Opioid Safety

Slowed or Stopped Breathing Can Happen to Anyone Taking Opioids.

Product Details Risk Factors Masimo Halo App More About Masimo

Gain Peace of Mind with Reliable Continuous Monitoring

OPIOIDS CAN SLOW OR STOP BREATHING.

Will you be able to call for help?

Prescription opioids can be a powerful way to help manage pain. But they can also carry serious effects, including slowed or stopped breathing. You may be at risk and not even know it.

If slowed or stopped breathing happens while you sleep, there’s a chance you might never wake up.

Accidental overdose can happen to anyone

30% of surveyed patients who are prescribed opioids don’t know they’re taking them.¹

Opioids go by many names, and the word “opioid” doesn’t always appear on the label. It’s possible that you or a loved one could be taking them without even knowing.

Each of these medications is categorized as an opioid

Did You Know?

Hydrocone

Codeine

Oxycodone

Tramadol

Morphine

Oxymorphone

Fentanyl

Hydromorphone

Methadone

Anyone taking opioid painkillers is vulnerable to respiratory side effects. What’s more, your risk is increased by certain factors:^2-5

Respiratory condition(s) such as sleep apnea
Combining opioids with alcohol and/or other substances or medicines that suppress respiratory function, such as sleeping pills or anti-anxiety medication
Older age (65+)
Taking high prescribed doses (>50 MME)
Medical conditions such as HIV, liver or lung diseases, or mental health conditions
Opioid use disorder or a history of addiction
Taking opioids for nonmedical purposes
Taking opioids again after stopping for an extended period of time
Taking opioids for the first time

~50% of opioid-related deaths happen when a person is alone.⁶ Without immediate help, permanent brain damage or death can occur within minutes.⁷

It's important to remember...

Slowed or stopped breathing can happen to anyone taking prescription opioids.⁸

Because of your unique physiology, the severity of your experience can be unpredictable.

It can happen in the hospital, or at home, and is most dangerous when you are alone or asleep.

Know your oxygen levels.

Worried about your oxygen levels?

Oxygen levels can change quickly. Will you know when help is needed?

Now there's a way to help protect yourself at home.

Sleep Apnea

Oxygen levels can drop while sleeping. Relaxed throat muscles can block airways, potentially causing breathing to stop anywhere from seconds to over a minute.⁹

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

With COPD, airways in the lungs become inflamed, leading to decreased air flow, less oxygen in bodily tissue, and difficulty exhaling carbon dioxide.¹⁰

Asthma

Due to damage and irritation to the respiratory system, asthma can lead to decreased blood oxygen levels. Severe flare-ups can also lead to low oxygen in body tissues (hypoxia).¹¹

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)

RSV is a respiratory virus that causes cold-like symptoms and can be serious for infants or older adults, potentially leading to bronchiolitis or pneumonia.¹²

At-home monitoring can help.

You shouldn’t fear filling your prescription, but you should know how you can protect yourself from the potential dangers of opioids.

With Masimo SafetyNet Alert™, you can continuously monitor your physiological data while at home, and receive alerts if respiratory depression is detected.

Learn More

Masimo Halo App

Escalating Alerts Can Help Keep You Safe*

Alert 1

When physiological data indicates there may be a problem, the system alerts you.

Alert 2

If your condition persists or gets worse, the system alerts you and sends automatic texts to designated emergency contacts. †

Alert 3

If your condition persists or gets worse, the system alerts you again and sends automatic texts to designated emergency contacts.†

Download now on the iOS App Store or Google Play.

Delivering Innovative Care Solutions for Over 25 Years

For over 25 years, Masimo has delivered innovative solutions that help physicians provide excellent care and keep their patients safe. Today, we're bringing the confidence of hospital monitoring technology to the comfort of your home.

Continuous monitoring has been shown to help reduce harm associated with opioid-induced respiratory depression in the hospital.^13-15

In multiple studies conducted over ten years at Dartmouth- Hitchcock Medical Center, involving 111,488 patients, clinicians found zero opioid-related preventable deaths or brain damage in hospitalized patients who were continuously monitored with Masimo SET® pulse oximetry and a notification system. The only death observed occurred in a patient who was unmonitored.^13-15

Gain peace of mind with reliable continuous monitoring at home.

While in the hospital, you are monitored by a team of caregivers. But what happens when you’re at home? Masimo SafetyNet Alert uses the same clinically proven pulse oximetry technology and a similar notification system to help protect you at home.

Powered By Masimo SET®

Trusted by physicians for over 25 years and used to monitor over 200 million patients a year around the world¹⁶
Features multiple parallel signal processing engines for accurate and reliable readings
Demonstrated significantly fewer false alarms and more true alarms than conventional pulse oximetry technologies in hospital settings¹⁷
Accurate across all skin pigmentations¹⁸

Learn More About Masimo SET®

"I had no idea. You can die when you’re taking these."
—Yvonne Gardner

Parker Stewart, Yvonne’s son, was a healthy 21-year-old who underwent a routine tonsillectomy, and stopped breathing after taking only half his prescribed dose of opioid painkillers. He died in his sleep while his wife slept beside him.