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Can Methamphetamines Be Absorbed Through The Skin?

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Posted on Wed, 12 Mar 2014
Question: IF someone handles meth and drives your car and it is on their hands and it gets on the steering wheel can it get into my system?
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Answered by Dr. Michelle Gibson James (50 minutes later)
Brief Answer: transfer is possible Detailed Answer: HI, thanks for using healthcare magic Methamphetamines can be absorbed through the skin. The risk of skin transfer can vary according to the fabric of material according to some medical studies (the name can be given if you want to check it out). With vinyl, a contact period of 15 seconds can result in transfer, with fabric the transfer is slower because this is porous. It can take hours of contact with this type of material. The amount that is transferred would also be influenced by the amount of the meth that was present on the surface. IF the amount absorbed is small, it would be eliminated within 24 hours. The half life of meth is 5 to 12 hours. The half life of a drug is the time it takes for the amount of drug in the system to decrease by half. It continues to decrease till it is completely eliminated. It can take 3 to 4 half lives for any drug to be completed eliminated but again this would depend on the amount in the system in the first place. Summary- skin absorption is possible, it is likely to only be a small amount I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Michelle Gibson James

General & Family Physician

Practicing since :2001

Answered : 16808 Questions

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Can Methamphetamines Be Absorbed Through The Skin?

Brief Answer: transfer is possible Detailed Answer: HI, thanks for using healthcare magic Methamphetamines can be absorbed through the skin. The risk of skin transfer can vary according to the fabric of material according to some medical studies (the name can be given if you want to check it out). With vinyl, a contact period of 15 seconds can result in transfer, with fabric the transfer is slower because this is porous. It can take hours of contact with this type of material. The amount that is transferred would also be influenced by the amount of the meth that was present on the surface. IF the amount absorbed is small, it would be eliminated within 24 hours. The half life of meth is 5 to 12 hours. The half life of a drug is the time it takes for the amount of drug in the system to decrease by half. It continues to decrease till it is completely eliminated. It can take 3 to 4 half lives for any drug to be completed eliminated but again this would depend on the amount in the system in the first place. Summary- skin absorption is possible, it is likely to only be a small amount I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions