Increase abuse of Bath Salts

Supercandy131 · Jul 14, 2011

I work in jail and we have had countless people come in high on "bath salts" so in order to treat them I have been doing a lot of research on them. They are labeled as bath salts or plant food so the companies can get around the loopholes to sell them. They are actually made from a chemical..an amphetamine to be exact called mephedrone and they also contain traces of cantine or canthine..(i cannot remember how to spell it) Anyways they make an extreme high that can last from hours to days but with similar effects to crack and meth...the most common way to use is smoking them but they do snort and often times inject. Users also have an increased risk of suicidiality and should be monitored until the high is completely gone. there is alot more info on them..too much to type.

deyo321 · Sep 11, 2011

I am in a jail and all weekend its been bath salts. Does anyone have a detox protocal for this? Is one necessary? I think I am just going with medical confinement x 48 hours secondary to paranoia/increased SI. Keep em on a close watch. Anybody doing anything different?

This last one said the federal government is pulling it in 12 days. Course maybe he is just paranoid but generally druggies know more about their drugs than professionals. I hope so it is sad.

wisco chick · Sep 12, 2011

We have seen a few patients suspected of inhaling bath salts; they were very paranoid and took a long time to "clear."

Xnavykat · Sep 12, 2011

I just received an e-mail @ work that "bath salts" are going to be Schedule 1. :yeah:

Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN · Sep 12, 2011

Haven't heard of abusing bath salts.
Check out "jenkum" makes bath salts seem a much cleaner buzz!

I thought jenkum was an urban legend?

Anyway, we've had a patient on my MedSurg floor with a bath salt OD. We had to look up exactly what it was because we thought it was actual bath products.

Kiinda how smoking "embalming fluid" is not actual embalming fluid but I believe PCP dipped cigarettes or joints. (Same thing as "smoking wet.")

BabyRN2Be · Sep 26, 2011

i am always a little weary when i see articles like this in the news because i think it gives people (kids, mainly) ideas. it's cheap, it's basically legal and very easy to get. yes, a news story like this is informative, but i also think it can be hazardous by helping to make this drug become more popular amoung young people.
i think this about a lot of things... there have even been a few episodes of dr. phil on the dangers of this or that and parents beware, that have made me go; 'why are you showing this... do you know how many kids are going to go out and try this now???'
maybe it's just me...

ita. they (the media) did the same thing with oxycontin. yeah, a few people figured out you'd get a more intense high if you crushed it, but when the media started reporting on it, that's when it became a major problem. people (addicts or whatnot) were hearing this and thinking, "i can get even higher when i take this drug if i chewed it up beforehand?! let me at it!!! and i'll tell all my friends!" if the media left well enough alone, people wouldn't have gotten the ideas, and the medication would have received little attention." today the druggies have gone to docs with bogus pain claims, street price is probably astronomical, while people who really need this drug due to real chronic pain can't get it because of the people who a) want a great high or b) want to make big money off the street, or both.

people are suffering because the media gave people are sorts of ideas. :mad:

Trekfan · Sep 26, 2011

I am a Psych Nurse in WV and over the last 3 months, there has been an astronomical increase in the amount of admissions that we have gotten that have been abusing bath salts. Here is my experience with this drug: the patient takes this drug and it is like russian roullette. The patient becomes extremely paranoid leading to increased agitation and increased physical aggression. The increased aggression leads to the patient harming himself or others and then a committment is filed. Once the patient is medically cleared and brought to our facility, they are still on a "bath salt high". It takes approximately 24-48 hours for the patient to regain some sense of themselves. I have seen young people go thru memory loss and never regain their memories of what happened immediately after abusing these bath salts. This is a very sad epidemic we are facing!
What are some experiences that you have had with bath salts?

Wow that a new one on me :confused: I would never thought of eating bath salt when I was youg?

XingtheBBB, BSN, RN · Sep 27, 2011

We've had patients come up to ICU in locked leathers and pretty wacky. I don't get it, it doesn't even look fun.

About an hour from where I live, though, a mom is pushing to ban the item after her son ended up in ICU and almost died/lost his arm. She's been on local radio and TV with her message- it's good to remember that not only can users be hurt in traumas secondary to the psychiatric effects but there can be severe medical sequelae. We have seen liver/renal issues but not (yet) the degree of MSOF this young man went through.

I found two articles about their experience-

http://hellertown.patch.com/articles/local-mom-wages-crusade-against-bath-salts

Common sense to us says not to inject a non-sterile preparation but these people see friends do it all the time. It's amazing to realize how much more often this should happen but how often they get lucky. I guess, in a way, he did, too. There are pictures here of the product- definitely different from good old Epson salts!

http://hellertown.patch.com/articles/borough-resident-implores-council-to-ban-bath-salts

"He spent a week on a ventilator," Gubish said. "His kidneys shut down, his liver shut down." I remember her radio interview- she mentioned dialysis but her description sounded more like continuous CRRT- often used when the pt is too septic/shocky/unstable to tolerate traditional dialysis

resilientnurse · Oct 2, 2011

I am glad to see this post. I had an encounter with a patient who explained to me that she had used bath salts as a way of self-weaning herself off other drugs while pregnant. She was extremely paranoid, talked a mile a minute and complained that this was her fourth ER visit because the other hospitals did not understand what she had took or how to treat her. Admittedly, the concept was so foreign to me that even I had a hard time believing that she had taken "bath salts". Now, we've caught on and understand what is going on much better.

RNkimberly · Oct 4, 2011

IDK the chemical make up of the bath salts only know that's the name and they aren't the same stuff we souk our tired bodies in!

We've had A few come to our floor. One guy was unable to sit up for 2 days, unable to talk for 4 days and unable to walk for almost a week. His body was rigid at all times. It's as if he had a full body tetany that gradually over 2 weeks subsided. His wife admitted to doing it too bit she " got lucky". One guy died. They all seem to be poverty or close to poverty level social status and young, in their 20s. It can be debilitating.

Dixielee, BSN, RN · Oct 10, 2011

It has been a big problem in our area of western NC. Yes, paranoia and extreme agitation are the biggest symptoms we see in the ED. On a related note, someone mentioned Oxycontin....had a guy recently who had been crushing and snorting it, and his nose burned....he wanted pain meds. You gotta love it!

aloevera · Oct 13, 2011

well now I don't feel so stupid !!!!!! I have had two admissions with people using this in the last month....

I didn't know what the heck it was.......thought it was the bath salts we put in the tub....till

'I search in google.............and found out...........WOW.........I am still in shock.....what is wrong with people????

yes, it is becoming popular here in the southeast...........shame.........