For almost a decade, a persistent fantasy has influenced public notion and information protection of the opioid overdose disaster: the concept you can get sick and even die from merely touching or being close to fentanyl. However there isn’t a sturdy proof for this declare, and lots to argue towards it.
Scroll by way of fentanyl-related headlines, significantly these involving legislation enforcement, and also you’ll see a pattern emerge soon enough: first responders, cops, or bystanders experiencing quite a lot of signs quickly after being uncovered to some quantity of fentanyl.
An concept that received’t go away
These kinds of tales, together with the specific claim from some legislation enforcement officers that “fentanyl can kill you simply by touching it,” appear to have first unfold extensively round 2016. The concept picked up additional legitimacy that 12 months after the Drug Enforcement Company launched a video, in addition to an accompanying press launch, warning in regards to the risks of fentanyl publicity by way of the pores and skin (each could have been temporarily taken down, however updated versions are nonetheless up immediately).
Media shops do now appear less likely to uncritically parrot the concept informal publicity to fentanyl will be lethal than they did five years ago, when Gizmodo first coated this subject. Individual public health agencies and other groups have additionally begun to extra overtly counter the assumption. However the fantasy stays alive and powerful amongst some law enforcement agencies and even lawmakers, with at the least three states—Florida, West Virginia, Tennessee—presently weighing payments that may enable prosecutors to press felony expenses towards individuals accused of exposing first responders to fentanyl and comparable opioids.
‘Excessive low threat’ to first responders
It’s comprehensible why individuals may be afraid of getting near fentanyl. It and different artificial opioids like carfentanil are certainly stronger than naturally derived opioids like heroin or morphine. So the danger of a deadly overdose from typical consumption is extra doubtless. Over the previous decade, the higher availability and use (typically unintentional) of illicit fentanyl has pushed a big surge in deaths, with 2023 being the third straight year of over 100,000 documented deadly overdoses in america.
However primarily based on what we learn about these medication, there simply doesn’t seem like a grave hazard from merely touching or being round fentanyl. Even in its powdered kind, the drug isn’t absorbed rapidly by way of the pores and skin, based on knowledgeable toxicologists. Medical fentanyl will be delivered by way of dermal patch, however these doses are slowly absorbed over hours to days.
In 2017, the American Faculty of Medical Toxicology (ACMT) and American Academy of Medical Toxicology (AACT) launched a joint position statement to counter the burgeoning unfold of fentanyl-related misinformation. Based mostly on their evaluation of the out there proof, the teams concluded that the “threat of clinically vital publicity to emergency responders is extraordinarily low.”
There are some potential situations during which fentanyl may very well be harmful to passersby. If somebody touched fentanyl powder, then tried to clean it off with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, as an example, the alcohol truly might enhance the pores and skin’s capacity to soak up the drug. Unintentional introduction of fentanyl into the mucous membranes of the eyes and mouth, reminiscent of by touching it after which touching one’s eyes, might doubtlessly trigger sufficient publicity to end in sickness. And it’s theoretically attainable for sufficient fentanyl powder to turn into aerosolized and pose a hazard simply by inhaling the identical space. Nonetheless, this could require uncommon circumstances, reminiscent of being in a really windy room with a big quantity of fentanyl current.
Sensible precautions
The ACMT, AACT, and different teams have created pragmatic pointers for first responders who come throughout fentanyl to additional decrease their threat. These embrace sporting a pair of disposable non-latex gloves for low threat conditions and donning a masks for increased threat environments, together with advising individuals to solely use cleaning soap and water to clean off any fentanyl that ends on pores and skin.
None of that is to say that legislation enforcement officers and others uncovered to fentanyl aren’t experiencing signs in consequence. However many signs generally reported throughout these accounts, reminiscent of a racing heartbeat, dizziness, or feeling sweaty, don’t match those of a typical opioid overdose, which embrace slowed respiratory, blue pores and skin, and shrunken pupils. So at the least among the time, these instances usually tend to be a manifestation of (comprehensible) nervousness or concern than fentanyl-related.
Regardless of rising skepticism from media and well being companies, the parable that informal fentanyl publicity is lethal persists amongst some legislation enforcement and lawmakers, with a number of states contemplating associated felony expenses. But it surely’s an answer in the hunt for an issue that doesn’t actually exist. And this fantasy solely distracts from the precise risks of fentanyl, whereas taking time and power from the efforts wanted to curtail America’s very actual overdose disaster.
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