Man who overdosed revived after officers inject Naloxone

Officers revived a man who had overdosed on opiates Saturday night in northwest suburban Mundelein.

Police responded to the 0-100 block of North Emerald and found a man unresponsive on the bathroom floor, according to a statement from Mundelein police. The man showed symptoms of opiate overdose and police retrieved a Naloxone auto-injector kit from their squad car to revive the man.

The first dose had no immediate effect. The second dose, however, did.

It was the first time Mundelein officers had used the auto-injectors and only the fourth time a police officer in Lake County administered the life-saving drug, police said.

Naloxone blocks the effects of opioids on the brain and restores breathing within two to eight minutes, police said. Its only function is to reverse the effects of opioids on the brain and respiratory system in order to prevent death.

“Most opiate overdoses happen in the presence of a witness and often in the user’s own home, “ Mundelein Police Chief Eric Guenther said. “Prompt response can be crucial to avoid death due to respiratory depression.”