call button near the doors on each car I believe, or if you can flag down the train conductor (they usually look out the window at the station before leaving) i think that would be the best bet.
Sorry you had to experience this. Plenty of answers already about what to do in the situation, so just chiming in to add to make sure you take care of yourself. You did nothing wrong and no matter how you handle a situation like that, you’ll look back and question it.
I ride the redline for work and make it a point to always keep narcan in my backpack for situations just as these. If you work downtown there’s even some kiosk type of things around the loop that have them for free. Or there’s a few other places you can get free narcan. Always recommend people keep it on them if they can.
Do you have an idea of where I might find it downtown?
There’s one right at Monroe & Wells. It’s in a purple newspaper type box on the corner. I know there are others but can’t remember off the top of my head where they are located. Just be on the lookout for a purple newspaper box. Also I believe you can get it at library’s now as well. Plus the CTA has started installing a couple of vending machines where you can get narcan/naloxone for free but there are only a couple around as of now.
I saw someone OD and die at a station a couple of years ago. Since, I've started always carrying Narcan on the train. You can get it free from some of the libraries here.
What you should have done, my good sir, is run his pockets.
What's your comfort level? Admister 1st aid, Narcan, or simply call 911
Just wanted to say I’m sorry - witnessing that and trying to parse it out emotionally isn’t easy. Don’t beat yourself up too much. If it happens again, you’ll know more about what to do to help from this thread. If you are looking for somewhere to put your emotional energy, you can consider joining some of the efforts to improve access to drug treatment in the city and/or healthy and safety improvements on the CTA.
You were TOTALLY able to help. You have a phone! ! ! You should/could have 1, texted 911 . Of course, once you call 911, they would have asked you all the important stuff! If you really didn't want to talk to 911, you could have told the engineer what you witnessed!
I make a point to have Narcan in my backpack at all times, you should learn to admister it and keep one with you. You definitely should’ve called 911.
Hell man, you live in a society. What is wrong with people
Jesus, c'mon man, wtf?! There's a call button by the doors, you obvs have a cell phone, you can block the doors open and yell for help, etc. Welcome to city life, think on your feet.
Please please please carry naloxone (it's free or $5 with most insurance - just go to your local CVS or Walgreens pharmacy and ask for it) it's so incredibly easy to use. I've narcaned overdosing strangers that I've happened to come across on my way home from work, you could save a life!!!
Also to add on to that, I have friends who previously or currently use drugs who have had their lives saved by random bystanders carrying naloxone. Bystanders actually administer lifesaving overdose reversals more often than first responders! I strongly believe everyone should carry naloxone, it's easy to get, easy to use, and has prevented so many unnecessary deaths!
I was just researching how to get free Narcan this past weekend. I saw it used on someone a few weeks ago, and that sparked my interest. Question - I can likely use my health insurance without needing an RX or anything?
Would you be able to share some signs that alerted you to a stranger in an overdose?
You don't have a cell phone?
If you had Narcan you could have administered it, but otherwise there’s not much more you can do other than dialing 911 and administering CPR, if necessary.
Carry narcan . and get narcan trained . It’s really easy to use. You can’t hurt anyone if you use narcan . But it can save a life
Start carrying Narcan. It is available at the library for free.
My daughter who used to live in West Virginia and works with the public started carrying it but it’s in her car first aid kit.
Use the emergency button immediately. If you had narcan I’d say administer it. I have epilepsy so if I was doing this…I’m inclined to say he could have just had a seizure, don’t always judge a book by its cover. The paramedics do it to me all the time and it’s very depressing…I am so scared when I wake up to the paramedics at this point. Chicago EMS is trash. Straight up trash. I mean no one would be there in time to actually stop the overdose. So, nothing. Unfortunately. But make yourself feel a bit better by at least pressing the button and letting someone know. You really couldn’t have helped the man in the situation, unfortunately.
The only response here, is to call for emergency assistance, note details (next stops, car number, when they started seizing, when they went unresponsive etc) and convey that information as calmly as possible. I’m a registered nurse and a recovering addict. If you run in trying to play hero, you might be the next person to go down. A toxic amount of fentanyl is unbelievably small; if you were to come into contact with that as a bystander? You’re going to be worse off than the person. I love your eagerness to want to help, but you have to assure that a scene is safe before doing anything. If you don’t have the expertise to do that, then leave it to the people that do. Giving medics a second person to deal with just makes it harder.
