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posted by on Wednesday May 17 2017, @06:33AM   Printer-friendly
from the bad-touch dept.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/16/health/police-fentanyl-overdose-trnd/

A police officer in East Liverpool, Ohio, collapsed and was rushed to the hospital after he brushed fentanyl residue off his uniform, allowing the drug to enter his system through his hands. The officer had apparently encountered the opioid earlier in the day while making a drug bust.

"This is scary. He could have walked out of the building and left and he could have passed out while he was driving. You don't even know it's there on his clothes," East Liverpool Police Chief John Lane told CNN.


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  • (Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Wednesday May 17 2017, @12:10PM (6 children)

    by LoRdTAW (3755) on Wednesday May 17 2017, @12:10PM (#511023) Journal

    Skin absorption? Why do I have the feeling he was picking his nose and eating it when he accidently ingersted the drug?

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  • (Score: 2) by Ellis D. Tripp on Wednesday May 17 2017, @02:03PM

    by Ellis D. Tripp (3416) on Wednesday May 17 2017, @02:03PM (#511095)
    Or he brushed it off his uniform, and onto the donut he was eating....
    --
    "Society is like stew. If you don't keep it stirred up, you end up with a lot of scum on the top!"--Edward Abbey
  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by chewbacon on Wednesday May 17 2017, @05:49PM (4 children)

    by chewbacon (1032) on Wednesday May 17 2017, @05:49PM (#511248)

    I've delivered fentanyl to patients and have had it all over my hands before and had no problems. This is really intriguing... bullshit. Usual conscious sedation dose is 25-50 micrograms per kilogram intravenous injection. Residue through the skin? Bullshit.

    • (Score: 2) by chewbacon on Wednesday May 17 2017, @05:52PM (1 child)

      by chewbacon (1032) on Wednesday May 17 2017, @05:52PM (#511249)

      Errr .5-1 mcg per kg. Usually delivered doses between 25-50 for initial sedating dose. Maybe he chewed on a fentanyl patch? Nurses have dropped dead doing that.

      • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Wednesday May 17 2017, @05:58PM

        by bob_super (1357) on Wednesday May 17 2017, @05:58PM (#511256)

        Watched too many Hollywood movies, arrested dealer, confiscated product, used knife to open bag to see what the white powder was...
        The question is whether he took the powder on a dare, by curiosity, of just by cleaning his tool...

    • (Score: 2) by kaszz on Wednesday May 17 2017, @07:10PM

      by kaszz (4211) on Wednesday May 17 2017, @07:10PM (#511309) Journal

      I think the shape of the molecules matter and also if your hands are sweaty etc. It's like electricity, depending on circumstances the same voltage can be lethal or just shocking. When viruses are used by the military, it's essential how they are processed if they are going to have any significant effect. Which is why it takes government labs and not amateurs to be dangerous on a large scale.

    • (Score: 1) by purple_cobra on Thursday May 18 2017, @08:21PM

      by purple_cobra (1435) on Thursday May 18 2017, @08:21PM (#511811)

      Friend of a friend was prescribed fentanyl patches when he had terminal lung cancer. He told me at the time they were commonly abused by addicts who would put the patch on the skin, then use a hairdryer to warm it as that would increase the absorption rate. I've never looked it up - never had the need to do so - but this guy's story does sound rather fanciful. Different people have different reactions to various drugs, of course, and I'm not a doctor/pharmacist.
      On a related note, I'm prescribed codeine for rheumatic problems and given its ability to act as arse cement, I shudder to think how much worse fentanyl would be in that regard. I suspect lactulose wouldn't do much in terms of counteracting it.