What Is the Fentanyl Fold? Signs, Dangers & How to Respond

This bending isn’t intentional; it happens when your nervous system shuts down postural reflexes. People searching phrases like “why do fentanyl users slouch” or “why do they bend over like that” are witnessing this effect. It reflects how fentanyl overwhelms both awareness and muscle tone, resulting in a slouched, folded, or stuck body position. The fentanyl fold is a distinctive posture where a person bends sharply at the waist, slumps forward, or appears frozen in a mid-slouch. This posture is involuntary and occurs during or after fentanyl use.

SF doctors observe fentanyl side effect that causes people to be completely bent over after use

• As ABC 7 learned from researchers, the thinking is that the acidic nature of the drug leads to the collapsing of veins.
• Fentanyl works by binding tightly to opioid receptors in the brain.
• Our certified medical reviewers are licensed in the mental health and addiction medicine fields and are dedicated to helping readers and prospective clients make informed decisions about their treatment.

Call 911 immediately and provide clear information about the person’s condition and suspected fentanyl use. Emergency responders need this information to prepare appropriate life-saving interventions. Deaths related to fentanyl began to rise around 2019, according to the California Department of Health.

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Powdered fentanyl can also be pressed into pills that look like prescription pills such as Percocet or Xanax. A sharp increase in deaths from illegal fentanyl use started in 2005 and continued through 2007. Again in 2011, both deaths from illegal fentanyl use and police encounters with illegal fentanyl use rose significantly. People sell illegal fentanyl as a powder, dropped onto blotter paper, put in eye droppers and nasal sprays, or as pills that look like other prescription opioids. While some opioids come directly from the plant, fentanyl is made in a lab by scientists using the same chemical structure. For more information on our programs and services, please drug addiction treatment visit our website or contact us directly.

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If you think someone is overdosing on fentanyl, call 911 immediately. While waiting for paramedics, try to wake the person by calling their name loudly if you know it and rubbing your knuckles firmly on their chest or shaking their shoulders. If they don’t respond, check if they’re breathing by looking at their chest to see if it’s moving up and down. If you can’t tell if they’re breathing or their breathing is very slow and https://ecosoberhouse.com/ shallow, this confirms they’re having an overdose.

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Its extreme potency and unpredictable composition make every instance of use a perilous gamble. Recognizing the full scope of fentanyl’s impact is crucial for grasping the true scale of the ongoing opioid crisis. The fent fold position fenty lean itself can make overdoses more dangerous because it can make breathing even harder. When someone is hunched over for a long time, it puts pressure on their chest and makes it harder for their lungs to work properly.

Folded: The Bent Spine that Fentanyl Has Wrought

• Remaining in a folded or contorted position for extended periods can lead to poor circulation, nerve compression, and muscle damage.
• If you have ever witnessed what looks like seemingly intoxicated people bent over or frozen in place on sidewalks or in parks, you might be seeing someone in the throes of opioid use.
• It directly affects your brain’s motor centers, making it difficult to hold your body upright.
• It is commonly mixed with drugs like heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine and made into pills that are made to resemble other prescription opioids.
• If you see someone in the fentanyl fold, check if they’re responsive and breathing normally.

Remaining in a folded or contorted position for extended periods can lead to poor circulation, nerve compression, and muscle damage. It may also signal the onset of respiratory depression, which can lead to complete respiratory failure or death if untreated. By understanding the signs, supporting harm reduction, and expanding access to addiction treatment, we can offer hope and healing to those struggling in the shadows of the opioid crisis.