Flashblood (also called flushblood) is an

intravenous Intravenous therapy (abbreviated as IV therapy) is a medical technique that administers fluids, medications and nutrients directly into a person's vein. The intravenous route of administration is commonly used for rehydration or to provide nutr ...

drug administration technique used by

recreational drug Recreational drug use is the use of one or more psychoactive drugs to induce an altered state of consciousness, either for pleasure or for some other casual purpose or pastime. When a psychoactive drug enters the user's body, it induces an Sub ...

users in which an individual injects himself with blood extracted from another drug user, most commonly one who has injected

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

. The purpose of the technique is to experience

substance intoxication Substance intoxication is a transient condition of altered consciousness and behavior associated with recent use of a substance. It is often maladaptive and impairing, but reversible. If the symptoms are severe, the term "substance intoxicatio ...

(a "high") or to help combat symptoms of

drug withdrawal A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via insufflation (medicine), inhalation, drug i ...

. The practice was first documented in an announcement submitted by Sheryl A. McCurdy, et al., in an October 2005 issue of ''

BMJ ''The BMJ'' is a fortnightly peer-reviewed medical journal, published by BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, which in turn is wholly-owned by the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world' ...

''. First reported to be practiced in

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

, the practice had spread to other areas in

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

by 2010.McNeil, Donald G., Jr
"Desperate Addicts Inject Others’ Blood"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', July 12, 2010. Accessed July 12, 2010. After injecting heroin using a

syringe A syringe is a simple reciprocating pump consisting of a plunger (though in modern syringes, it is actually a piston) that fits tightly within a cylindrical tube called a barrel. The plunger can be linearly pulled and pushed along the inside ...

, a user will extract approximately five

cubic centimetre A cubic centimetre (or cubic centimeter in US English) (SI unit symbol: cm3; non-SI abbreviations: cc and ccm) is a commonly used unit of volume that corresponds to the volume of a cube that measures 1 cm × 1 cm × 1 cm. One ...

s of blood from their vein, which another user will inject into themself. It is unclear if there is enough heroin in the small volume of injected blood to get high or if the high that many users claim is a result of traces of the heroin that had been injected by the user, or if the high is simply the result of the

placebo A placebo ( ) can be roughly defined as a sham medical treatment. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like saline), sham surgery, and other procedures. Placebos are used in randomized clinical trials ...

effect. Sharing blood in this manner carries a very high risk of transmitting viruses such as hepatitis and HIV, which are prevalent among injection drug users in East Africa.

Health concerns

, ''

'' reported that the practice had been documented in Tanzania and

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. Despite the small number of individuals using this technique, its use among

sex worker A sex worker is a person who provides sex work, either on a regular or occasional basis. The term is used in reference to those who work in all areas of the sex industry.Oxford English Dictionary, "sex worker" According to one view, sex work is ...

s and the sharing and reuse of syringes exposes users to "the highest possible risk" of transmitting

hepatitis Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver parenchyma, liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), Anorexia (symptom), poor appetite ...

and

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

. Dr.

Nora Volkow Nora D. Volkow (born 27 March 1956) is a Mexican-American psychiatrist. She is currently the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), which is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Early life and education Born in Mexi ...

of the

National Institute on Drug Abuse The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is a United States federal government research institute whose mission is to "advance science on the causes and consequences of drug use and addiction and to apply that knowledge to improve individual ...

called it "a crazy practice" that is the "most effective way of infecting yourself with H.I.V.". Dr. Sheryl A. McCurdy of the

University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth Houston) is a public academic health science center in Houston, Texas, United States. It was created in 1972 by The University of Texas System Board of Regents. It is located ...

, who first reported on the practice in a 2005 letter to ''BMJ'', provided an update in a 2010 issue of the journal ''

Addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behavior that produces natural reward, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use can ...

'' who theorized that the practice may have spread to other cities in East Africa. While Africa was traditionally bypassed by heroin traffickers as being too poor to afford their product, dealers had started using East African port cities on their smuggling routes to Europe, with some of the heroin used as bribes to law enforcement officials or received by couriers as payment. A February 2010 report by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Integrated Regional Information Network ( IRIN) indicated that the practice was becoming increasingly common in Kenya's second-largest city,

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital status in 1907. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

.Staff
"KENYA: 'Flash blood' puts drug users at risk of HIV"
, ''

PlusNews Formally known as "IRIN/PlusNews," PlusNews''is part of the United Nations Integrated Regional Information Network IRIN under the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs OCHA. Offering content free of charge to web sites and public ...

'', February 24, 2010. Accessed July 12, 2010.

Health concerns

References

Further reading