The higher the gauge (therefore the thinner the needle and the smaller the hole), the more likely it is that the point may get clogged. AThis is not a comprehensive list of resources, but rather a starter guide for accessing additional training or support. Orlando Recovery Center specializes in compassionate, evidence-based care tailored to your needs. Whether you’re seeking help for yourself or a loved one, reducing harm from injecting pharmaceutical tablet or capsule material by injecting drug users we’re here to guide you every step of the way. AIVL welcomes, celebrates and respects diversity, and we are committed to providing safe and inclusive policies and spaces for sex worker and LGBTIQ+ communities. NSPs are a free service and rely on the return rate of syringes to keep them going.
Drugs Mentioned In This Article
Research on harm reduction strategies emphasizes the importance of education on safe injection to prevent infections and other health issues. Infection prevention measures among PWID are essential to maximize the health of the individual and the public. Without these, there can be clusters of outbreaks, as seen with HCV and HIV recently in many areas around the world, particularly within the United States in Scott County, Indiana, from 2015 to 2016 and in 2 cities in Massachusetts from 2015 to 2018 41, 42. In these areas, HIV outbreaks among PWID were identified with high rates of HCV co-infection which, in just a few years, blossomed to a few hundred cases in total. The risk of IDU-related outbreaks can be significantly reduced with sterile injection equipment, safer injection technique, PrEP, PEP, and OUD treatment. Beyond these direct health consequences, individuals who inject drugs frequently experience complications such as needle phobia, anxiety, and depression, which can further complicate their physical health management.
Skin and Soft Tissue Infections (SSTI)
Harm reduction refers to a spectrum of strategies that mitigate the medical consequences and social stigmas perpetuated by injection drug use (IDU) 1. This approach aims not only to improve the health and safety of people who inject drugs (PWID), but also to protect their families and communities 1. Its methods are personalized to the individual (or community), regardless of their interest in treatment, and focus on diminishing the harmful effects of IDU rather than achieving abstinence or ignoring harms altogether 1. SSPs are community-based prevention programs that provide sterile injection equipment, safe disposal of used syringes, testing and in some cases vaccinations, low-barrier access to medication, therapy, counseling, groups, and other services 4.
Examples of reduce in a Sentence
In addition, SCS services lead to greater uptake of addiction and other treatment resources, retain people in care, and expand medical services 6, 7. To expand access to services provided by SSPs and SCS, ID clinicians are uniquely positioned to provide resources and patient education to PWID. Preventative measures, such as supplying sterile equipment, educating on proper injection techniques, and providing postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) or pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to those who qualify can be taken to attenuate risk of infections. The following is a noncomprehensive list of strategies that ID clinicians could familiarize themselves with and incorporate into a harm reduction–informed service within their practice.
Access to hepatitis C testing and treatment for people who inject drugs and people in prisons — a global…
- This high is shorter but more intense and can lead to someone becoming dependent, physically and psychologically, more quickly than if they were taking the drug in a different way.
- The following is a noncomprehensive list of strategies that ID clinicians could familiarize themselves with and incorporate into a harm reduction–informed service within their practice.
- If you are thinking about injecting or if you already inject you need to try to keep safe.
- In Australia, in response to this global health issue, clean needle and syringe programs were created.
- In 2022, WHO published the Consolidated guidelines on HIV, viral hepatitis and STI prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care for key populations.
PWID should be made aware of OD prevention strategies such as the use of fentanyl test strips and proper administration of naloxone. Health care practitioners also use other methods (such as questionnaires) to identify abuse of some drugs and other substances and to determine the extent of drug use and its effects. Sometimes injection drug use is diagnosed when people go to a health care practitioner because they want help stopping use of the drug.
- Approximately 1 in 8 (or 1.4 million) of these people are living with HIV (UNODC World Drug Report, 2020), while 39.4% have viremic HCV infection (Grebely et al., Addiction, 2019).
- This has helped keep the level on HIV/AIDS infection among injecting drug users low.
- The guidance reflects new evidence, infectious disease treatments, and public health concepts, aiming to decrease the incidence of blood-borne viruses and other infections among PWID.
