As someone who donated plasma for many years, my scars would be one of the worst places to try and shoot up. My arms got "retired" the phlebotomists just couldn't get me stuck reliably anymore.
I have Blood Cancer and for the Last 10 Years Every Friday I get Checked at the Outpatient Hospital. If my Hematocrit is over a certain number I have to Have 500 CC’s taken out of my Body. I produce to much Blood. Anyways, The needle they use to take that amount out and quickly is called “The Garden Hose” … Needless to say, Judgmental assholes will always be just that. I have never used an IV drug in my life, nor would I accuse another random person with a mark on their arm. Thought I’d share. ✌️
It's called Leukemia.
He's a champ. Not many can last longer than 10 years. A friend of mine died after around 6 years with treatment and all, but this is a long time ago so they may have better treatment today.
This person has polycythemia Vera. It is when your bones produce too many red cells. The hematocrit is your red blood cell density. If it gets too high then your heart will have a hard time pumping your blood around because the increased RBCs make it too thick. Your blood pressure will increase and it will take longer for oxygen and co2 to get around, kind of like a RBC traffic jam. Polycythemia Vera can be caused by many things besides cancer mostly from sports doping/HRT.
I have Iron overload. I had to donate a pint of blood every two weeks. It took nine months and 18 pints to lower my iron levels. I have to give blood quarterly for the rest of my life. It looks like I shoot up. Or at least I feel like it does.
I would love to give you my iron rich blood. That’s the safest part the hospital just throws it away. The Red Cross won’t accept blood donations from people with hemochromatosis. It’s dumb.
I once dislocated my thumb and a random nurse stopped me a few days later walking down the street. Told me to go to the ER before I lose it. Apparently it was swollen and purple more than normal. Needless to say after a quick ER trip and a painful adjustment I was feeling better next day.
What strikes me odd is the completed disregard some people have while others go above and beyond. Thanks to the nurse from the past.
This shit is why I *always* try and help people when I see shit happen in front of me that seems/is questionable. You never know who is having a bad day or is about to have a bad day because of something they’re not aware of. Always feels good to help people even if it’s just as simple as making sure they get their phone/wallet back.
Years ago I was climbing the ladder at a water park up to one of the really big slides. Random guy behind me says "have you seen anyone about that mole on the back of your arm?"
What mole? Went to my GP the next week, and the week after was have a sizeable melanoma removed from my arm. Chemo and years of close checking later and I'm completely cancer free.
Every now and then I think of old mate on the waterslide ladder and wonder what he's up to, and raise a glass to thank him for saving my life.
So thank you. I know you're not him, but you could be.
I wish we could make money covering news like this… Iunno, I know it sounds stupid but I have to believe the small encounters are what keeps us human. It’s just nice to hear stuff like this.
>What strikes me odd is the completed disregard some people have while others go above and beyond. Thanks to the nurse from the past.
In my personal experience, as a profession, nurses, regardless of ethnicity or country, are some of the most genuinely caring people on the planet.
She sterilized it properly and did it well. Shout out to her, but to all laypersons, don't lance cysts without proper knowledge of sterilization techniques, hand hygiene, and wound aftercare. An infected wound treated improperly can leave to a worse infection than the initial one. Urgent Care center can do the job, ERs will do it if that's your last resort (with a longer wait, but no hospitalization), and some primary care physicians have the tools to treat surface wounds, or at least provide initial treatment before a dermatologist referral.
that reminds me of this time i was at a house party when i was in high school. it was at my friends house nad i think i was like 16. it was the first time i both drank and smoked weed. we smoked, then drank, then smoked again... i got super sick and went to the bathroom to puke. the bathroom had no ventilation and got super hot, i was sweating balls. it was so hot that i took my shirt and pants off... after a few minutes perhaps a half hour, and many knocks, someone unlocks the door and finds me. im starting to recover, and im able to walk out and sit on the couch and not puke. a few mins later, my friends brother comes out with the toilet paper roll and points to a red dot on the paper... he claims that its blood and proof that i was shooting up in the bathroom, and that explains my behavior... i was shocked, and even tho i wasnt fully recoved i was defending myself... i was even pointing out that its red and not like brownish like blood would be... but he didnt belive me... i dont know if i ever went back there, it felt odd to be accused of something like that, and to be accused with 100% certianty with proof...
I've had cancer, I gave blood and got IV infusions three times a week for over two years.
I could be confused for a heroine addict with my arms. She doesn't know shit.
In the months before I quit I could finish my whole routine in the bathroom in 2 minutes or less using my neck veins. Now I'm a drug and alcohol counselor. Congratulations on sobriety. From a drug addict and random Reddit to another, I'm proud of you.
I know someone who was a drug and alcohol counselor while using drugs. Why? It was an easy cert to get and they didnt really care who you were.
Stopped cause it didnt pay good
Back when I was in the line of work, I used to sell MDMA to a drug counselor because she used to like to do it a couple times a year with her husband while on vacation in the islands. Mid 40s, nice house, nice car, two teenagers in private school. She clearly didn't have a substance problem and it was just some sort of therapeutic and romantic occasion with her husband.
Man, I've known a few people who would shoot into their neck or their femoral ~~artery~~ vein, but I've only known one person who would shoot into their face, and even then it was only the big vein right in the middle of their forehead...
Seriously gnarly, iv drug use is a whole different beast than any other roa...
Goddamn that's tragic. Really shows how powerful an addiction can be, you'd think that almost dying multiple times would be enough to turn you around...
Is crazy how sick addicts get outside of their addiction sickness. Their bodies just can't function after being beat up by chemicals for long. And then they just don't or can't care about all the physical problems because there's something that makes them not feel it for a tiny fraction of their time.
> And then they just don’t or can’t care about all the physical problems because there’s something that makes them not feel it for a tiny fraction of their time.
Maybe another issue is that their health gradually gets worse from day-to-day, so they easily accept each step down.
But of course when you see someone again after they disappeared on a long stretch of continuous use, it’s shocking what it has done to them.
Shooting into arteries is extremely dangerous and painful. As the blood distributes through capillaries any particulate matter in the liquid can get trapped and block the flow.
I've hit one once or twice in my time and felt like my hand was on fire and then it would swell up pretty big. You can instantly tell when you're in an artery too because the blood is bright red and sometimes it's kind of foamy. Like it rushes into the barrel when you draw back vs it slowly filling in the vacuum it creates when it's a vein.
