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Episode details

World Service,06 Sep 2023,26 mins

Opioid overdose antidote made available in US

Health Check

Available for over a year

With deaths from opioid overdoses rocketing to more than 100,000 people each year, the US has moved to make the drug Naloxone available to buy in pharmacies for the first time there this week. The nasal spray treatment can revive people who have overdosed within minutes. Claudia Hammond is joined by Dr Ann Robinson to hear how the drug works, and what lessons the US can learn from how other countries around the world are using it. We also hear from the first polar research team to try to tackle taboos over menstruation by training the next generation of Arctic and Antarctic scientists how to deal with having your period during an expedition. Claudia and Ann look at new research suggesting the morning after pill becomes more effective when taken with anti-inflammatory drugs. And we find out whether opposites do truly attract, as a new study on romantic relationships uncovers what happy couples do and don’t have in common. Image Credit: Brittany Murray/MediaNews Group/Long Beach Press-Telegram via Getty Images Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Dan Welsh

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