#INJECT SAFE BARRIER BANDAGE SKIN#

Commonly reported reasons for delaying treatment include stigma and discrimination from health care providers. ĭespite these significant risks, people who inject drugs (PWID) avoid seeking treatment for all types of care at greater rates than people who do not inject drugs. Untreated SSTIs pose significant risks, including endocarditis, septicemia, and necrotizing fasciitis, which increases morbidity and healthcare costs for this population.

#INJECT SAFE BARRIER BANDAGE SKIN#

Among this population, skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs), including cellulitis and abscesses, are the most common reasons for hospitalizations, and rates of opioid-related SSTIs are increasing in the US, up to 9 per 100,000 in 2010. For unclear reasons, heroin confers a higher risk of bacterial infections compared to those who inject amphetamines and those who inject multiple substances. Injection drug use (IDU) is a common route of administration for heroin, and in 2016, approximately 948,000 Americans reported using heroin in the past year, while approximately 2.2 million people in the United States reported injecting heroin at least once in their life. The two most commonly used forms of opioids are heroin and prescription pills. Department of Health and Human Services has declared a public health emergency regarding the opioid crisis, with 46 out of 50 states seeing an increase in opioid-related deaths from 2010 to 2016. In the absence of robust solutions to meet the needs of this population, education materials should be developed to optimize the efficacy and minimize the harms of these practices, while empowering and supporting the autonomy of people who use drugs and providing clear guidance on when self-care should be abandoned in favor of formal medical care. Harm reduction agencies and health care providers should work to obviate the need for these potentially dangerous practices by improving healthcare access for this population. The reported SSTI self-care strategies demonstrate resilience and ingenuity, but also raise serious concerns about inappropriate antibiotic consumption and complications of invasive surgical procedures performed without proper training, technique, or materials. A step-wise approach to self-care of SSTI infections was identified, which included themes of whole-body health, topical applications, use of non-prescribed antibiotics, and incision and drainage by non-medical providers. Nonetheless, there remains a reticence to seek care secondary to past traumatic experiences. These interviews reveal a robust and accurate knowledge base regarding skin infections, including the progression from simple cellulitis to an abscess, and acknowledgment of the possibility of serious infections. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 12 people who inject heroin in two metropolitan areas: Sacramento and Boston, USA. Due to structural barriers to care-seeking, many people who inject drugs avoid formal care and resort to self-care techniques, but little is known about the nature of these techniques, or more generally about the accuracy or breadth of this population’s knowledge of SSTIs. Injection drug use is on the rise in the USA, and skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI) are a common complication, resulting in significant morbidity and mortality.

Inject safe barrier bandage