- Harm reduction serves as an important vehicle to mobilize response to not only the opioid crisis, but also the other aforementioned epidemics, such as HIV/AIDs, viral hepatitis, and various infections.
- Standard insulin and tuberculin syringes are typically 1cc in size and are calibrated by .10 cc’s along the barrel of the syringe.
Needles can carry life-threatening and even fatal infections (blood borne viruses) such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS. To keep the risk of infection low ALWAYS use a clean needle and NEVER share needles with anyone. If you do seek medical care to have your abscess drained, try to find a wound clinic where you can get your dressing changed on a regular basis and make sure the abscess is healing properly.
When the needle is too short, it may miss the vein, and if it is too long, it may go through the vein. The ideal lengths are one-half inch for insulin needles and five-eighths inch for tuberculin needles 2, 34. If a drug use problem is identified, especially if the drugs are injected, people are thoroughly evaluated for hepatitis, HIV infection, and other infections common in people who use these drugs. General symptoms of early HIV infection (soon after the point of transmission) may include a low-grade fever and fatigue. The longer a person has HIV and does not receive medication,, the more likely they are to develop one of the many bacterial, fungal, or viral infections, cancers, neurological disorders, or other conditions that affect people with HIV and AIDS.
In this new consolidated guidelines document on HIV prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care for key populations, the World Health Organization brings… In this consolidated guidelines document on HIV prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care for key populations, WHO brings together all existing guidance… One of the results of the United States’ “zero tolerance” approach to drug policy is a serious lack of accurate information about drugs and drug use. This lack of information makes it extremely difficult for people to make rational and informed decisions about using drugs.
Challenges, opportunities and the role of CNIOs in shaping safer, smarter healthcare
Skin-poppers and muscle- poppers are particularly susceptible to tetanus infection and should always use new, sterile equipment. Of note, the fentanyl test strips now being used as a harm reduction strategy were originally intended for urinalysis. To properly use fentanyl test strips, the end product to be used should be prepared by the individual and drawn up into the syringe first. Then, 10 drops of water should be added to residual content in the cooker and thoroughly mixed. The test strip can then be dipped in the water up to the first line and held for 15 seconds, and afterwards placed on a sterile surface.
In addition to creating more affordable housing, the bill would increase public transit ridership, reduce traffic and help the state meet its climate goals, he said. Since the brothers were under the age of 26 at the time of the murders, the reduced sentence made them eligible for parole under California’s youthful offender law. All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.
If there is no response within 2–3 minutes, a second dose may be administered 71. Additionally, a less prevalent option is an intramuscular naloxone formulation that can be administered intramuscularly or adapted for intranasal use by attaching a leur-lock mucosal atomizer device 72. According to the CDC, overdose rates have increased roughly 5-fold since 1990 65, in line with the increasing potency of opioids, as the crisis is dominated by illicitly manufactured fentanyl and fentanyl analogues 9, 10.
We’ve got some tips for people who use drugs to access healthcare and advocate for yourself with healthcare providers – check out Quality Healthcare Is Your Right resource. It causes an acute (short-term) infection only and never develops into a chronic condition like hepatitis B or C. You develop antibodies to hepatitis A after you’ve been infected with it, so your chances of ever getting it again are slight. A two-shot regimen, with the second injection taken 6 to 12 months after the first.
Endocarditis is an infection of the heart valves that is caused by bacteria, fungi, and other infection-causing microbes that enter the bloodstream during injection and build up around the valves of the heart, weakening them as well as other parts of the heart muscle. Endocarditis can eventually cause a heart murmur, as well as fever, chest pains, fainting spells, shortness of breath, and heart palpitations as well as congestive heart failure. It can be treated with antibiotics or antifungal agents if detected early, but requires several weeks, or months, of IV antibiotics and/or heart valve replacement surgery if not detected early. There are a few common sense things you should do before preparing and injecting your drugs. Rinse your equipment with cold water after you’ve used it in order to prevent any residual blood from clotting, especially if you plan to re-use it later. Below are some very important guidelines you should follow in order to make the process of injecting as safe as possible.