Harm Reduction The best filter for injection aside from a micron filter?

[rymerkk]

in response to people saying that heating dissolves cuts and it resolidifies in your body once it cools.. wouldn't letting the solution cool off completely before filtering and slamming it stop that? I mean I could be wrong, but if it has that effect IN your body.. wouldn't it have that effect OUT of it?

 

[DooMMooD]

I remember heroinhelper saying something about boiling water being one of the best ways to do it. Kills bacteria, gets the water better somehow. I remember SOME problem with using certain distilled waters (a lot are NOT MEANT FOR CONSUMPTION, but rather USE IN PRODUCTS such as solution makers and disc cleaners. we used to use distilled water in the disc cleaner at the film place I worked, and that shit was not meant to be drank).

Certain tap waters are better, others are worse. Bottled water is one of the worst, who the fuck knows what was in that spring? And the whole point of spring water is that its straight from the source, and not "cleaned" with chemicals like water from the sink.

I also remember seeing that study and if I recall correctly using a combination of cotton/cigarette filters (including double filter with the one) was the best alternative to a real micron filter. Obviously not even close but the next best thing (aside from other REAL filters like a sterilfit, etc).

Just what I remember off the top of my head, someone correct me if I'm mistaken.

 

[Cane2theLeft]

^ the reason using cigarette and then cotton works better than either alone is that the former can filter out larger particles and then the latter filters smaller ones. It's always good to filter out the larger particles prior to filtering out smaller ones. Even with a micron, it's good to filter with cotton or something else prior.

There is LOADS of misinformation and misunderstanding regarding using heat floating around so be weary of claims regarding that.

in response to people saying that heating dissolves cuts and it resolidifies in your body once it cools.. wouldn't letting the solution cool off completely before filtering and slamming it stop that? I mean I could be wrong, but if it has that effect IN your body.. wouldn't it have that effect OUT of it?

Regardless of whether the otherwise-insoluble cuts re-solidify in yours veins, do you REALLY want those in your veins at all re-solidified or not? Addicts feel better psychologically when it all dissolves because they feel like they aren't losing anything that way but in reality, most pills that people inject are readily water soluble so there is no practical benefit to dissolving the rest of the pill with heat but there IS a lot of practical harm it can do.

 

[Swimmingdancer]

in response to people saying that heating dissolves cuts and it resolidifies in your body once it cools.. wouldn't letting the solution cool off completely before filtering and slamming it stop that? I mean I could be wrong, but if it has that effect IN your body.. wouldn't it have that effect OUT of it?

Yes, it should. Any cuts that were water-soluble in room temperature water would remain dissolved, but those cuts that were only soluble at high temperature would un-dissolve. If you inject that heated then cooled solution without filtering it it will still be bad for you, because those particles will still be in the solution. If you want to heat your drug (say, in order to kill some bacteria - this does not kill all bacteria or viruses as it is not long enough) then you could cool it completely and then filter it.

I remember heroinhelper saying something about boiling water being one of the best ways to do it. Kills bacteria, gets the water better somehow. I remember SOME problem with using certain distilled waters (a lot are NOT MEANT FOR CONSUMPTION, but rather USE IN PRODUCTS such as solution makers and disc cleaners. we used to use distilled water in the disc cleaner at the film place I worked, and that shit was not meant to be drank).

Certain tap waters are better, others are worse. Bottled water is one of the worst, who the fuck knows what was in that spring? And the whole point of spring water is that its straight from the source, and not "cleaned" with chemicals like water from the sink.

I also remember seeing that study and if I recall correctly using a combination of cotton/cigarette filters (including double filter with the one) was the best alternative to a real micron filter. Obviously not even close but the next best thing (aside from other REAL filters like a sterilfit, etc).

Just what I remember off the top of my head, someone correct me if I'm mistaken.