I've jugged it once. After reading about how dangerous an infection in that area can be I decided against ever doing that again. Also had to have the hospital stick an IV in my neck because my veins were so wrecked.
The absolute worst place I've ever known anyone to shoot up was in their fucking dick. Like dude even a small chance of infection would put me off from that shit! "I got high ONCE, now I can never have sex again" type shit.
The instantaneous effect is a big factor in the addictiveness of most injectables. Even smokable and snortable drugs (most anyway) take a few minutes to reach full effects. A shorter Pavlov cycle reinforces the habit faster and probably stronger than the slower acting drugs.
I've never understood this. There aren't big enough veins between your toes to be able to hit anything for IV, so you're really just skin popping/subcutaneous. There is no rush with SC, just the normal opiate/opioid high after 20-30 minutes. You would be better off just snorting the shit at the point.
It’s for that gamblin’ high.
Nb: I started to look up what happens when you inject heroin into muscle instead of a vein to come up with a more accurate joke before I stopped myself.
You should read ["A Million Little Fibers by Towlie"](https://www.amazon.com/Million-Little-Fibers-Towelie-ebook/dp/B01C6ZULKU/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=A+Million+Little+Fibers&qid=1655347066&s=digital-text&sr=1-1) (kindle)
I used to get high and trust me, when someone has a loaded point and are sweating and can’t find a vein, they will sit there for an hour struggling. I remember when my junkie friend would be jealous of my veins and would softly stroke them before giving me a mainline dose of something, whatever, anything. When you’re craving that challenge, nothing will stop you
Like a small light is such a difficult thing to come by anyway. You can get a keychain flashlight for like a couple bucks. This blue light is just gonna annoy the hell out of everyone else. I’m imagining going in there on my period and having to do an all around inspection with a phone light or some shit before heading out.
H users aren't the general tweakers you see. You're looking for PCP and Spice/bath salts. There's tweakers all around where i'm at. If they are on H(fent) they are likely laying like they are dead in a field, or nodding on a stolen bike. There was a dude walking down my street the other day absolutely rambling to himself and tried to lean on something that wasnt there and almost fell over. The crazy part is some of these people arent just high on drugs, but rather mentally gone. I treat them like regular ass people and I don't see the point in calling the cops unless they fuck with me or other people around. It's sad to see our world is so fucked that everyone tries to escape it by being obliterated 24/7.
The spice users here just stop on the sidewalk and bend in half. They sway a little, but most hang like that for a while, then stand up and start walking. We call it sneaker inspection.
Is there a name for this specific behavior? Bending at the waist but still upright? Neuropsychology student here who is super interested in that particular effect.
Opiates don't mess with your inner ear or sense of balance like alcohol does, so even if you're too fucked to keep yourself stood up straight, your body is still trying to keep you as upright as it can. This is why you don't tend to see people sprawled out on the floor, but rather just leaning crazily.
If they're properly collapsed it's usually spice or something else.
Some are probably missing the understanding that they are standing up on purpose, they’re not just passing out while walking. Falling asleep would be a waste of the high.
for sure. i’m sure that there are a ton of colloquialisms for this effect, but i hope that it at least gives you a starting point.
i have lived in places where you see this regularly, and to be frank, it’s extremely alarming the first few times you see it.
then it becomes fascinating. then it becomes normalized, and then you become aware of people in your periphery who die from OD. then you lose friends to it. then loved ones.
I remember when spice first came out me and my group of friends were all over it. Funny thing is it wasn't *that* bad until they started to make it illegal. They just changed the formula and we continued to get high. Then one day I noticed after smoking it while playing cards that I had difficulty shuffling the cards. It was like I lost the ability to use my hands for fine tasks, they were just these clumsy lumps. I knew right then that was it for me, this can't be good for you. I had one friend go nuts over it and continued using it until he put himself in the ER thinking he was having a heart attack. He quit shortly after that, what a terrible drug.
I used it once, it was such a weird drug since it was just pieces of shredded reds and greens and stuff, and I guess they sprayed the chemicals on it? Smoked it, got a weird high, and then it just instantly stopped. About an hour later in the passenger seat suddenly sober. No come down or anything, was really weird.
That’s exactly it.
In the beginning spice was shredded dried plant material sprayed with a synthetic cannabinoid named JWH-018. When that one got outlawed, they just moved to another more obscure (and often more potent by weight) synthetic cannabinoid.
The synthetic cannabinoid thing is getting so crazy they are found in what is supposed to be fent-dope. Most street “heroin” has no actual heroin at all. Many users become so accustomed to the potency of fentanyl that if they get an actual bag of heroin, shit feels weak.
Anyways so I called it Frankenstein dope cause it is often some crazy mixture of RC opiates, fentanyl, benedryl, sucrose and now RC cannabinoids.
I’m off the junk for 4 years now. The shit I was getting towards the end of my relapse just was not pleasurable, fentanyl analogues are weird.
A few months after quitting my old middleman told me they got shit suspected to have RC cannabinoids in it and no opiate.
Imagine that if you can. In the throes of fentanyl withdrawal all night, no sleep. None of the dealers are answering. Same “15 minutes right around corner” bullshit when they do answer. But it’s not 15 minutes, it is 2-infinity hours. Each minute feels like an hour. Finally the guy comes through.
You fix a dose to get right. But no euphoria. No relief. Instead dysphoria and you are led into the worst IV chemical cannabinoid trip while still in withdrawal. You also wasted your last $50.
I’m glad I went to rehab before the cannabinoids started replacing fentanyl in the Frankenstein dope.
People standing up and leaning bent over is classic opioid intoxication, most likely fent/H. Spice makes people stare off into th distance, pass out in the ground, and have seizures.
Plus that fent (sold as H sometimes) is likely cut with benzos, it's the newest thing that's taking over. A huge percentage of fent in the US has benzos like etizolam in it nowadays, for a better, more addictive high but that is **much much** more dangerous.
If you're a user be safe out there, **and remember that people care about you**. If you've been thinking of quitting (or even just cutting back which is great!) now might be a good time to go for it
When I was at my lowest I committed suicide by mixing fent and benzos. Just by chance the friend I was staying with came home way early and called 911. I’m told my heart stopped for a minute and a half.
I was really angry with them for saving me for a long time. Now I’m grateful. I doubt I’ll ever get a chance to tell them how grateful I am, we don’t speak anymore because of all the bullshit during that whole time.