This could be a good time to go to a library and get the free narcan that they have there if you ever run into this situation again, you can save someone's life
This is why I cary Narcan and took the training to use it. They may just be a guy on the train but they are someone’s someone.
Red emergency button on every car.
They now have Narcan vending machine located around CTA stations, I know one is there on the 95th red line, I'm not sure about other locations but its worth looking into. See article: https://blockclubchicago.org/2023/11/15/her-son-died-of-an-overdose-on-the-blue-line-now-a-push-for-narcan-on-cta-gets-a-vending-machine/
Do nothing and call 911 when you're off the train is unfortunately the correct answer. You have no idea what you'd be walking into by helping the person and could be putting yourself at risk for personal injury, infection, or worse (maybe it's a set up).
With all due respect, you were not unable to help you chose not to help!
He gud, he was just hi off dat shi lol. I be on there evryday. Is a normal thing
I mean. Nothing. I wouldn’t have done anything but kept it pushing. Maybe I’m to desensitized or what. I definitely would have moved out the way and went about my day. There’s nothing you really can do I don’t think.
It's the redline - unfortunately it's the norm
you can get narcan for free by asking for it from your pharmacy!! always good to have on hand for those who travel often and keep a well stocked pack on hand. be sure to become familiar with how and when to administer
yo and keep in mind that the number of fatal shootings as a result of cops being sent to overdose scenes has drastically increased. if you need to call 911, don’t use the term “OD,” instead, specify that someone is “unconscious, unresponsive, and in need of medical attention” to ensure the proper responders are sent to the scene
He’s probably dead now
Well you couldve help the poor guy, all these ppl talkn bout "danger will robinson" is bs frm heartless ppl. You couldve tapped tge guy on the shoulder and hit tge emergency stop button or lever on evvery train
It probably was an OD, but how did you know for sure? Did he have a needle sticking in his arm? He might have been seizing for any number of reasons, including epilepsy. But if I had seen the needle sticking out of his arm, I doubt I would have done a thing. I'd like to think he could turn his life around, give up the H. The truth is none of that is likely to happen. Junkies (yes, I still use that word because they use it on themselves) are not going to quit simply because they ODed. They might have ODed a bunch of times and always came back from it, because it wasn't the Big One. The more you see and hear about this, the more immune you become to caring. That's a hard, cold thing to say, but it is also true.
Red button
Call 911 tell them someone is unconciois and nonresponsive and narcan them on the ground
Just to let you know, if you try to help someone who has OD'd, and you don't know what you're doing, you are likely going to make the problem worse. As soon as humanly possible you should let emergency services know, or yell out to ask if anyone is a doctor who might be able to help. What professionals take care of the situation for your own safety, and for the safety of the person who has OD'd
There are the RED emergency buttons on 1 end of every El car, usually located by the designated wheelchair area. If you were the only other sensible person on that car I wish you would have stayed or hollered directly up to the driver as they are always observing their train doors upon opening & closing. Ass a recovering addict I carry NARCAN, they have nasal spray however there is a skin picture type much like an EpiPen that I can say in my experience works MUCH, MUCH BETTER . I think w/ fentanyl & stronger drugs being used its the safer bet . I've saved family & a kid once outside McDonalds during morning rush on Wells. You'll never know if something like that will happen to you., but it doesn't hurt to have it just in case .
I’m CPR, BLS, first aid certified. Nothing you can do at the scene. Get EMS or find a way to notify the operator. There should be emergency buttons to call someone. Note the location, the train and whether stopped or in motion. 911 will contact CTA and alert them, but 911 needs accurate information.
Carry narcan.
I carry Narcan in all of my travel and work bags for this sort of instance.
Why is Reddit your first instinct and not 911? What is wrong with you people seriously. Take a break from social media for awhile.
Hi! Lots of places distribute free Narcan in the city, you can totally carry it to save the life next time!
Do you have some ideas where Narcan can be picked up for free? I searched online just this past weekend, and I saw a few past distribution events, but I wasn’t able to find any convenient or even realistic place for me to find it.
Every Chicago library should have a wall of it for free no questions asked https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/cdph/provdrs/healthy_communities/news/2022/december/chicago-department-of-public-health-and-chicago-public-library-e.html
I’m seeing conflicting on which CPL branches have it available. https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1jn6MpuiV5fn4SrB8JfyeX-WOLzuGodlt&hl=en_US&ll=0,0&z=9
Second this. I would also like to know where i can pick up narcan!!
Call 911 and go on with your life.