There is a thread that has a list of all the different types of water available and their level of safety for injection. It took me forever to find because "hierarchy" is mis-spelled in the title
http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/threads/489449-Heirarchy-of-water-for-injection-safety

 

[Paulymorphone]

Because micron filters are so expensive, sometimes i cut a cigarette filter in half and put it at the base of a 3ml syringe, transfer the liquid into it and squeeze it with the plunger and out the needle.....what you get is not as clear or pure as fro a micron filter, but I'm sure it's safer than not using a filter at all.....but one of my friends told me I could get cotton fever doing that, is that true? I don't know...

 

[DooMMooD]

Thats why i was saying a combination, i knew that was the reason, but I couldn't remember if they used cotton and a cig filter or something else. Guess it was cotton.

And i'm not saying use hot water when you add the dope. I'm simply saying using previously boiled tap water is far superior to spring water. Obviously not while its still boiling lol you boil it and let it cool back down.

 

[rymerkk]

Yes, it should. Any cuts that were water-soluble in room temperature water would remain dissolved, but those cuts that were only soluble at high temperature would un-dissolve. If you inject that heated then cooled solution without filtering it it will still be bad for you, because those particles will still be in the solution. If you want to heat your drug (say, in order to kill some bacteria - this does not kill all bacteria or viruses as it is not long enough) then you could cool it completely and then filter it.



yeah of course i was talking about filtering it after heating then letting it cool. i would never inject anything without filtering it first (unless it was pure pharma-made ampules). I was just posing the question because the method of heating, letting cool, and filtering is what i do. the only reason i use heat is cause i IV black tar and it does help it dissolve.. a lot. although the new gear i get is rock solid and i have to crush it down into powder before adding water as it dissolves better.

side/off-topic question: the new gear i was talking about crushes into a light to dark brown powder, but before that is normal black color and doesnt reclump up very much with moisture like i've seen with tar cut with lactose or whatever and dissolves much easier without heat than any other tar i've come across (as it breaks into a fine brown powder). anyone ever had experience with BTH like this and know why it does this and if i should be using heat still as it pretty much dissolves on it's own. the answer to the 2nd part seems obvious, but people have different opinions on BTH.

 

[Swimmingdancer]

yeah of course i was talking about filtering it after heating then letting it cool. i would never inject anything without filtering it first (unless it was pure pharma-made ampules). I was just posing the question because the method of heating, letting cool, and filtering is what i do. the only reason i use heat is cause i IV black tar and it does help it dissolve.. a lot. although the new gear i get is rock solid and i have to crush it down into powder before adding water as it dissolves better.

side/off-topic question: the new gear i was talking about crushes into a light to dark brown powder, but before that is normal black color and doesnt reclump up very much with moisture like i've seen with tar cut with lactose or whatever and dissolves much easier without heat than any other tar i've come across (as it breaks into a fine brown powder). anyone ever had experience with BTH like this and know why it does this and if i should be using heat still as it pretty much dissolves on it's own. the answer to the 2nd part seems obvious, but people have different opinions on BTH.

I'm not very experienced with tar heroin, but according to a lot of posts I've read on Bluelight, you supposedly don't actually need heat tar heroin or powder heroin to get it to dissolve, just base heroin - it's just the cuts that aren't dissolving. But then some other people say that tar heroin won't dissolve without heating or takes a really long time and a lot of crushing/mixing to get it to dissolve. Anyway, I'm not sure what the type of heroin you are referring to is. Usually if it is a brown powder like that that means it is, as you said, processed and mixed with lactose. There is so much variety in tar heroin, it's really hard to say. I would say that if it dissolves fine on its own then the only reason to heat it would be to kill off bacteria. People are always arguing that there is no need to heat drugs because heating for a few seconds isn't long enough to kill off 100% of bacteria and viruses, but I personally disagree - it does kill some, and just because it doesn't kill 100% does not mean it isn't worth doing. Just make sure you either filter before heating or else let it cool completely and then filter it.

One study (see here) found that heating your dope above 65 degrees C for 15 seconds was enough to kill HIV. Who knows what other bacteria and viruses could be killed by heating your dope. It has been suggested as one of the reasons that black tar heroin users who cook their dope have a lower incidence of HIV than white powder users who don't cook their dope.

Personally I like the method of heating then cooling then filtering, it seems easiest.

