News Health & Medicine

Fentanyl deaths have spiked among U.S. children and teens

The rise in kids’ deaths from the synthetic opioid mirrors what’s happening with adults

A wall of posters on a bulletin board in a classroom, one of which reads 'NALOXONE CAN SAVE YOU'

In an opioid overdose prevention class in New York City in 2017, students received training in how to use naloxone. The medication blocks the action of fentanyl, reversing an overdose.

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

By Aimee Cunningham

- More than 2 years ago

Read another version of this article at Science News Explores

Fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opioid, is killing a growing number of children and teens in the United States.