Health From the prick to the cup: these are the strategies of sexual aggressors
Society 'Spiking', the puncture psychosis that came from Nottingham: "I don't party anymore"
Testimony "I felt the puncture instantly; I had dizziness, vomiting, I fell asleep..."
Valencia, Malaga, Barcelona, Mallorca, Pamplona... In recent weeks we have witnessed a worrying increase in reported cases of punctures of young people in places of entertainment, especially women.
But
it is not a local phenomenon
, since in
Europe there are more than 2,300 punctures
in nightclubs and entertainment venues.
If we go to the newspaper library, we see that the first cases appeared last winter in the United Kingdom.
In just six months, the British police reached more than a thousand complaints for this fact.
From there it would spread shortly after to France and the Netherlands, and with the arrival of summer to Spain.
A scourge that, for the moment,
has more unknowns than certainties
.
Is it possible to prick someone without realizing it?
We all remember that when they administered the
Covid-19 vaccine to
us, they first stuck the needle in us, the prick was produced, and then the nurse injected the solution.
Perhaps we barely knew about the first act,
the needle was fine and the skill of the nurse helped
, but inevitably we did perceive the moment in which the liquid was injected because it exerts pressure under the skin.
The same thing happens with
a puncture that seeks the chemical submission of the victim
: it could be that we did not perceive the puncture but we would be aware of the moment of the injection of the content.
What type of needle may they be using?
Those of us who work daily with syringes and needles know that there are different sizes and gauges, measuring this value in gauges.
The finest that currently exist are the 34-gauge needles
, known as the
invisible needle
and with the same diameter as two human hairs put together, whose puncture is almost imperceptible.
But the finer the needle, the more fragile it is and the more time we need to inoculate the content.
Using this type of needle would require the aggressor to remain with the victim
and with the syringe in hand
for more than enough time for him to be able to recognize
and identify it, even retain it.
Can they drug me just for a prick?
No, only for a puncture and without injecting us with any substance is not possible.
The amount of medicine or drug that a needle can contain is not enough
to have effects on our body.
If I get poked and injected, how long would it take for me to fall into chemical submission?
If that happens,
the drug or drug will have remained in the subcutaneous space or between the muscle fibers
.
Substances that are injected into the intramuscular space
begin to be absorbed after 15-20 minutes
, rising to
20-30 minutes for the subcutaneous space
.
The
effect of the injected drug will never be instantaneous
, so between when we feel the prick and begin to experience the first symptoms, we have valuable time that we should not waste and we will spend
alerting our friends, security personnel and the police
.
How long is it detectable in blood?
This is something that will depend fundamentally on the substance that has been injected into us.
One of the most common substances in cases of
chemical submission is GHB (liquid ecstasy)
, a compound that our body metabolizes quickly and is therefore only detectable up to three or four hours after consumption or injection.
Going as soon as possible to an Emergency service where they can extract a blood and urine sample is, therefore, essential.
What substance do they inject?
The aggressors who seek the chemical submission of the victim usually use
drugs or drugs that depress the central nervous system
.
In a joint research project between the universities of Vigo, Santiago de Compostela and West England,
substances such as ecstasy, benzodiazepines, amphetamines, ketamine or liquid ecstasy
were collected .
If in most cases no substance is detected in the victim's body, why do they have symptoms after the puncture?
Our nervous system consists of a sympathetic and a parasympathetic system.
The first of these is the one that
is activated involuntarily in an alert or dangerous situation
, such as when we feel a puncture in a place of leisure.
Our body
immediately releases a good amount of adrenaline
, our pupils dilate to better perceive everything around us, our heart rate increases, our mouth feels dry, our bronchial tubes dilate, our blood pressure rises, our muscles tighten. tense, sweat production increases and our digestive system paralyzes.
It is
a primitive system of reaction to danger
that prepares us for a fight or flight response.
Its activation in the face of the fear produced by having felt
a prick in a nightclub is more than enough for the victim to begin to feel bad
, regardless of whether or not that prick entails the injection of some substance.
What risks does the puncture have beyond chemical submission?
The fact that we are pricked with a needle that has been used to carry out the same criminal act with other people already carries
risks to our health
,
regardless of whether or not a substance is injected
.
The traces of blood contained in that needle pose a high risk of
contracting hepatitis B, hepatitis C or HIV if any of the previous victims suffered from it
.
Let's not neglect the glass
Unfortunately, chemical submission is not something new,
96 cases were confirmed last year alone at the San Carlos Clinical Hospital in Madrid
, although until now the victim ingested liquid ecstasy without being aware of it after his aggressor had poured it into his beverage.
This
modus operandi
continues to this day, so we should not neglect our glass in nightclubs or entertainment venues, and we even have options to turn to, such as the tapas that some places provide to try to put a stop to these crimes.
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