 

[Swimmingdancer]

Because micron filters are so expensive, sometimes i cut a cigarette filter in half and put it at the base of a 3ml syringe, transfer the liquid into it and squeeze it with the plunger and out the needle.....what you get is not as clear or pure as fro a micron filter, but I'm sure it's safer than not using a filter at all.....but one of my friends told me I could get cotton fever doing that, is that true? I don't know...

"Cotton fever" is simply an immune response to bacteria entering the bloodstream. The reason it is called "cotton fever" is because it started off as a belief that it was caused by bacteria that live on cotton, but that is actually only one of the potential causes, it can be caused by any bacterial contamination. The risk of cotton fever is generally lower with a clean cigarette filter than with a cotton ball, and much lower (although not impossible) with a proper micron filtration process, bacteriostatic water, etc. Filtering your dope with a cigarette filter is definitely much better than not filtering it at all and does not raise the risk of bacterial contamination enough to warrant not using a filter at all.

If you are concerned about "cotton fever" then make sure your cooker/spoon/cap is clean (wipe it with an alcohol swab), always use clean syringes, wash your hands thoroughly before prepping your dope or touching the filter, use sterile water, alcohol-swab your injection site before injecting and heat your drug solution after you filter it (or heat it, then cool it completely, then filter it). The following is purely anecdotal, but I used cigarette filters and heated my dope throughout my 13 year injection career and never once got cotton fever; I had friends who did not heat their dope and used cotton balls or no filter and they did get cotton fever every so often.

 

[Tommyboy]

I posted this in another thread, but it's good information to have in this thread as well.

I found this study which performed experiments with four types of filters, and compared the results. I quoted the method below, but the website in the link has more information.

Method: Permission was sought and granted from the Crown Office through the Procurator Fiscal for Grampian Region, to obtain street heroin for the purpose of this research project. Samples of street heroin from closed cases were supplied from Grampian Police after inspection of the premises and approval of the project by the Home Office. Semi structured interviews were carried out with 20 current or ex injecting drug users, to establish the methods they used to prepare their injections. Harm reduction leaflets were consulted to ensure that the preparation technique used followed the best practice advice given ( Exeter Drugs Project, 2nd Ed; HIT, 1995). From this, the laboratory method was established.

250mg of street heroin was weighed accurately. This quantity was chosen because most drug users reported injecting a 'quarter gram bag' or preparing a 'quarter gram hit' and sharing it with a partner. Citric acid was stated as the preferred additive and the quantity used described as a 'small pinch'. Ten 'small pinches' of citric acid were weighed and the average weight taken (14mg). Therefore 14mg of citric acid BP. was weighed accurately and added to the heroin. This was then transferred onto a clean metal tea spoon and 0.8ml water freshly boiled and cooled from the kettle was added. This quantity was used because 80 units (the measure on an insulin syringe equivalent to 0.8ml) was the quantity most commonly reported as used. This was then stirred with the sheathed end of an insulin syringe and heated over a flame. The point where the solid mass appeared to sink to the bottom of the spoon and the top liquid appeared clear and began to bubble was taken to be the end point of heating, as described during the interviews.

The three make shift filters were investigated: (1) A quarter of a cigarette filter, prepared by removing the outer paper, tearing in half then cutting in half again. This was stated to be the most popular filter used by those interviewed. (2) A hand rolling filter (Rizla 7mm acetate filter), no preparation necessary. This type of filter is distributed by some needle exchanges in the UK. (3) A tip from a cotton bud, removed by pulling gently with the fingers and rolling the end fibres into a thread (perceived to reduce fibre shedding). This was stated to be used by some of those interviewed, if no cigarette filter was available. The commercial syringe filter investigated was the 5 micron Acrodisk, made by Gelman Sciences. This filter is specifically designed for use by medical and scientific staff to remove particles from injections. The particles were detected using the Coulter MultisizerÒ. The size range of particles selected for analysis was between 2 to 60 microns, to ensure those of interest were detecteda. Controls were analysed using injections made with water only, both boiled and cooled from the kettle and water for injection. These were done to confirm that the heroin is the major source of particles and not the water and preparation procedure. Unfiltered and filtered injections were analysed. Each experiment was repeated three times and the average result taken. Change in concentration of diamorphine was measured using Capillary Zone Electrophoresis (Hewlett Packard), using a method developed for a separate research project (Mrs Ann Low, personal communication). The concentrations before and after filtration were compared. Each sample was assayed twice and the average result was taken. Street heroin is made up of many opiates, diamorphine usually being the principle one. Therefore it is important to note that further work is necessary to measure all opiates in the sample to gain a complete understanding of how the filtration process may affect the psychoactive effects of injections made from street heroin (source).

