Using a fentanyl test strip to prevent overdose can be the difference between life and death. Learn why fentanyl is so dangerous, how fentanyl strips work, where you can get them, and how to understand test results. You can’t overdose by touching an item containing fentanyl. Some medical fentanyl is delivered through skin patches, but it is absorbed slowly over the course of hours. These patches can’t quickly deliver a high dose of fentanyl.
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It is commonly mixed with drugs like heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine and made into pills that are made to resemble other prescription opioids. Drugs mixed with fentanyl are extremely dangerous, and many people may be unaware that their drugs contain it. If you’re concerned about the presence of fentanyl in drugs you or someone you know may be using, fentanyl testing strips (FTS) can be an essential tool to help ensure your safety.
Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully, and ask your doctor or pharmacist to explain any part you do not understand. Knowing where to buy fentanyl test strips is vital to ensuring access to these important tools. Lochness Medical provides both individual test strips and bulk fentanyl test kits for institutions. Fentanyl test strips are used to detect small amounts of fentanyl and prevent accidental overdose. 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).
Other Uses For This Medicine
Many fatal overdoses thought to be from heroin have been from fentanyl. A small dose of fentanyl can be fatal depending on how tolerant someone is and their body size. Coroners’ offices and state crime laboratories do not test for fentanyl unless given a specific reason to do so. Older people are more likely than younger individuals to experience adverse effects, especially the respiratory depressant effects of fentanyl. Healthcare professionals will typically monitor people in this age group.
How Do You Read The Test Results?
The small pieces of paper detect the presence of certain drugs in a supply so a user can take steps to prevent an overdose. The strips are seen as particularly pressing when it comes to fentanyl, which carries a deadly dose that can lay on the tip of a pencil. Fentanyl alone accounted for 648 overdose deaths in Marion County in 2022, making up nearly 81% of total drug intoxication deaths that year. The number of overdose deaths in the U.S. from synthetic opioids doubled from 2016 to 2017.
Health care providers, substance use disorder programs or Bridge Clinics, and local community health centers also may be able to provide them or help people find them. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned that deaths and overdoses have occurred in people using both the brand-name product Duragesic and generic transdermal fentanyl patches. The FDA also warned that children are at particular risk for accidental death from exposure. When someone with an opioid use disorder misuses fentanyl, it is usually illegally manufactured fentanyl rather than a prescription product.
If you cannot test ten milligrams, at least test a few grains. The tests are highly sensitive, so a minimal amount is needed to detect the presence of fentanyl. Add water to the container and mix it with your drugs, using the same drug-to-water ratio and following the same steps mentioned previously. To use, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests putting a small amount of the drugs (about 10mg) in a dry, clean container. Place the wavy end of the test strip in the water and let it absorb for about 15 seconds.
- Discarded fentanyl patches may still contain significant amounts of the drug.
- In a medical setting, people take prescribed fentanyl for severe or chronic pain.
- Delivering unmatched reliability and minimizing false positives—accuracy when it truly matters.
- Fentanyl test strips are used to detect small amounts of fentanyl and prevent accidental overdose.
Illegally Made Fentanyl
The test strips have only been legalized since 2023, meaning many retailers have not started carrying them to sell. Certain pharmacies such as CVS have started selling fentanyl test strips, but you will want to check online or by calling to make sure they have some in stock or if they carry them at all. A 10-pack of fentanyl test strips retails for $9.99 at CVS. If you suspect someone is overdosing on fentanyl, call 911 immediately. Many people worry that calling emergency services for someone taking an illegal drug will get them in trouble, but this is not true. Many states have laws that protect not only the person who calls for help, but also the person overdosing from legal trouble.
Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Saves Lives
Though not an opioid itself, xylazine causes similar effects and can increase the risk of experiencing an overdose. Because it is not an opioid, however, it will not respond to naloxone, increasing the risk even more of the overdose becoming fatal. First responders will likely administer naloxone if you haven’t already, or give it to them again. Naloxone only works in the body for 30 to 90 minutes, so it’s possible for someone to still have overdose effects after the medication wears off or needs multiple doses. Some people take fentanyl illegally by separating it from skin patches and injecting it. Although fentanyl patches are a legal form of the drug doctors sometimes prescribe for pain, they are easily abused.
If you suspect someone is experiencing an opioid overdose, call 911 and administer naloxone if it’s available. Keep the person awake and lying on their side until first responders arrive. Carry naloxone, an over-the-counter nasal spray that can reverse an opioid overdose. Our FentKits are the complete package for quick and easy fentanyl testing. No need to buy a milligram scale, containers to test in, or any measuring equipment. Rather than dissolve all of the substance you want to test in water, just put ten milligrams of the drug in a clean, dry container.
Store fentanyl at room temperature and away from excess heat and moisture (not in the bathroom). This campaign also shows the difference between counterfeit pills and real pills. For these reasons, the surest way to avoid an overdose is to not take illicit drugs.
Resources From Washington State Department Of Health
Illegal drugs, such as heroin and cocaine, are sometimes mixed with fentanyl, which makes the drugs more potent. If someone with a substance use disorder is unaware of the added fentanyl, this can put them at a higher risk of accidental overdose or death. Naloxone is a medication that can be used to stop an opioid overdose.
CDC Supports State And Community-level FTS Efforts
Even partially used fentanyl may contain enough medication to cause serious harm or death to children or other adults. Dispose of partially used lozenges according to the manufacturer’s directions immediately after you remove them from your mouth. If fentanyl is used by a child or an adult who has not been prescribed the medication, try to remove the medication from the person’s mouth and get emergency medical help.
We offer various services, including detox, inpatient and outpatient, and mental health services. As the fentanyl crisis continues to devastate communities in Texas and across the United States, it’s essential to take action to protect yourself and your loved ones. A critical tool in this fight is fentanyl testing strips, which can help identify the presence of this dangerous drug in other substances. Unfortunately, at the moment, these strips are classified as paraphernalia and are, therefore, illegal for people to perform tests for recreational use. This legal classification has limited the availability and accessibility of these life-saving testing strips, leaving many individuals at risk of accidental fentanyl poisoning.
For example, the person may obtain it as powders or pills or add it to containers such as eyedroppers or nasal sprays. Street names for fentanyl include Apache, China Girl, Goodfellas, Great Bear, and Tango & Cash. Because fentanyl tests are not 100% accurate, a negative result does not guarantee that your drug sample is free from all synthetic opioids or other harmful substances.
