Users who are not accustomed to opioids may experience intense and dangerous side effects, even with small amounts. One of the most dangerous effects of fentanyl is respiratory depression. The drug significantly slows down breathing, sometimes to a life-threatening level.
- Stay close to family and friends while getting the support you need.
- Clinically, its most common use is as a sedative in intubated patients and in severe cases of pain in patients with renal failure due to its primarily hepatic elimination.
- Repeated fentanyl use can lead to dependence, which means that the person’s body gets used to the presence of the drug.
- A person with a substance use disorder might obtain fentanyl by misusing prescribed medication or acquiring the drug from an illegal laboratory.
- This stiffness restricts the chest cavity, limiting respiratory movement and affecting posture.
What Are The Signs Of A Fentanyl Overdose?
In 2024, videos started circulating on social media sites like X and TikTok of people experiencing the fold, often on urban streets, with tags of #fentyfold and #fentylean used. This exposure garnered both disdain and empathy as the real-life effects of fentanyl abuse were put on display. Simply put “Fentanyl Fold” is caused by the extreme potency the drug affects the body’s central nervous system, exerting a depressant effect. This depressant effect is dramatically stronger with Fentanyl, resulting in much more rapid and dramatic physical symptoms, such as “Fentanyl Fold” or severe “Nodding Off”.
Can a fentanyl overdose be treated?
The fent fold position itself can make overdoses more dangerous because it can make breathing even harder. When someone is hunched over for a long time, it puts pressure on their chest and makes it harder for their lungs to work properly. This is why it’s so important to get help quickly when you see someone in this position. “Nodding off” is when someone using opioids such as fentanyl drifts in and out of consciousness. During this state, people lose control of their body posture and lean forward, bend over, or slump down. Their head will bob as they try to stay conscious but keep falling into a drowsy state.
How Do Opioids Affect the Body?
Find rehab for yourself or a loved one by speaking with a treatment provider. A big question going forward is How low will U.S. drug deaths go? We’ve already seen the biggest, fastest drop in U.S. history. ABC 7 did a similar story in March about why fentanyl causes this particular bent-over reaction. One user they spoke to, who had taken the drug hours earlier but remained bent over, was asked if he was able to stand up straight.
Enhancing Healthcare Team Outcomes
Due to the risk of the drug being mixed with other substances, it is now essential to obtain test strips, which can tell a person fentanyl stance if fentanyl is present in the tested substance. The information contained on this website is not intended to be a substitute for, or to be relied upon as, medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
Harm Reduction
A urine test was positive for both fentanyl and cocaine (from Joynt & Wand, 2021). Overdose prevention is a CDC priority that impacts families and communities. Drug overdose is a leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. Contact us today to schedule https://ecosoberhouse.com/ an initial assessment or to learn more about our services.
While waiting for paramedics, try to wake the person by calling their name loudly if you know it and rubbing your knuckles firmly on their chest or shaking their shoulders. If they don’t respond, check if they’re breathing by looking at their chest to see if it’s moving up and down. If you can’t tell if they’re breathing or their breathing is very slow and shallow, this confirms they’re having an overdose.
Fentanyl and similar compounds like carfentanil are powerful synthetic opioids 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. Being able to identify and understand the behaviours that come with Fentanyl sure is important in order to mitigate risk. Education and awareness can help people step in and provide help before a dangerous situation becomes fatal. Life saving intervention such as Narcan or Naloxone can reverse the effects of an overdose when administered in a timely manner. Fentanyl test strips can be used by addicts to test their drugs to make sure that they are Fentanyl free, by reducing the risk for unintentional exposure.
- To explore additional treatment options, you can view editorially selected providers on our site or visit the SAMHSA Treatment Locator.
- These trends are also available by county and zip code on the California Overdose Surveillance Dashboard.
- The most important thing is to keep them alive and healthy so they have the chance to recover when they’re ready.
- Just a tiny amount of fentanyl, the equivalent of a few grains of sand, is enough to stop a person’s breathing.
Emergency Preparedness
An opioid drug antagonist such as naloxone can help to correct OIRD symptoms. Thus, the therapeutic approach should continue until a normal respiratory rate coincides with appropriate oxygen saturation levels. If you have naloxone (Narcan), use it right away by following the instructions on the package. Usually, this means spraying it into their nose or injecting it into their muscle. After giving naloxone, put the person on their side in the recovery position to prevent choking if they vomit.
Center for Family Health
Deaths related to fentanyl began to rise around 2019, according to the California Department of Health. In the last detailed study in 2022, the CDPH estimated nearly 6,000 opioid-related overdose deaths in California. People taking a daily prescribed dose will become dependent on the drug and will have withdrawal symptoms if they stop it. This is not an addiction but instead a physiological response. ORE is a central collection of communication materials and educational resources about opioid misuse, addiction, treatment, and overdose Substance abuse prevention.
If using fentanyl on your own, understand the dangers and seek professional treatment to help you quit. If a person has a susceptibility to addiction, then it is a situation where the person is more likely to develop a substance use disorder. The physical and mental effects of fentanyl vary depending on how it is used. You must immediately dispose of any medication that is outdated or no longer needed through a medicine take-back program. If you do not have a take-back program nearby or one that you can access promptly, then flush the fentanyl down the toilet so that others will not take it. Dispose of unneeded lozenges by removing each lozenge from the blister package, holding the lozenge over the toilet, and cutting off the medicine end with wire cutters so that it falls into the toilet.