PSA: Incidental Exposure to Fentanyl is NOT a thing!
EM Basic
EM Basic LLC
4.6 • 665 Ratings
🗓️ 18 March 2019
⏱️ 15 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Today's episode of the podcast is a myth busting on all the media reports about first responders overdosing by being exposed to fentanyl in the field by incidental contact. This is physically impossible and the misinformation out there has scared a lot of people, cost us lots of money in the form of hazmat responses and shutting down hospitals, and prevented overdose patients from getting the timely care they need in an emergency. This episode will systematically go through every argument why fentanyl is NOT harmful via incidental exposure and debunk these myths to give first responders one less thing to worry about while they do their frequently dangerous yet vital work.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hey everybody. This is Steve Carroll and this is the Ambasa podcast. Today's episode is a special one titled Public Service Ann |
| 0:07.9 | Announcement, Incidental Skin and In Inolation Exposure to Fentanyl is not a thing. In all seriousness, today we're going to discuss why incidental skin and inhalations exposure to fentanyl should not be a concern to anyone. First responders, and cops, |
| 0:22.4 | and the lay public included. Myself and many other physicians are very frustrated by all the breathless |
| 0:27.5 | media coverage on these, quote, incidents, where first responders claim they are being harmed |
| 0:32.5 | by incidental exposure to fentanyl. This is not a thing, and it has never been a thing, but let's go through all |
| 0:38.3 | the evidence and arguments against why this should not be concerned for first responders and |
| 0:43.0 | medical personnel. Just to be clear, I'm not doing this episode to discredit those in law |
| 0:47.8 | enforcement, the fire service, EMS, or any other first responders. I was in EMTB in southeastern Pennsylvania for 10 years before |
| 0:56.1 | starting my emergency medicine residency, so I know how tough your jobs are on a daily basis. First responders |
| 1:02.1 | face danger every day, and they don't know when or where it's coming from. My goal with this is to |
| 1:07.6 | bus some of the myths out there so that you can be safe, but also give |
| 1:11.1 | you one less thing to worry about in your everyday job. |
| 1:13.6 | Here's the summary up front if you just want to stop listening now. |
| 1:17.6 | You cannot absorb fentanyl found in the drug supply on the street via incidental contact |
| 1:22.6 | through exposure on your skin or by breathing it in. |
| 1:25.6 | Full stop, no discussion. Yes, transdermal fentanyl patches exist |
| 1:30.1 | that allow skin absorption, but it's a special formulation that doesn't apply to powdered |
| 1:34.5 | fentanyl. Inhalation exposure from fentanyl can only happen if it's weaponized, which is an expensive |
| 1:40.6 | and dangerous process that no street-level dealer is doing because it's unnecessary. |
| 1:46.3 | Everything said about fentanyl applies to car fentanyl as well. Finally, fentanyl has been in the drug |
| 1:50.7 | supply for decades. This is nothing new, and for decades we didn't have any problems with |
| 1:54.9 | incidental exposure and didn't change what we did. The reason why I think there is hysteria is |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from EM Basic LLC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of EM Basic LLC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.