{"id":756950,"date":"2021-05-06T14:53:04","date_gmt":"2021-05-06T19:53:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.helplinecenter.org\/?page_id=756950"},"modified":"2021-05-06T15:04:05","modified_gmt":"2021-05-06T20:04:05","slug":"harm-reduction-for-substance-use","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/hlc.thinkcaliber.com\/es\/2-1-1-community-resources\/helpsheets\/harm-reduction-for-substance-use\/","title":{"rendered":"Harm Reduction for Substance Use"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>According to the Harm Reduction Coalition, harm reduction is a set of practical strategies and ideas aimed at reducing negative consequences associated with drug use.<\/p><p>Here are some considerations for harm reduction:<\/p><ul><li>Get rest.<ul><li>When a body is tired and overworked, it\u2019s at higher risk for adverse health experiences.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Avoid dehydration and malnourishment.<ul><li>Drink plenty of water.<\/li><li>Before use, consume a nutritious meal.<\/li><li>Take vitamins to replace those lost through use. Always consult with a physician about what vitamin regimen is best.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Maintain hygiene.<ul><li>Shower and wash hands regularly. Soap and water are preferred but when access to this is limited, utilize hand sanitizer.<\/li><li>If using substances intravenously (IV), ensure injection sites are cleaned use to avoid infection.<\/li><li>Brush teeth with toothbrush and toothpaste.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Utilize safer injecting supplies (such as sterile injecting equipment).<\/li><li>Have access to Naloxone.<ul><li>This can be obtained at many pharmacies and reverses the effects of opiate drugs. For more information, view our <a href=\"\/es\/2-1-1-community-resources\/helpsheets\/how-to-administer-naloxone\/\">Naloxone HelpSheet<\/a>.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>When available, utilize drug testing kits to ensure the substance being used is what the consumer believes it to be.<ul><li>Substances can often times be cut or laced with other substances.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Have a safety contact person that can be reached if additional help or support is needed.<ul><li>If there is not a person like this to help support, help is available 24\/7 by calling 211. If there is a medical emergency, call 911.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Do not use substances when alone in the home.<ul><li>If an overdose should happen to occur due to opioid use, it\u2019s important someone is there to administer Naloxone and call 911.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Because substance use can sometimes lead to higher risk sexual behavior, maintain access to condoms.<\/li><\/ul><p><strong>Community resources to help support:<\/strong><\/p><ul><li>There are resources that may be able to assist with housing, food and other <a href=\"\/es\/2-1-1-community-resources\/search\/guided-search\/\">basic need services<\/a> in the community. To get connected with these services, call the Helpline Center at 211.<\/li><li>Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) is the use of medications, in combination with counseling and behavioral therapies, to provide a \u201cwhole-patient\u201d approach to the treatment of substance use disorders (SUD). For more information, view our <a href=\"\/es\/2-1-1-community-resources\/helpsheets\/medication-assisted-treatment-mat\/\">MAT HelpSheet<\/a>.<\/li><li>Schedule preventative health care screening such as yearly doctor visits and routine dental check-ups. <a href=\"\/es\/2-1-1-community-resources\/health-navigation\/\">The Helpline Center\u2019s Health Navigator<\/a> may be able to assist with this process.<\/li><li>If it is decided that a lifestyle change is wanted, help is available 24\/7 by calling the SD Resource Hotline at 800-920-4343.<\/li><\/ul><p><strong>Sources:<\/strong><\/p><ul><li><a href=\"\/es\/harmreduction.org\/\">National Harm Reduction Coalition<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usich.gov\/resources\/uploads\/asset_library\/Strategies_to_Address_Opioid_Crisis.pdf\">United States Interagency Council on Homelessness<\/a><\/li><\/ul><p><span style=\"font-size: 8pt;\"><strong>Disclaimer<\/strong>: This HelpSheet is developed by the Helpline Center. HelpSheets provide a brief overview of the designated topic. For more information, call 211 or text your zip code to 898211.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-size: 8pt;\"><strong>Updated:<\/strong> February 2021<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>According to the Harm Reduction Coalition, harm reduction is a set of practical strategies and ideas aimed at reducing negative consequences associated with drug use.Here are some considerations for harm reduction:Get rest.When a body is tired and overworked, it\u2019s at higher risk for adverse health experiences.Avoid dehydration and malnourishment.Drink plenty of water.Before use, consume a &nbsp;[ <a title=\"click to read more\" href=\"https:\/\/hlc.thinkcaliber.com\/es\/2-1-1-community-resources\/helpsheets\/harm-reduction-for-substance-use\/\">more<\/a> ]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"parent":16750,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-756950","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hlc.thinkcaliber.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/756950","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hlc.thinkcaliber.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hlc.thinkcaliber.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hlc.thinkcaliber.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hlc.thinkcaliber.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=756950"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/hlc.thinkcaliber.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/756950\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":756956,"href":"https:\/\/hlc.thinkcaliber.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/756950\/revisions\/756956"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hlc.thinkcaliber.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hlc.thinkcaliber.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=756950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}