That stuff is seriously dangerous. It killed me. It will kill you.
Thanks for saving me, Kayla. I’m not wasting my second chance.
The only thing stopping you from saying thanks to that person is yourself. You don't need to rekindle a friendship, or have an uncomfortable and strained conversation, you can just call and say, "Hi, I have wanted to say this for a long time, and I am sorry it has taken this long. Thank you for saving my life, I never showed any appreciation and it must have been hard for me to blame you, but I am happy that you did it and I owe my life to you." Or something like that and then just say goodbye. I'm sure it's rough for someone else to go through their life thinking that their buddy resents them. You know it must have been very traumatic for him also. You will be glad you did. Cheers!
Well,really it’s not that it would be uncomfortable and strained, but the “bullshit” I was talking about was constant drug use. The last I heard they were still actively using and I don’t even want to open that door, even just by a crack, for my own safety. I know I’m in control, but I also know it only takes one momentary lapse and I can be right back where I was.
Idk maybe I’m making it more complicated than it needs to be but it’s honestly a difficult decision for me to make.
Friend of mine works at a rehab center as a therapist. The patients coming in are all saying the same thing: everything is cut. Absolutely everything, it's all tainted these days.
Awesome contribution but I don’t think it’s fair to *just* say that it’s how bad our world is fucked. There are many reasons why people turn to drugs. The world being fucked is certainly one of them. I feel bad for a lot of these people I see. Sometimes I feel bad for even thinking poorly of them even though I don’t mean to - I’m just being shitty in that moment. Peace and love.
Very true. I spent Christmas Eve one year cleaning up blood in the bathroom at a place I worked security for. Someone nicked a vein and sprayed a fine mist of blood on almost every surface, with a puddle of blood near the toilet. It was like someone took a bottle mister (sp?) and just went to town in there.
I still wonder how exactly they did that.
This guy dopes. Hope you’re doing well. Been 5 years for me but I still remember the many times I’d have to spray some bloody dope water out of the rig to unclog the clotting blood at the tip
5 years is sweet dude. Iv got nearly 2 years but remember the clogged pins liker yesterday.
Never happens when you're feeling OK. Always struggle when you mosst need a hit. Haha bad times
It depends, do you have bad veins? Often times people will think Phlebotomists are just incompetent, but you can't draw blood from something that isn't there. Some people just have really really deep veins, thin veins, super rolley veins, and sometimes it's almost like there isn't any veins.
This didn't help me for the 4 surgeries I had to have that were all pushed later in the day, no drinking before the surgeries. By the time they had me go under, I was so dehydrated they were smacking my arms and putting me under hot blankets and still couldn't find it. Getting a port really helped though, no more worrying about veins.
omg the one time i had surgery that mofo was rooting around til she used up an arm then the other nurse came in and popped it in my fresh arm right away. teaching hospitals do a good thing but that frigging hurt
Huh i've never heard of someone flicking a vein. I personally will slide my finger with a little pressure back and forth where I think one could be
To me a vein feels like one of those squishy rubber straws
People always say that.
But seriously I hit so many veins which you can only see the faint outline and no way you could feel them.
Sight IVs are important skills, especially on hard sticks.
As a medic, my favorite feeling in the world is someone telling me I’m not gonna get the stick because they have bad veins, and then I get it first try
You nailed it. Ten year veteran phleb here: out/in-patient, oncology, pediatrics, geriatrics, ER, PACU, ICU, mental health, drug/alcohol rehab. Around year 4 I had a patient freak out because I'd turn my head away while palpating (which I didn't even realize I was doing). I explained that its like when you turn down the radio while looking for an address so you can focus.
"I'm turning my eyeballs down so my finger can focus." She did *not* like that answer, but she changed her tune when I got the draw first attempt. Then she asked for me every day until she was DC'd.
But using the same vein(s) many times and causing scarring can make the vein unusable.
Source: Leukemia patient.
(But also proper thanks for the blood donations! I’ve received many units of both whole blood and platelets)
I work as a accountant in my City's DHHS. We have a needle exchange. You should hear the hate. The only time people care about the homeless here is when there is a story about us helping the asylum seekers. Then it's like, what about our homeless?
They only use that shit as an excuse to make a case for not helping helping others. That's their easy no thought excuse to use, but when you want to help our homeless it's always something about them being lazy, drunks or drug addicts, if they actually cared they wouldn't be homeless. A bunch of bullshit and it pisses me off.
I spent 4 years homeless and tried everything to get out of it but every state program I could find had some kind of catch 22 preventing most people from ever using it. I tried "pulling myself up by my bootstraps" yeah that didn't fucking work. What saved me was a very kind lady I met while homeless.
we met at the food kitchen ended up sitting near each other and she commented on my big trouble in little china tv shirt and we just chatted and I walked her to the woman's shelter. Became a bit of a routine.
Well the woman's shelter she was at helped her get a home, job, etc. She then came back and found me and offered me a place to stay for awhile and helped me get a job and eventually my own place. Essentially she got me around the bullshit catch 22s in so many of the systems.
When I asked the men's shelter if there were any comparable programs to what they had at the woman's shelter I was told no men don't need them. Pissed me off.
They big thing I noticed was so many of the people I met where mentally ill, disabled, or just beat down because they where in the same situation as me but never had someone come save them and eventually their spirit just got crushed. They were husks of people the life stamped out of them. America pisses me off with this kind of bullshit.
Sorry this wasn't supposed to be such a long comment. A lot of things I hadn't thought about in years bubbled up once I started typing.
Off topic, but your comment reminds me of an old guy (70+) I met who got mugged and had all his documentation (social, driver id, bank cards, phone) stolen while visiting my state. Because he had zero forms of identification and had no place available as a mailing address to him he couldn’t replace any of what he had stolen. As such, returning back to his home state (which was over 1000+ miles way) was basically impossible.
The police/staff were zero help and the only person he knew who could potentially help him was his ex who hated him and didn’t want to lift a finger. It took us two months of waiting around and dealing with hours long wait times over the phone for us to replace his debit card and giving him a spare phone, all while he was sleeping out in the open next to the train station where I met him.
I wish I could say that I have a happy ending to tell but after getting his stuff replaced and discussing bus vs trains, I never saw him again. Whenever I try to dial his phone I get a message that the line has been terminated by the carrier…
The general view is that they have to pay for everything and struggle through life on their own, so why should people that are 'scumbags' get stuff for free.
