What You Can Do to Test for Fentanyl Stop Overdose

Detect oxytetracycline residues fast with our test strips—ideal for food safety, farms, and labs. Detect phorate residues swiftly with Phorate Oxon test strips. Ensure food safety, environmental health, and compliance with rapid, accurate results. For those interested in similar testing tools, fpv test strips are another example of harm reduction technology, though designed for different substances.

Ensure food safety, regulatory compliance, and public health faqs what are fentanyl test strips protection. Research has shown that people who use fentanyl test strips often make changes that can keep them safer. In one study from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 70% of participants said they would change their behavior if they knew the drugs they used contained fentanyl. Fentanyl test strips are easy to use, and they work well. Most are at least 96% accurate in detecting fentanyl as well as many fentanyl analogs (drugs that are chemically similar but not identical to fentanyl).

Health

• Once the dilution begins to absorb, let the test strip rest for 60 seconds before reading the results.
• Learning how to use rapid response fentanyl test strips includes doing this step with care.
• Their integration into harm reduction strategies exemplifies a proactive approach to addressing the opioid crisis, reflecting the critical need for accessible and effective drug testing options in today’s society.
• We specialize in rapid, affordable solutions for public health and safety.

Fentanyl is extremely strong, and even a small amount can kill. This is what makes how to use a fentanyl test strip worth learning in the first place. Take the test strip and dip the end with the arrows into the water. Don’t dip it too deep—just past the line marked on the strip.

The Role of Healthcare Providers

Make sure you know how you react to this medicine before you drive, use machines, or do anything else that could be dangerous if you are dizzy or not alert. Check with your doctor if you have confusion or drowsiness that is severe enough to interfere with your daily activities. Fentanyl is a medicine that can harm or cause death to a child. Patients and caregivers should keep this medicine out of the reach of children.

Less common side effects

These small, paper strips can be obtained at needle-exchange sites, are easy to use and only take minutes to interpret. Advocates fear any cuts to public education drug programs threaten to reverse progress in the 21st century war on drugs. One important step is to go slow or decide not to use at all.

• Stir it gently with something clean, like a cotton swab or the corner of a card.
• Testing positive for fentanyl doesn’t mean you failed.
• Some people crush pills or scrape powders from a baggie or surface.
• If you decide to use the drugs after testing them, you can drink them or inject them.

Can using fentanyl test strips encourage drug use?

You can speed up the process by putting the dissolved drugs in a pan in the oven on the lowest setting (maximum of 225 F) while keeping the oven door cracked. When the water evaporates and the pan is cool, you can scrape the residue off with a razor or other sharp item. Oxycodone is an opioid pain medication used to treat moderate to severe pain. Along with its needed effects, fentanyl may cause some unwanted effects. Although not all of these side effects may occur, if they do occur they may need medical attention.

You want the drug to fully dissolve in the water. This helps the test strip detect any fentanyl that may be present. If the sample isn’t mixed well, the test might not work right. While regulations vary by state or province, most public health departments actively encourage their use. The presence of a single line indicates a positive result for fentanyl, whereas two lines indicate a negative result.

Two Young Men Die from Street Drug That’s 43 Times Stronger than Fentanyl. It’s Taking Hold in the U.S.

These antibodies are highly specific and will typically only bind the drug it has been developed to detect. In the case of fentanyl test strips, the antibody is embedded in a straight, horizontal line on the strip. The strip will show a “control” line to demonstrate that the dilution has successfully traveled up the strip. The control line will show regardless of the presence or absence of fentanyl. In addition to the control, there will be a second horizontal line that will be sensitive to fentanyl and its analogues.

After 15 seconds, take it out and lay it flat on a clean surface. This is the same process you’d follow if you’re wondering how to use fentanyl test strip in general. You’re not using this drug now—you’re testing it first. Knowing how to use test strips starts with having something ready to test.

COPN Fall 2022 Convening: Sustaining Your Work in Overdose Prevention Discussion Tool

The legality of fentanyl test strips varies by location. In some areas, they are considered legal and are recognized as a harm reduction tool. However, in other places, they may fall under paraphernalia laws that make possessing them illegal.

Depending on the contents of the substance, the strip will show lines that either indicate the absence or presence of fentanyl. Typically, each packet of test strips has specific instructions and a guide on how to interpret the results. If you’re starting to test more often, use more often, or feel stuck, it may be time to reach out. There are people who care and programs that actually help. Many users worry they’ll be judged or forced into something. Many offer flexible support, even for those still using.

It’s one of the only tools you can use right now, on your own. Fentanyl test strips were originally banned as drug paraphernalia by 42 states and the District of Columbia in the beginning of 2023. By August 2024, only 5 states (Iowa, Idaho, Indiana, North Dakota and Texas) continued to maintain the strips’ categorization as illegal despite the continued rise in opioid-related overdose deaths in all five states. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the CDC, opioid-related overdoses resulting in death across the United States went from 49,860 in 2019 to almost 82,00 in 2022, before falling slightly in 2023.