No, you can’t overdose just by touching fentanyl, and other myths debunked

It’s true that more than 70,000 people died last year across the United States from fentanyl overdoses, a powerful synthetic opioid.

The drug has attracted national attention because it is highly lethal and up to 100 times more potent than morphine. However, the spotlight has also generated a lot of misinformation.

politician and critic It is common to lie about who brought fentanyl into the United States; story Number of police officers and first responders Get sick If someone overdoses just by being near or touching fentanyl, it will spike online. Toxicology experts say this phenomenon is scientifically impossible.

Experts say it’s critical to accurately document how people interact with fentanyl and how they can overdose. Because when responding to someone in a medical emergency, every second counts.

Here’s the truth behind four common misconceptions about fentanyl.

Myth: Exposure to items containing fentanyl can result in an overdose.

this is error. Medical experts say it’s impossible to overdose by touching something contaminated with fentanyl. PolityFact previously fact confirmed different version The claim also includes that someone passed out holding a dollar bill that contained fentanyl.

In 2017, the American Society of Medical Toxicology and the American Society of Clinical Toxicology released a joint report. statement It said dermal exposure to fentanyl powder or tablets is “very unlikely to cause significant opioid toxicity.”

Fentanyl is poorly absorbed by the skin. For fentanyl to have a physical effect on the body, it must enter the bloodstream.

“Fentanyl is very difficult to get into your body unless you inhale it directly, swallow it directly, or inject it with a needle.” Said “It’s important to be aware of this,” said Robert Valack, executive director of the Colorado Consortium to Prevent Prescription Drug Abuse at the University of Colorado.

Overdose can cause heart rate and breathing to slow and loss of consciousness.

If exposure to fentanyl was enough to cause symptoms, drug users and health care workers “would always end up overdosing because they’re constantly exposed,” says Case Western Reserve University. says Ryan Marino, a toxicologist and emergency room physician who studies poisoning in the United States.

Symptoms that people have report If a person claims to have touched an item containing fentanyl, symptoms such as dizziness, rapid heart rate or fainting are not consistent with a fentanyl overdose, Valack said.

Andrew Stalbach, a toxicologist and emergency physician at Johns Hopkins Hospital, said first responders who believe these falsehoods spend more time wearing “unnecessary personal protective equipment” or are less likely to touch a person. He said that there is a possibility that people may be afraid of So such misconceptions can be dangerous, he said, because “every second counts” when trying to help someone who has overdosed on fentanyl.

“When you save someone from an opioid overdose, the only person at risk is the person who has overdosed,” Stolbach said.

Myth: Breathing the air in a room with fentanyl can make you sick.

Medical experts said this was a mistake.That’s because fentanyl is not volatilewhich means it is less likely to turn into steam.

“Not only can it be spread through the air, but you can also breathe it into your nose in large quantities and be unintentionally exposed and get sick,” Stolbach said.

In contrast, if you are in a room with substances such as ammonia Because it is volatile, it can cause skin and eye irritation, he explained.

Stolbach said “I have yet to see a plausible case” of someone getting sick from unintentional exposure to fentanyl. “It’s just not happening,” he said.

People who come into contact with fentanyl and start feeling sick may be experiencing a phenomenon known as fentanyl.nocebo” Stolbach said. They may think that coming into contact with fentanyl will make them sick because they have heard that coming into contact with fentanyl will make them sick. They may begin to feel lightheaded or anxious and attribute it to the fentanyl rather than anxiety from being around it.

“You don’t have to worry about walking down the street and inhaling someone else’s fentanyl and unintentionally getting sick,” Stolbach said.

Myth: Fentanyl deaths are on the rise in the United States because immigrants are smuggling fentanyl through “open borders.”

this is error.

The southern border is not wide. Border Security funding and staffing has been consistent between the administrations of former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden, and border laws and policies continue to be enforced. Hundreds of miles of the U.S.-Mexico border are fenced to reduce illegal entry.

Additionally, most of the fentanyl is seized at official ports of entry, not between ports of entry. most immigrants Trying to cross the border, U.S. Customs and Border Protection data is shown. And in 2022, 89% of his convicted fentanyl drug traffickers were U.S. citizens.

“Drug traffickers are dealing with professionals, not amateurs, and they prefer U.S. citizens,” said Sanho Tree, director of the Drug Policy Project at the Institute for Policy Studies, an innovative think tank based in Washington, D.C. he told PolitiFact in 2022.

Guadalupe Correa Cabrera, an immigration expert at George Mason University, said U.S. citizens and permanent residents can cross the southern border multiple times and get to know the territory better. Politifact In August.

Myth: Fentanyl smells like popcorn when burned.

this is error.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report Fentanyl is tasteless and odorless, and there is no visible way to tell whether or how much fentanyl is in a pill.However, low cost test strips You can determine if a drug contains trace amounts of fentanyl.

There is no evidence that burning or smoking fentanyl produces a popcorn-like odor, Dessa Bergen-Sico, a public health professor and coordinator of the Addiction Research Program at Syracuse University, told PolitiFact.