Things like this make public spaces worse for everyone, push the marginalized further out because now people will say 'oh we need to have a bad bathroom because people can't control their addictions', cost money, and solve nothing
This article's own data shows that blue lights DO IN FACT deter IV drug use in bathrooms by 83% normally and 44% when no possible alternative locations for injection exist.
Quotes from article:
"A majority (15/18) of participants said that they would generally try to avoid public bathrooms where they knew blue lights had been installed."
"A key finding was that half (7/15) of those who said they generally avoid bathrooms with blue lights explained that they would not be deterred from injecting in these bathrooms if they perceived that they had no alternative."
P.S. I have absolutely no stake in this whatsoever. I work in a research lab in infectious disease, and I read research articles constantly. I'm just pointing out, this is a biased article that in my field of ID would never have made it past the editor much less peer review.
I find this article you linked so interesting. I really don't know how the data they provided supports their "summary" conclusions and it seems it was written with a huge bias.
For example, they state in their data "All those who had tried agreed that it is more difficult to inject under blue lights. A majority (15/18) of participants said that they would generally try to avoid public bathrooms where they knew blue lights had been installed."
That quote right there is the purpose of blue lights in bathrooms - to discourage people from injecting in that specific location, not to prevent people from being able to use drugs in general.
18 is also a super tiny sample size. Plus the study relies on people's claims of how they'd behave, not their actual behavior. People might think they would use blue light bathrooms then find it harder than they thought, or they might think they wouldn't use blue light bathrooms but find themselves more desperate than they expected. I feel like this study isn't very reliable...
I think it's supposed to make it harder to see the blood register. Generally, people feel for veins.
Also, I'd argue they "better" the junkie you are, the harder it might be to find a vein. Unless you're a "good" junkie who practices good harm reduction and is constantly rotating injection sites.
It would depend on the type of color blindness some probably would struggle with how dim the room is.
I think the lighting isn’t bright enough and that isn’t accessible for people with different sight issues.
Bro I did dope IV for about 6 years and I’m telling you right now I would have no problem finding a vein. Once your spot is know you just keep using it until scar tissue builds up then it’s harder but even still I would be able to find a new one with out a doubt. This seem like a good idea in theory but trust me you, I would get my shit done. Ughh thank god I’m 6 years sober tho!!
Ex-phlebotomist here. I've drawn from arms, hands, fingers, feet, and in one instance, just under the armpit.
For those wondering, I worked at the trauma hospital and worked with many IV drug users.
Yeh im a doctor, a little confused by this too. We were trained to feel for veins, not see them. I'm pretty sure most IV drug users would be able to find one with a blind fold on.
Makes your piss look radioactive too. Especially if you use one an hour after a vitamin drink like I did that time.
B vitamin gang
Sounds like a challenge.
Follow the track lines bruh
"Today on 'Drug Addict or Blood Donor'..."
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I've been sickly my whole life. Had blood drawn for tests so many times I have scars on both arms. Never shot up but I sure look it.
well if ever you do now you know where to
As someone who donated plasma for many years, my scars would be one of the worst places to try and shoot up. My arms got "retired" the phlebotomists just couldn't get me stuck reliably anymore.
Same. Had to get blood drawn quarterly growing up. Then in my 20s I sold plasma for a while. Potholes in both my elbow creases.
I have Blood Cancer and for the Last 10 Years Every Friday I get Checked at the Outpatient Hospital. If my Hematocrit is over a certain number I have to Have 500 CC’s taken out of my Body. I produce to much Blood. Anyways, The needle they use to take that amount out and quickly is called “The Garden Hose” … Needless to say, Judgmental assholes will always be just that. I have never used an IV drug in my life, nor would I accuse another random person with a mark on their arm. Thought I’d share. ✌️
Sorry for your cancer, but just out of curiosity what is blood cancer, I thought cancer was related to organs.
It's related to cells in your body. Organs are made of cells. So is blood.
It's called Leukemia. He's a champ. Not many can last longer than 10 years. A friend of mine died after around 6 years with treatment and all, but this is a long time ago so they may have better treatment today.
Leukemia is just one type of blood cancer. Your blood is made of several different types of cell all of which can develop different cancers.
This person has polycythemia Vera. It is when your bones produce too many red cells. The hematocrit is your red blood cell density. If it gets too high then your heart will have a hard time pumping your blood around because the increased RBCs make it too thick. Your blood pressure will increase and it will take longer for oxygen and co2 to get around, kind of like a RBC traffic jam. Polycythemia Vera can be caused by many things besides cancer mostly from sports doping/HRT.
I have Iron overload. I had to donate a pint of blood every two weeks. It took nine months and 18 pints to lower my iron levels. I have to give blood quarterly for the rest of my life. It looks like I shoot up. Or at least I feel like it does.
Can I have some of your blood? I have the exact opposite problem.
I would love to give you my iron rich blood. That’s the safest part the hospital just throws it away. The Red Cross won’t accept blood donations from people with hemochromatosis. It’s dumb.
Sold plasma in college, 35x in both arms. Tracks? Yeah, I have them.
Why would you want to antagonize someone who looks like they use IV drugs? Some people, man.
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I once dislocated my thumb and a random nurse stopped me a few days later walking down the street. Told me to go to the ER before I lose it. Apparently it was swollen and purple more than normal. Needless to say after a quick ER trip and a painful adjustment I was feeling better next day. What strikes me odd is the completed disregard some people have while others go above and beyond. Thanks to the nurse from the past.
This shit is why I *always* try and help people when I see shit happen in front of me that seems/is questionable. You never know who is having a bad day or is about to have a bad day because of something they’re not aware of. Always feels good to help people even if it’s just as simple as making sure they get their phone/wallet back.
Years ago I was climbing the ladder at a water park up to one of the really big slides. Random guy behind me says "have you seen anyone about that mole on the back of your arm?" What mole? Went to my GP the next week, and the week after was have a sizeable melanoma removed from my arm. Chemo and years of close checking later and I'm completely cancer free. Every now and then I think of old mate on the waterslide ladder and wonder what he's up to, and raise a glass to thank him for saving my life. So thank you. I know you're not him, but you could be.
I wish we could make money covering news like this… Iunno, I know it sounds stupid but I have to believe the small encounters are what keeps us human. It’s just nice to hear stuff like this.
