Tags: Myth vs. Fact – Test Your Knowledge!
- Myth: You can overdose by touching powdered fentanyl.
- Fact: Fentanyl must be introduced into the bloodstream or a mucus membrane in order for someone to feel the effects. Transdermal fentanyl patches, most often used in medical settings, are specially formulated to be absorbed by the skin.
- Myth: Naloxone (Narcan) won’t work on a fentanyl overdose.
- Fact: Fentanyl is an opioid and will respond to naloxone if it is administered when someone is experiencing an overdose. Wait 2-3 minutes between doses of naloxone, and provide rescue breaths. Oxygen and naloxone are both vital to overdose reversal.
- Myth: High doses of naloxone are best when responding to fentanyl overdose.
- Fact: Less than half off all overdoses require 2 or more doses of naloxone. Giving more than is needed can put someone into withdrawal. Precipitated withdrawal is the rapid onset of symptoms such as aches, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps. Wait 2-3 minutes between naloxone doses to help reduce the risk of severe precipitated withdrawal symptoms.
- Myth: Fentanyl is in everything.
- Fact: Current data show that fentanyl is primarily contained to illicit opioids, pharmaceutical drugs (like oxycodone or benzodiazapines), methampetamines, xanax, and occasionally, cocaine. There are very few documented cases of fentanyl being present in substances such as cannabis, MDMA, and Ketamine.
- Myth: Fentanyl test strips don’t work.
- Fact: While user error and false positives do occur, fentanyl test strips provide vital information that helps to reduce the risk of overdose. False positives can result from testing: Benadryl, using too little water when testing amphetamines (namely, MDMA and meth), and dilutions that contain too much ketamine. The only way to know whether or not your substance of choice contains fentanyl is to test the entirety of what you plan to ingest.
Did You Know? You can get naloxone and fentanyl test strips for FREE at Face to Face.
At Face to Face, our community is our mission. We’re here to provide resources and support that give everyone the opportunity to be the healthiest version of themselves. This includes supplying our community with naloxone, test strips, supplies for safer use and safer sex, as well as STI testing—all available for free!
Face to Face
873 Second Street
Santa Rosa, CA
Open Tuesday – Friday
9:00am – 4:30pm
Check out our free supplies vending machine, available at our office 24/7. Or find out where our mobile services our located by visiting www.f2f.org/calendar-events/
