Emergency medical service providers can provide care to revive someone who has overdosed on xylazine. Medical associations have not created guidelines for how to treat xylazine-specific wounds. Early evidence suggests keeping the wounds clean but open (without stitches or skin grafts). NIDA supports research to better understand how to treat xylazine-related wounds. Xylazine is structurally similar to a class of drugs known as phenothiazines. Xylazine also has chemical properties similar to other drugs like clonidine, levamisole and tizanidine and may have similar clinical effects.
What is xylazine? What you need to know if someone you know uses drugs
It’s important to call 911 for additional medical treatment, especially since the effects of xylazine may continue after naloxone is given. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration issued a warning on Mar. 21, 2023, about an increase in trafficking of fentanyl adulterated with xylazine, which can increase the risk of overdosing on an already deadly drug. Xylazine is increasingly appearing within the U.S. supply of illicit opioids like fentanyl and heroin. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration issued a warning on Mar. 21, 2023, about an increase in trafficking of fentanyl adulterated with xylazine, which can increase the risk of overdosing on an already deadly drug. When xylazine is mixed with opioids or alcohol, the risk of overdose is even higher.
Is Tranq Legal?
It is well documented that stigma around opioid addiction — perpetuated by health care workers and even by institutions and policies — can prevent people from getting the care they need. There is a helpful wound care mnemonic — DIME — that I’ve adjusted slightly to summarize the most important https://sober-house.org/alcohol-withdrawal-symptoms-treatment-timeline/ aspects of treating these wounds. The D is for debridement, I is for infection and inflammation, M is for moisture management, and E is for environment. Xylazine was first detected as a problem around 20 years ago in Puerto Rico, but has gradually made its way across the U.S.
What happens if someone gets sick after using xylazine?
When new and unfamiliar substances emerge in the illicit market, inconsistent language and information shared about the drug and its effects can contribute to additional stigma and misunderstanding. It is important to use person-first language when talking about people who use drugs. Stigma can impact an individual’s likelihood to access care in their community and person-first language is an important component of reducing substance-use related misinformation. Large drug seizures of xylazine have occurred in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maryland, Puerto Rico and California.
“[Xylazine] makes it just a little bit harder or take a little bit longer to come out of an overdose as someone administers naloxone,” Dittmore told Verywell. If you notice these symptoms, call 911 or head to the nearest hospital for immediate medical attention. Always consult your healthcare provider to ensure the information displayed on this page applies to your personal circumstances.
How can bystanders help someone experiencing a xylazine overdose?
An antagonist that reverses the sedative effects of xylazine, called atipamezole, is used in veterinary medicine. While it has been studied in humans, it is not approved for humans by the FDA, said Driessen. The sedative can be lethal because it slows down breathing, Mason said, like an opioid overdose. However, because the animal tranquilizer is not an opioid, an overdose can’t be reversed by naloxone, known as Narcan. Among the serious health effects of xylazine, also known as “tranq” are severe skin lesions and wounds that can be difficult to treat, spread quickly, lead to the need for skin grafts and amputation of limbs, the health department said.
A bad batch is considered a non-opioid substance that tests positive for fentanyl or xylazine, according to Overdose Lifeline. But most of these clinics have limited hours, operate on shoestring budgets, rely on volunteers and donations, and are simply not equipped to offer the level of care that people often need. Before xylazine, most of the wounds we treated were skin infections like abscesses. These conditions develop when a bit of bacteria gets under the skin and a pocket of infection forms.
- Mixing these drugs with xylazine can increase the effects some people feel when taking them.
- Both said that there is no risk of overdosing on xylazine, or any other drugs that a person may have taken, from taking these steps.
- Sue said she hopes xylazine curbing efforts will make use of existing harm reduction organizations and syringe service programs, rather than trying to address xylazine or fentanyl in silos.
- Also, if you develop withdrawal symptoms, there’s no medication to help with it.
An additional issue is that people who are overdosing from xylazine do not respond to Narcan, also known as naloxone, which can usually be used to revive a user from an overdose of opioids. Xylazine, commonly referred to as tranq, is a drug adulterant – a substance intentionally added to a drug product to enhance its effects. Illicit drugmakers may include xylazine to prolong opioid highs or prevent withdrawal symptoms. People with naloxone kits seen on International Overdose Awareness Day. Although xylazine is not an opioid, naloxone can reverse the effects of the fentanyl and heroin that xylazine is often mixed with. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment monitors drug overdoses, both fatal and nonfatal, and will respond accordingly if there is an increase in xylazine-related overdoses in the state.
The Pennsylvania Health Department is distributing 50,000 care kits across the state to address the serious wounds caused by using the fast-growing illicit drug, xylaxine. The DEA says that the major route of xylazine into the drugs trade comes from veterinarian suppliers online, as it is legal to buy the substance for use in veterinary medicine. It can be bought in liquid form either in vials or preloaded syringes, and is sold by concentration based on the animal it is being administered to. Xylazine is most prominent in Philadelphia, Dr. Rahul Gupta, the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, told CNN.
NIDA is a biomedical research organization and does not provide personalized medical advice, treatment, counseling, or legal consultation. Information provided by NIDA is not a substitute for professional medical care or legal consultation. Xylazine use by people is very recent, so there is little research review of answer house sober living into how to diagnose withdrawal. However, withdrawal from xylazine may be similar to withdrawal from opioids. However, these test strips are often only available to medical professionals. From 2015 through 2020, based on forensic information from the DEA, xylazine was identified in over 3,800 reports.
Airborne and dermal exposure to fentanyl does not represent a realistic threat to safety and can impede the provision of aid. To date, there has been no information indicating that incidental xylazine exposure poses a threat to first responders. Narcan won’t work on someone who’s taken xylazine because it isn’t an opioid. Experts still recommend using Narcan, because xylazine is often mixed with or used alongside fentanyl.
In humans, xylazine extends the half-life of fentanyl, the effects of which typically last only one to three hours. When combined with xylazine, the effects usually last four to six hours. To be designated as an “emerging threat,” the threat must meet https://sober-house.net/dual-diagnosis-treatment-in-california-addiction/ certain criteria, such as increases in substance use across geographical regions, overdose deaths, or illness and hospital admissions from a certain drug or class of drugs. Withdrawal can occur in people who abruptly discontinue the use of xylazine.
One of the most alarming side harms, and one of the most-discussed, are the wounds that xylazine use can cause. Dittmore said that the wounds can appear at injection sites, but also in other parts of the body, “most on the extremities” like legs and arms. Unlike abscesses, which are common with injected drugs, xylazine wounds will start out resembling blisters that then open and expand, leading to the risk of infection that Dittmore referenced and growing wider instead of deeper.