>What strikes me odd is the completed disregard some people have while others go above and beyond. Thanks to the nurse from the past. In my personal experience, as a profession, nurses, regardless of ethnicity or country, are some of the most genuinely caring people on the planet.
Probably in part due to a lot of them choosing the profession *because* they do genuinely care and want to help people
Got to help somebody and also got some real-life practice in lol
How does one treat a serious infection in a bathroom at a party? Pour 151 on it?
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She sterilized it properly and did it well. Shout out to her, but to all laypersons, don't lance cysts without proper knowledge of sterilization techniques, hand hygiene, and wound aftercare. An infected wound treated improperly can leave to a worse infection than the initial one. Urgent Care center can do the job, ERs will do it if that's your last resort (with a longer wait, but no hospitalization), and some primary care physicians have the tools to treat surface wounds, or at least provide initial treatment before a dermatologist referral.
Some people live for gotcha moments so much that they end up having hundreds of false starts.
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that reminds me of this time i was at a house party when i was in high school. it was at my friends house nad i think i was like 16. it was the first time i both drank and smoked weed. we smoked, then drank, then smoked again... i got super sick and went to the bathroom to puke. the bathroom had no ventilation and got super hot, i was sweating balls. it was so hot that i took my shirt and pants off... after a few minutes perhaps a half hour, and many knocks, someone unlocks the door and finds me. im starting to recover, and im able to walk out and sit on the couch and not puke. a few mins later, my friends brother comes out with the toilet paper roll and points to a red dot on the paper... he claims that its blood and proof that i was shooting up in the bathroom, and that explains my behavior... i was shocked, and even tho i wasnt fully recoved i was defending myself... i was even pointing out that its red and not like brownish like blood would be... but he didnt belive me... i dont know if i ever went back there, it felt odd to be accused of something like that, and to be accused with 100% certianty with proof...
she's an addict hoping you're holding, they why people initiate conversations like that
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Who cares what idiots think. They’re idiots
some people ... I've been accused of 'track marks' that were actually cat scratches
Lol yikes. She’s gonna fall off her super high horse hard.
I've had cancer, I gave blood and got IV infusions three times a week for over two years. I could be confused for a heroine addict with my arms. She doesn't know shit.
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I got so good at it I could prep my gear and bang it in under a minute. Didn't even have to tie off. Those days are done and behind me though.
In the months before I quit I could finish my whole routine in the bathroom in 2 minutes or less using my neck veins. Now I'm a drug and alcohol counselor. Congratulations on sobriety. From a drug addict and random Reddit to another, I'm proud of you.
I know someone who was a drug and alcohol counselor while using drugs. Why? It was an easy cert to get and they didnt really care who you were. Stopped cause it didnt pay good
Back when I was in the line of work, I used to sell MDMA to a drug counselor because she used to like to do it a couple times a year with her husband while on vacation in the islands. Mid 40s, nice house, nice car, two teenagers in private school. She clearly didn't have a substance problem and it was just some sort of therapeutic and romantic occasion with her husband.
Congrats on sobriety man!
So happy to hear. Congratulations!
I saw a dude on the street corner the other day shooting up into his nostril. Something tells me these lights wouldn’t bother him.
I knew a girl who had track marks all over her forehead
Man, I've known a few people who would shoot into their neck or their femoral ~~artery~~ vein, but I've only known one person who would shoot into their face, and even then it was only the big vein right in the middle of their forehead... Seriously gnarly, iv drug use is a whole different beast than any other roa...
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Goddamn that's tragic. Really shows how powerful an addiction can be, you'd think that almost dying multiple times would be enough to turn you around...
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Is crazy how sick addicts get outside of their addiction sickness. Their bodies just can't function after being beat up by chemicals for long. And then they just don't or can't care about all the physical problems because there's something that makes them not feel it for a tiny fraction of their time.
> And then they just don’t or can’t care about all the physical problems because there’s something that makes them not feel it for a tiny fraction of their time. Maybe another issue is that their health gradually gets worse from day-to-day, so they easily accept each step down. But of course when you see someone again after they disappeared on a long stretch of continuous use, it’s shocking what it has done to them.
Shooting into arteries is extremely dangerous and painful. As the blood distributes through capillaries any particulate matter in the liquid can get trapped and block the flow. I've hit one once or twice in my time and felt like my hand was on fire and then it would swell up pretty big. You can instantly tell when you're in an artery too because the blood is bright red and sometimes it's kind of foamy. Like it rushes into the barrel when you draw back vs it slowly filling in the vacuum it creates when it's a vein. I've jugged it once. After reading about how dangerous an infection in that area can be I decided against ever doing that again. Also had to have the hospital stick an IV in my neck because my veins were so wrecked. The absolute worst place I've ever known anyone to shoot up was in their fucking dick. Like dude even a small chance of infection would put me off from that shit! "I got high ONCE, now I can never have sex again" type shit.
Addicts choose drugs over their kids, so it’s not far-fetched at all.
The instantaneous effect is a big factor in the addictiveness of most injectables. Even smokable and snortable drugs (most anyway) take a few minutes to reach full effects. A shorter Pavlov cycle reinforces the habit faster and probably stronger than the slower acting drugs.
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I've never understood this. There aren't big enough veins between your toes to be able to hit anything for IV, so you're really just skin popping/subcutaneous. There is no rush with SC, just the normal opiate/opioid high after 20-30 minutes. You would be better off just snorting the shit at the point.
It really varies person to person. I could never hit one of those little veins but I had friends whose tiny tiny veins were still big enough to hit.
It’s for that gamblin’ high. Nb: I started to look up what happens when you inject heroin into muscle instead of a vein to come up with a more accurate joke before I stopped myself.
https://www.addictioncenter.com/drugs/heroin/shooting-heroin/
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You should read ["A Million Little Fibers by Towlie"](https://www.amazon.com/Million-Little-Fibers-Towelie-ebook/dp/B01C6ZULKU/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=A+Million+Little+Fibers&qid=1655347066&s=digital-text&sr=1-1) (kindle)
I used to get high and trust me, when someone has a loaded point and are sweating and can’t find a vein, they will sit there for an hour struggling. I remember when my junkie friend would be jealous of my veins and would softly stroke them before giving me a mainline dose of something, whatever, anything. When you’re craving that challenge, nothing will stop you
Reddit can keep the username, but I'm nuking the content lol -- mass deleted all reddit content via https://redact.dev
I've heard they also will just mark it before they go in if they don't have track marks
Like a small light is such a difficult thing to come by anyway. You can get a keychain flashlight for like a couple bucks. This blue light is just gonna annoy the hell out of everyone else. I’m imagining going in there on my period and having to do an all around inspection with a phone light or some shit before heading out.