Percentage of particles removed by the four different filters used in this experiment​

[table="width: 750, class: grid, align: center"]
[tr]
[td]

Cigarette Filter​

[/td]
[td]

Rizla Filter​

[/td]
[td]

Cotton Bud​

[/td]
[td]

Micron Filter​

[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]

79.4​

[/td]
[td]

90.4​

[/td]
[td]

89.4​

[/td]
[td]

95.1​

[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

The descriptions of these filters are in bold in the above quote. I wanted to point out that they refer to micron or 'wheel' filters as 'syringe filters.' I switched it to micron filter on the chart since we mostly refer to them as such here on bluelight. The Rizla filters are the filters you use to roll your own cigarettes (particularly in the UK), although I'm not sure if the Rizla 7mm acetate filter is the best one to use out of all the different Rizla filter sizes.

If you are not using a micron/wheel filter, then Rizla 7mm acetate filters are the second best choice. However, most people that don't use micron filters seem to use either regular cigarette filters, or cotton swabs. According to this study, cotton filters are more effective than cigarette filters, so those of you that have contemplated between the two now have your answer as to which one you should use.

I've noticed people on here saying never to use cigarette filters, why is that? And is there a difference between a cigarette filter that comes in a pre-made cigarette and the kind that you can buy for use in rolling your own cigarette?

Most of this is addressed in my post. There certainly seems to be a difference in effectiveness between a cigarette filter that you just cut off of a cigarette from a pack, and the cigarette filters that are sold separately to roll your own cigarettes. This study shows that cigarette filters from packs of cigarettes are less effective than cotton buds, but the filters sold separately for rolling your own cigarettes are slightly more effective than cotton filters, or at least the particular brand and size used in this study are.

I remember being told at the needle exchange (and also by various IV users) that a cigarette filter is actually probably a better option than a home-made cotton, as the cotton fibers can break off and enter the syringe, and cotton is more likely to harbour bacteria.

"The Rizla filter and cotton bud are similar in the amount of particles they remove, 90.4% and 89.4% respectively. However, the Rizla filter requires minimal handling compared to the cotton bud and is less fibrous, so less likely to shed fibres that could potentially get into injections and consequently veins (source)."

 

[Swimmingdancer]

Thanks so much for finding and posting this Tommyboy! That is very helpful.

When I asked why some people say to never use cigarette filters, I meant why do some people claim it's better to use no filter at all than any cigarette filter? I think I may have found out at least part of the answer in some other threads: One of the reasons behind this belief is that people mistakenly think that cigarette filters contain fiberglass (they absolutely do not) and that the fiberglass will go into your veins. Another reason is that some people think that a cigarette filter, if taken from a pre-made cigarette, will be contaminated with chemicals found in processed tobacco which would be get into the shot and be dangerous to inject. I haven't been able to find any info backing up that theory, but it does seem unlikely to me that if this were true, that it wouldn't have been addressed in the studies that consider cigarette filters a viable make-shift filter when better filtration is unavailable.

I was thinking of updating the first post in this thread to reflect the info contained in the above study, but Bluelight has only been working for me about 10% of the time today - it keeps saying "server is too busy", so perhaps I try to will do it later.

 

[Paulymorphone]

wow i didnt know cigarette filters were so inefficient...i try to use micron filters the 0.02 ones, but they can be pretty damn expensive

 

[Captain.Heroin]

Thanks so much for finding and posting this Tommyboy! That is very helpful.

