Experts are skeptical of claims that simply skin-to-skin contact with the potent narcotic fentanyl can result in damage.
Dr. Gina Dahlem, a professor at the University of Michigan School of Nursing, told DailyMail.com that incidents like that of a Tennessee lady who fell after handling a fentanyl-tainted dollar bill are extremely unusual.
Even though the highly potent synthetic opioid can be injected through the skin, it would require extremely high doses and hours for a person to overdose, unlike in some high-profile cases.
In recent years, it has been reported that police officers in San Diego, California, Kansas City, Kansas, and East Liverpool, Ohio have been exposed to fentanyl for short periods and had injuries.
Numerous specialists, including those from the American College of Medical Toxicology (ACMT), have refuted and placed doubt on these stories, and numerous investigations have demonstrated that they are extremely unlikely.
The ACMT noted in a study, “Fentanyl and its analogs are strong opioid receptor agonists, although the risk of clinically significant exposure to emergency responders is exceedingly minimal.”
‘To date, there have been no instances of emergency responders experiencing signs or symptoms compatible with opioid poisoning as a result of inadvertent exposure to opioids. The accidental cutaneous absorption of opioids is unlikely to result in toxicity.
The group estimates that the medication is between 50 and 100 times more powerful than morphine.
This is also mirrored in America’s burgeoning overdose crisis, with synthetic opioids like fentanyl responsible for more than 70 percent of the over 100,000 overdose deaths documented in the U.S. in the past year.
As hazardous as the substance is, the ACMT warns that it poses the greatest risk when inhaled or swallowed, not when it is absorbed through the skin.
It states, “Accidental skin absorption is unlikely to produce opioid toxicity.”
It provides the example of fentanyl patches, which are sometimes used as painkillers.
It would take approximately 14 minutes for 100 micrograms (mcg) of the medicine to be absorbed by a person covered with patches.
The Drug Enforcement Administration says that two milligrams of fentanyl can induce an overdose, which is twenty times the amount a person would consume via patches.
Patches will also be far more effective than simple street drugs at delivering fentanyl into the bloodstream, as the devices were built particularly for this purpose.
“The above computation is based on fentanyl patch data, which in numerous ways overestimates the possible exposure from the drug in tablet or powder form. The drug must have the adequate surface area and moisture for effective absorption,’ adds the ACMT.
Dahlem cited the article to DailyMail.com, explaining that its findings are consistent with her knowledge of medicine.
She also emphasized that if fentanyl were lethal enough to produce an overdose from just contact, it would undoubtedly be responsible for far more deaths.
Additionally, other experts have confirmed the same. A paper produced by a team from Brown University, Wayne State University, and Northeastern University in 2021 cautioned that these potentially inaccurate tales could even unintentionally harm police personnel.
“Misinformation about the risk of accidental overdose from breathing or handling fentanyl is pervasive among U.S. law enforcement,” they stated.
“This may exacerbate already heightened police stress and burnout while chilling overdose response,” Education of police officers has demonstrated promise in eliminating incorrect notions about fentanyl.’
According to a study conducted by the Medical College of Wisconsin, large-scale skin exposure to the substance had no effect on a subject, and the subject did not exhibit any symptoms of an overdose.
Researchers noted, ‘Social media sharing of unsubstantiated first responder overdoses following brief exposure to fentanyl may contribute to an inaccurate risk perception of brief dermal fentanyl exposure.’
This has not prevented strange tales of mild fentanyl exposure resulting in severe harm.
Renne Parson, a resident of Kentucky who was visiting Nashville, Tennessee on Monday, claimed that she fell after picking up a $1 bill at a McDonald’s.
Parson fears that the currency was laced with fentanyl.
She explained in a Facebook post, “[After returning to her vehicle], I felt the sensation start in my shoulders and spread rapidly down my body, and it would not stop.”
“…I could barely speak and barely breathe.” I struggled to stay awake as Justin screamed at me to stay awake while attempting to contact 911 and locate the nearest Fire Station or Hospital. Thankfully, they worked almost as rapidly as my husband to bring me to the hospital before I lost consciousness.
A Metro Nashville Police official later told local media that the dollar note contained no evidence of the narcotic. Then, it was destroyed.
Officer Dallas Thompson of Kansas City, Kansas, fainted and required five doses of Narcan, a medicine that is highly effective at reversing an overdose, after coming into contact with a bag of tablets thought to be laced with fentanyl.
The Kansas City, Kansas Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com, stating that no one was immediately available.
In August of last year, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department released a video of an officer collapsing following exposure to fentanyl during a car search.
The public and health officials criticized the film for purportedly being phony and for distorting the appearance of fentanyl overdoses.
Dr. Ryan Marino, a toxicology specialist, tweeted at the time, “This is very plainly not a fentanyl overdose to anyone who has seen one or knows how they operate, and you should be ashamed of yourselves for pushing this disproven story that harms people.”
It has been taken off the department’s official page, but its YouTube channel has not yet been updated.
The San Diego Sheriff’s Department did not react immediately to a request for comment from DailyMail.com.
In 2017, a police officer in East Liverpool, Ohio, collapsed after brushing a powder thought to be fentanyl off of his uniform. This incident was one of the first to gain news.
The department asserted that the chemical entered his body via cutaneous absorption.