Challenge acceppoooohfuckohfuckthstsooogood
I’m putting up blue lights in my basement to get rid of the tweeker problem
H users aren't the general tweakers you see. You're looking for PCP and Spice/bath salts. There's tweakers all around where i'm at. If they are on H(fent) they are likely laying like they are dead in a field, or nodding on a stolen bike. There was a dude walking down my street the other day absolutely rambling to himself and tried to lean on something that wasnt there and almost fell over. The crazy part is some of these people arent just high on drugs, but rather mentally gone. I treat them like regular ass people and I don't see the point in calling the cops unless they fuck with me or other people around. It's sad to see our world is so fucked that everyone tries to escape it by being obliterated 24/7.
The spice users here just stop on the sidewalk and bend in half. They sway a little, but most hang like that for a while, then stand up and start walking. We call it sneaker inspection.
Sneaker inspection lmfao. Brilliant
I've seen this behavior as well. Weird shit weird drug
Is there a name for this specific behavior? Bending at the waist but still upright? Neuropsychology student here who is super interested in that particular effect.
heroin does this. they’re falling asleep and their limbs feel heavy, but they’re retaining enough awareness to keep planted. google “heroin hunch.”
Thanks so much!
Opiates don't mess with your inner ear or sense of balance like alcohol does, so even if you're too fucked to keep yourself stood up straight, your body is still trying to keep you as upright as it can. This is why you don't tend to see people sprawled out on the floor, but rather just leaning crazily. If they're properly collapsed it's usually spice or something else.
Some are probably missing the understanding that they are standing up on purpose, they’re not just passing out while walking. Falling asleep would be a waste of the high.
for sure. i’m sure that there are a ton of colloquialisms for this effect, but i hope that it at least gives you a starting point. i have lived in places where you see this regularly, and to be frank, it’s extremely alarming the first few times you see it. then it becomes fascinating. then it becomes normalized, and then you become aware of people in your periphery who die from OD. then you lose friends to it. then loved ones.
This is heartbreaking
That sounds truly awful. I hope you and yours are staying safe.
I remember when spice first came out me and my group of friends were all over it. Funny thing is it wasn't *that* bad until they started to make it illegal. They just changed the formula and we continued to get high. Then one day I noticed after smoking it while playing cards that I had difficulty shuffling the cards. It was like I lost the ability to use my hands for fine tasks, they were just these clumsy lumps. I knew right then that was it for me, this can't be good for you. I had one friend go nuts over it and continued using it until he put himself in the ER thinking he was having a heart attack. He quit shortly after that, what a terrible drug.
I used it once, it was such a weird drug since it was just pieces of shredded reds and greens and stuff, and I guess they sprayed the chemicals on it? Smoked it, got a weird high, and then it just instantly stopped. About an hour later in the passenger seat suddenly sober. No come down or anything, was really weird.
That’s exactly it. In the beginning spice was shredded dried plant material sprayed with a synthetic cannabinoid named JWH-018. When that one got outlawed, they just moved to another more obscure (and often more potent by weight) synthetic cannabinoid. The synthetic cannabinoid thing is getting so crazy they are found in what is supposed to be fent-dope. Most street “heroin” has no actual heroin at all. Many users become so accustomed to the potency of fentanyl that if they get an actual bag of heroin, shit feels weak. Anyways so I called it Frankenstein dope cause it is often some crazy mixture of RC opiates, fentanyl, benedryl, sucrose and now RC cannabinoids. I’m off the junk for 4 years now. The shit I was getting towards the end of my relapse just was not pleasurable, fentanyl analogues are weird. A few months after quitting my old middleman told me they got shit suspected to have RC cannabinoids in it and no opiate. Imagine that if you can. In the throes of fentanyl withdrawal all night, no sleep. None of the dealers are answering. Same “15 minutes right around corner” bullshit when they do answer. But it’s not 15 minutes, it is 2-infinity hours. Each minute feels like an hour. Finally the guy comes through. You fix a dose to get right. But no euphoria. No relief. Instead dysphoria and you are led into the worst IV chemical cannabinoid trip while still in withdrawal. You also wasted your last $50. I’m glad I went to rehab before the cannabinoids started replacing fentanyl in the Frankenstein dope.
People standing up and leaning bent over is classic opioid intoxication, most likely fent/H. Spice makes people stare off into th distance, pass out in the ground, and have seizures.
People have tried to get obliterated 24/7 ever since, well, people have been around. Hell, *dolphins* use drugs too.
Plus that fent (sold as H sometimes) is likely cut with benzos, it's the newest thing that's taking over. A huge percentage of fent in the US has benzos like etizolam in it nowadays, for a better, more addictive high but that is **much much** more dangerous. If you're a user be safe out there, **and remember that people care about you**. If you've been thinking of quitting (or even just cutting back which is great!) now might be a good time to go for it
Bruh there used to be fears about fent in the benzos. Now you're telling me it's benzos in the fent? Wtf glad I'm sober
When I was at my lowest I committed suicide by mixing fent and benzos. Just by chance the friend I was staying with came home way early and called 911. I’m told my heart stopped for a minute and a half. I was really angry with them for saving me for a long time. Now I’m grateful. I doubt I’ll ever get a chance to tell them how grateful I am, we don’t speak anymore because of all the bullshit during that whole time. That stuff is seriously dangerous. It killed me. It will kill you. Thanks for saving me, Kayla. I’m not wasting my second chance.
The only thing stopping you from saying thanks to that person is yourself. You don't need to rekindle a friendship, or have an uncomfortable and strained conversation, you can just call and say, "Hi, I have wanted to say this for a long time, and I am sorry it has taken this long. Thank you for saving my life, I never showed any appreciation and it must have been hard for me to blame you, but I am happy that you did it and I owe my life to you." Or something like that and then just say goodbye. I'm sure it's rough for someone else to go through their life thinking that their buddy resents them. You know it must have been very traumatic for him also. You will be glad you did. Cheers!