When I asked why some people say to never use cigarette filters, I meant why do some people claim it's better to use no filter at all than any cigarette filter? I think I may have found out at least part of the answer in some other threads: One of the reasons behind this belief is that people mistakenly think that cigarette filters contain fiberglass (they absolutely do not) and that the fiberglass will go into your veins. Another reason is that some people think that a cigarette filter, if taken from a pre-made cigarette, will be contaminated with chemicals found in processed tobacco which would be get into the shot and be dangerous to inject. I haven't been able to find any info backing up that theory, but it does seem unlikely to me that if this were true, that it wouldn't have been addressed in the studies that consider cigarette filters a viable make-shift filter when better filtration is unavailable.

I was thinking of updating the first post in this thread to reflect the info contained in the above study, but Bluelight has only been working for me about 10% of the time today - it keeps saying "server is too busy", so perhaps I try to will do it later.

I have heard from Bluelighters that accidentally getting tobacco in your shot can lead to cotton fever. I don't smoke cigarettes so I have not experienced this first hand myself.

 

[Paulymorphone]

I always make sure theres no small pieces of tobacco on the cigarette filter, but i dont understand why tobacco would cause cotton fever....figured it was from the cotton in the cigarette filter..

 

[Captain.Heroin]

I always make sure theres no small pieces of tobacco on the cigarette filter, but i dont understand why tobacco would cause cotton fever....figured it was from the cotton in the cigarette filter..

It could literally be hundreds of things.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_additives_in_cigarettes

 

[Swimmingdancer]

If someone is going to use cigarette filters it is best to use the filters that you can buy for rolling your own cigarettes. If you only have access to a filter on a tailor-made cigarette, you can cut (not tear) the filter so that you aren't using the part that has touched the tobacco.

 

[Swain]

Anyone get cottons from the syringe exchange? The ones I get are rolled like super tight sometimes. Compared to rolling a ball with your fingers like off a q-tip, they filter hella better. Thats an interesting post you pu tup though tommy boy, pretty cool.

And regarding cotton fever, I think someone said, it's the result of introducing bacteria to your blood stream.. don't see why a cig cilter would do that unless it's from a used cigarette. Mouths are full of bacteria. Personally I would go buy a $1 100pack of q-tips rather than buy a lucy to use the filter. Cotton fever is not caused by cotton. It's simply slang. You can get cotton fever with no cotton in sight. THe reason it's commonly said is the most common introduction of bacteria to your bloodstream is when people have wet cottons theyve used to filter with, and put them in a little ziplock before they have 100% fully dried out. That creats a breading ground for bacteria so they go to do a cotton shot when they are fiending one day, and end up sweating with a fever feeling like total shit for 30 mins to a few hours. You get a bad fever sometimes REALLY bad my friend wa up to 104.

I have never had cotton fever.. it doesn't take much effort of common sense to avoid injecting bacteria. Simply use new cottons and shit. Clean hands. The obvious. Ive never heard of it lasting more than 24 hours for my friend he was fine in like 12 hours. Cotton fever sucks though becuase its not dope sickness wehre you can just shoot more and make it go away. It has to run it's course. The hospital has no magic INSTANT cure all. Antibiotics take a fewdays before they start working, so they are kidn fo pointless because like I said, cototn fever runs it's course quick even though you can feel like total dickhell.

 

[Mr.Scagnattie]

Ugh, cotton fever is brutal.. the only thing worse in my humble opinion is a fat shot of Narcan.

I've gotten the fever twice, but only when pounding out some old ass cottons that I'd already worked on twice or three times..just fiending out. After that, I started using a fresh cotton for every injection and I never got it again. Hope I never do. *crosses fingers*

 

[easy as]

best way to shoot oxy without wheel filters

i have 100 10's and have no wheels. I am not going to just eat them so aside from the cotton wool is there any other filtration method I could use to help 'clean' out the fillers/binders?

 

[Halalporkshop]

Assuming you are talking about an IR Oxy, with no acetaminophen: You can mix with water and filter with cotton. If you can see solids in your shot, you need to filter again. I shot roxies like that for a year without any lasting damage to my veins. I'm not going to say its *safe*, but you should be fine.