Overdosing isnt what should keep IV users awake at night

[cj]

Endocarditis an infection of one or more valves of the heart. It is incredibly lethal in the short and medium term in IV drug users. some studies estimate a 5 year cumulative mortality rate nearing 100 percent in this population. With the caveat that we are a difficult population to study. It's a disease of non sterile use. All those stories of shooting up out of midpuddles and shit are straight up survivorship bias. The ones who got sick don't live to tell the tale mostly. The easiest way to prevent it is using sterile technique ruthlessly. Surgical mask over mouth and nose after washing hands with soap then alcohol. Wiping the surface around the cooker with alcohol then the cooker itself. Use a sterile cotton or better a micron filter to draw up. Then wipe the injection site with an alcohol wipe. Do this before every single injection not just the very first one. Once the shot is drawn up put the cooker somewhere that dust and spit won't fly in it from people talking or moving around. I use the microwave. If it'll be more then 4 hours between shots cover the cooker with saran wrap and put it in the fridge.

You must be more steril as your using career progresses. Heart valves are slick at birth. Iv drugs introduce microscopic particles that hit the valves and make the surface rough and allow bacteria to latch on in the holes. The instability of blood around the valve inhibits your immune system from properly responding as well as antibiotics from working as intended.

This is a little talked about complication that is fucking scary. My gf had it and should be dead. Her fiance is dead from it. She will need lifelong care and is only alive by our ruthless application of sterile practice since we began iv drugs again

 

[G_Chem]

I walked into a cafe yesterday and saw in the bathroom they had fresh sterile water, fentanyl test kits, and info on needle exchanges. Couldn’t help but thank the owner and told them how if it wasn’t for clean IV practices I might not be alive today. I used clean rigs, sterile water, almost every time and it shows.

-GC