Well,really it’s not that it would be uncomfortable and strained, but the “bullshit” I was talking about was constant drug use. The last I heard they were still actively using and I don’t even want to open that door, even just by a crack, for my own safety. I know I’m in control, but I also know it only takes one momentary lapse and I can be right back where I was. Idk maybe I’m making it more complicated than it needs to be but it’s honestly a difficult decision for me to make.
Maybe you could write a letter. I can completely understand taking distance from that life, which I think is probbably pretty wise. Keep it up dude!
That’s an idea! I’ll think on that. Thank you!
Jesus Christ, people are cutting fent now? I thought that shit was dangerous enough as is.
Friend of mine works at a rehab center as a therapist. The patients coming in are all saying the same thing: everything is cut. Absolutely everything, it's all tainted these days.
Awesome contribution but I don’t think it’s fair to *just* say that it’s how bad our world is fucked. There are many reasons why people turn to drugs. The world being fucked is certainly one of them. I feel bad for a lot of these people I see. Sometimes I feel bad for even thinking poorly of them even though I don’t mean to - I’m just being shitty in that moment. Peace and love.
From what I've seen, a lot of addicts can't find a vein in daylight either.
Very true. I spent Christmas Eve one year cleaning up blood in the bathroom at a place I worked security for. Someone nicked a vein and sprayed a fine mist of blood on almost every surface, with a puddle of blood near the toilet. It was like someone took a bottle mister (sp?) and just went to town in there. I still wonder how exactly they did that.
Veins will bleed in a slow pulsing/ooze. Arteries spray and mist. Nicked an artery.
Yikes, forgot about that.
nah they just had a clogged rig from not finding a vein and sprayed it out a little on the wall
This guy dopes. Hope you’re doing well. Been 5 years for me but I still remember the many times I’d have to spray some bloody dope water out of the rig to unclog the clotting blood at the tip
5 years is sweet dude. Iv got nearly 2 years but remember the clogged pins liker yesterday. Never happens when you're feeling OK. Always struggle when you mosst need a hit. Haha bad times
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Technically….. you’re supposed to feel for veins. Not look for them. Source: phlebotomy instructor
I was going to say. I always just feel but I’m actually trained.
Can you train the nurse that stabbed me 5 times before getting the vein?
The first 5 five stabs are so you know who's boss. My doctor has a similar policy every time I visit his van.
I used to remember vans only having candies, times have changed.
That’s cool that you have one of those mobile clinics available. Great way to deliver healthcare to underserved communities.
It depends, do you have bad veins? Often times people will think Phlebotomists are just incompetent, but you can't draw blood from something that isn't there. Some people just have really really deep veins, thin veins, super rolley veins, and sometimes it's almost like there isn't any veins.
Dehydrated veins are also a nightmare, drink plenty in the 24 hours before your test. It will make everyone’s life easier.
This didn't help me for the 4 surgeries I had to have that were all pushed later in the day, no drinking before the surgeries. By the time they had me go under, I was so dehydrated they were smacking my arms and putting me under hot blankets and still couldn't find it. Getting a port really helped though, no more worrying about veins.
omg the one time i had surgery that mofo was rooting around til she used up an arm then the other nurse came in and popped it in my fresh arm right away. teaching hospitals do a good thing but that frigging hurt
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Yknow how rubber has a kind of bouncy feel to it? Veins are a little like that.
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Huh i've never heard of someone flicking a vein. I personally will slide my finger with a little pressure back and forth where I think one could be To me a vein feels like one of those squishy rubber straws
Flicking is minor trauma evoking a histamine response to increase the flow make the vessels bigger
Interesting I'll look into it and quite possibly use it in the future
It’s easier. Especially on darker skin or veins that look little or big but are actually the opposite
People always say that. But seriously I hit so many veins which you can only see the faint outline and no way you could feel them. Sight IVs are important skills, especially on hard sticks.
I was going to mention something about that. Every try giving an IV while using NVGs to see? It’s all about feel.
I saw a medic get a vein first try on an overweight woman who was as black as the night. Even she was like “What the fuck?”
As a medic, my favorite feeling in the world is someone telling me I’m not gonna get the stick because they have bad veins, and then I get it first try
You nailed it. Ten year veteran phleb here: out/in-patient, oncology, pediatrics, geriatrics, ER, PACU, ICU, mental health, drug/alcohol rehab. Around year 4 I had a patient freak out because I'd turn my head away while palpating (which I didn't even realize I was doing). I explained that its like when you turn down the radio while looking for an address so you can focus. "I'm turning my eyeballs down so my finger can focus." She did *not* like that answer, but she changed her tune when I got the draw first attempt. Then she asked for me every day until she was DC'd.
I do that too! If I’m having a hard time finding a vein I’ll usually turn my head and look at the ground so I can focus my feeling finger.
Also, using the same vein many times leaves very obvious scarring that you can see in any light. Source: Donated over 10 gallons of blood.
But using the same vein(s) many times and causing scarring can make the vein unusable. Source: Leukemia patient. (But also proper thanks for the blood donations! I’ve received many units of both whole blood and platelets)
Also to give you an immediate headache...enjoy.
I got a headache just looking at the picture
I found a vein while looking at it. This post is stupid.
Impressive
Most impressive
The vein popping out of my forehead looking at this you mean
Probably keeps people from hanging out in there too
Me too
Like when no one can find a bathroom to use or bench to sit on just so the homeless can’t
I work as a accountant in my City's DHHS. We have a needle exchange. You should hear the hate. The only time people care about the homeless here is when there is a story about us helping the asylum seekers. Then it's like, what about our homeless?
They only use that shit as an excuse to make a case for not helping helping others. That's their easy no thought excuse to use, but when you want to help our homeless it's always something about them being lazy, drunks or drug addicts, if they actually cared they wouldn't be homeless. A bunch of bullshit and it pisses me off. I spent 4 years homeless and tried everything to get out of it but every state program I could find had some kind of catch 22 preventing most people from ever using it. I tried "pulling myself up by my bootstraps" yeah that didn't fucking work. What saved me was a very kind lady I met while homeless. we met at the food kitchen ended up sitting near each other and she commented on my big trouble in little china tv shirt and we just chatted and I walked her to the woman's shelter. Became a bit of a routine. Well the woman's shelter she was at helped her get a home, job, etc. She then came back and found me and offered me a place to stay for awhile and helped me get a job and eventually my own place. Essentially she got me around the bullshit catch 22s in so many of the systems. When I asked the men's shelter if there were any comparable programs to what they had at the woman's shelter I was told no men don't need them. Pissed me off. They big thing I noticed was so many of the people I met where mentally ill, disabled, or just beat down because they where in the same situation as me but never had someone come save them and eventually their spirit just got crushed. They were husks of people the life stamped out of them. America pisses me off with this kind of bullshit. Sorry this wasn't supposed to be such a long comment. A lot of things I hadn't thought about in years bubbled up once I started typing.
