Narcan helps people live longer by effectively counteracting the effects of opioids like heroin and fentanyl. Nevertheless, xylazine slows down efforts.
medication that reverses overdose Xylazine is a common street drug that is currently being used in large cities, although specialists warn that Narcan does not work on it.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, xylazine, a sedative for horses and cattle, was combined with over 25% of the fentanyl powder that was discovered in the United States last year.
The hazardous substance xylazine, sometimes known as “tranq,” “tranq dope,” or “zombie heroin,” slows breathing, prolongs overdoses, and causes skin ulcers and sores that endure for months.
A number of lives will be saved, according to community groups who applauded the Food and Drug Administration’s decision to permit retail sales of Narcan.
“Naloxone should be carried by everyone. Everyone should have access to Narcan “said Kevin Sabet, the Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions’ president and chief executive officer. But society shouldn’t hold onto the notion that this would end the drug crisis.
Consequences of xylazine and the reasons it damages skin
Xylazine reduces the flow of blood to organs by narrowing blood arteries. The drug frequently causes skin sores and ulcers in users, which can then spread infection. Some people may get necrosis, or decaying skin, which in severe situations may necessitate amputation.
Malayala described the medication as “blocking the blood arteries and the blood supply.” Due to a lack of normal blood flow, “and as soon as they develop a minor wound, it gets infected very quickly.”
Individuals get cuts on their hands, tummy, and legs. Malayala is aware of a woman who underwent both leg amputations due to a serious infection of her skin, muscles, and bones.
Receiving the right medical attention might be particularly difficult for those who suffer from an opioid use disorder. Due to stigma, some people can be hesitant to seek treatment. Some may find it challenging to follow instructions like regularly changing gauze to allow wounds to heal because of their personal circumstances.
Malayala analysed a case in which a 37-year-old woman regularly injected eight to ten bags of fentanyl and experienced festering lesions on her lower legs. She frequently sought attention at a hospital in Philadelphia but would leave against the advise of the medical staff. After staying for three weeks to finish her treatment, she was eventually released with instructions to apply medication, clean, and cover the wounds.
The fact that there are few therapy alternatives complicates issues. Also, they won’t be accepted by homeless shelters or nursing homes because they aren’t set up to care for these patients.
As a result, Malayala explained, “the wounds remain and (raise) risks of getting infected, becoming septic, and dying.”
Where can one find xylazine?
Last decade, fentanyl that had been Xylazine-laced appeared in Philadelphia and Puerto Rico.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that between 2015 to 2020, xylazine overdose deaths climbed from 2% to 26% in Pennsylvania. About 1 in 5 overdose deaths in Maryland and 1 in 10 in Connecticut in 2021 involved xylazine. Fentanyl was present in the fatal amounts in more than 98% of the instances.
But the Northeast and the mid-Atlantic no longer have exclusive access to the medicine. The DEA just issued a public health notice stating that tranq has been found in 48 states.
A bill to classify xylazine as a controlled substance was submitted last week in the House and Senate. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., said the goal of the bipartisan legislation is to assist the DEA and local law enforcement in “getting xylazine off our streets.”
Patients frequently inform Dr. Srikrishna V. Malayala, an addiction medicine specialist at the Merakey methadone clinic in Philadelphia, that they do not look for tranq when purchasing medicines, he claims.
They don’t want tranq, according to Malayala, “they want fentanyl.” They are aware that their only option is to buy whatever is available on the streets.
Ending the drug pandemic in the country
The fact that the number of overdose deaths in the country has increased despite the fact that naloxone is more readily available, according to Sabet of the Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions, is one reason to think about taking a more all-encompassing strategy to the country’s drug problem.
Some individuals believe that all we need are test strips and Narcan, said Sabet. It’s a fool’s errand because there are innumerable additional medications that will affect the drug supply in the years to come that are just as deadly as fentanyl or just as hazardous as xylazine.
Sabet remarked, “We need to step up universal prevention.”