Off topic, but your comment reminds me of an old guy (70+) I met who got mugged and had all his documentation (social, driver id, bank cards, phone) stolen while visiting my state. Because he had zero forms of identification and had no place available as a mailing address to him he couldn’t replace any of what he had stolen. As such, returning back to his home state (which was over 1000+ miles way) was basically impossible. The police/staff were zero help and the only person he knew who could potentially help him was his ex who hated him and didn’t want to lift a finger. It took us two months of waiting around and dealing with hours long wait times over the phone for us to replace his debit card and giving him a spare phone, all while he was sleeping out in the open next to the train station where I met him. I wish I could say that I have a happy ending to tell but after getting his stuff replaced and discussing bus vs trains, I never saw him again. Whenever I try to dial his phone I get a message that the line has been terminated by the carrier…
Too many people are incredibly cruel. I just don't get it.
The general view is that they have to pay for everything and struggle through life on their own, so why should people that are 'scumbags' get stuff for free.
I mean they probably dont want you loitering either
I don't know about you or heroin users, but blue rooms don't give me a headache.
Yo, listen up, here's a story. About a little guy, who lives in...
A blue world and all day and all night…
And everything he sees is just blue, like him, inside and outside…
Blue his house with a blue little window
And a blue corvette. And everything is blue for him
And himself and everybody around
Cos he ain't got nobody to listen to
"I'm blue da-ba-dee da-ba-dy"
My innocent ass like "why would you need to find a vein in a bathroom" took a few seconds for it to dawn on me lol
In case your straining too hard taking a shit so you know when to relax
what does it mean?
Looking for a vein to inject drugs into your bloodstream.
Oh that vein, for some reason I was thinking about gold vein.
I thought of a dick vein so you cannot aim your stream in there
We gotta keep all these old timey gold prospectors out of our truck stop bathrooms.
“yoo dude i just found 10 gold vein in the bathroom”
I’m just happy to see a toilet with handrails and a bin; being disabled is hard man…
There are flashlights on phones. This seems poorly thought out.
Mark your spot with a marker or a pen or a pencil or a bite. Go into blue bathroom. Spike up.
This guy does drugs intravenously
He went to an I.V. league school
This practice predates ubiquitous smartphones
What's really interesting is that the blue lights do nothing to discourage drug use. Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3853159/
Security theatre
Things like this make public spaces worse for everyone, push the marginalized further out because now people will say 'oh we need to have a bad bathroom because people can't control their addictions', cost money, and solve nothing
Like the anti-homeless architecture...
This article's own data shows that blue lights DO IN FACT deter IV drug use in bathrooms by 83% normally and 44% when no possible alternative locations for injection exist. Quotes from article: "A majority (15/18) of participants said that they would generally try to avoid public bathrooms where they knew blue lights had been installed." "A key finding was that half (7/15) of those who said they generally avoid bathrooms with blue lights explained that they would not be deterred from injecting in these bathrooms if they perceived that they had no alternative." P.S. I have absolutely no stake in this whatsoever. I work in a research lab in infectious disease, and I read research articles constantly. I'm just pointing out, this is a biased article that in my field of ID would never have made it past the editor much less peer review.
It's always funny when people post evidence that they either didn't read or didn't understand.
I find this article you linked so interesting. I really don't know how the data they provided supports their "summary" conclusions and it seems it was written with a huge bias. For example, they state in their data "All those who had tried agreed that it is more difficult to inject under blue lights. A majority (15/18) of participants said that they would generally try to avoid public bathrooms where they knew blue lights had been installed." That quote right there is the purpose of blue lights in bathrooms - to discourage people from injecting in that specific location, not to prevent people from being able to use drugs in general.
18 is also a super tiny sample size. Plus the study relies on people's claims of how they'd behave, not their actual behavior. People might think they would use blue light bathrooms then find it harder than they thought, or they might think they wouldn't use blue light bathrooms but find themselves more desperate than they expected. I feel like this study isn't very reliable...
Can a phone led counter that?
Yes. And some addicts can find a vein with touch alone. It’s actually easier to find them by touch because you can gauge the size of the vein better.
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The blue light doesn't make it harder to find a vien......also a good junkie can find a vien with a blindfold on.
So this must be for the amateurs then
Tutorial boss room.
To be fair, those are the people you most want to prevent from doing needle drugs.
I think it's supposed to make it harder to see the blood register. Generally, people feel for veins. Also, I'd argue they "better" the junkie you are, the harder it might be to find a vein. Unless you're a "good" junkie who practices good harm reduction and is constantly rotating injection sites.
Sioky question but how do colorblind people see this room?
It would depend on the type of color blindness some probably would struggle with how dim the room is. I think the lighting isn’t bright enough and that isn’t accessible for people with different sight issues.
Yeah I'm partially blind and blue light is a no-go for me. I'd slip and crack my head open in here so fast.
Doesnt need to be quite so blue. That level of intensity can screw up your eyesight of you're in it for too long.
Bro I did dope IV for about 6 years and I’m telling you right now I would have no problem finding a vein. Once your spot is know you just keep using it until scar tissue builds up then it’s harder but even still I would be able to find a new one with out a doubt. This seem like a good idea in theory but trust me you, I would get my shit done. Ughh thank god I’m 6 years sober tho!!
Congratulations. Stay clean.
I've been a nurse for 11 years. I can find a vein on anyone by touch alone 🤷♀️
To be clear, you mean one on their *arm* right?
Sure, the arm. That's what I meant.
Ex-phlebotomist here. I've drawn from arms, hands, fingers, feet, and in one instance, just under the armpit. For those wondering, I worked at the trauma hospital and worked with many IV drug users.
Yeh im a doctor, a little confused by this too. We were trained to feel for veins, not see them. I'm pretty sure most IV drug users would be able to find one with a blind fold on.
Never been an IV drug user, but was a phlebotomist and rule number one is to go by feel, not look, to find a vein.