# If you shoot dope, avoid neck arteries **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 20, 2012, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-shoot-dope-avoid-neck-arteries/613410 "2012-02-20T10:46:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2012, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-shoot-dope-avoid-neck-arteries/613410/21 "2012-02-20T16:18:18Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > So let me see if I have this straight. This dude got high, fucked up the injection process, then posted a photo of himself as a cautionary tale? Uh, thanks for the PSA? Exactly. If you get high and fuck up the injection process, then you too may post bad photos of yourself on the internet and be mocked for your lack of disfigurement. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![heavyarms553](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/779978/32.png) [@heavyarms553](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heavyarms553)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2012, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-shoot-dope-avoid-neck-arteries/613410/22 "2012-02-20T16:37:57Z")
Neurologist here. He doesn’t look fine. He has ptosis on the right side of his face. That means that his right eyelid is drooping. Your eyelid is controlled by the levator palpebrae muscle, which is controlled by both the facial nerve (CN VII) and the sympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic trunk comes off of the spinal cord and courses up along the carotid artery to get back up to the head. This individual probably damaged his sympathetic trunk when he injected drugs into his carotid artery because they are in such close proximity. He also probably can’t sweat and might have a small pupil on the right. Heres the wikipedia article for horner’s syndrome, which he probably has: > **[Horner's syndrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horner%27s_syndrome)** > > Horner's syndrome, also known as oculosympathetic paresis, is a combination of symptoms that arises when a group of nerves known as the sympathetic trunk is damaged. The signs and symptoms occur on the same side (ipsilateral) as it is a lesion of the sympathetic trunk. It is characterized by miosis (a constricted pupil), partial ptosis (a weak, droopy eyelid), apparent anhidrosis (decreased sweating), with apparent enophthalmos (inset eyeball). > The nerves of the sympathetic trunk arise from the ... Also, he appears to be leaking sparks out of the left side of his head. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2012, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-shoot-dope-avoid-neck-arteries/613410/23 "2012-02-20T17:23:32Z")
> [@heavyarms553](#): > > Neurologist here. He doesn’t look fine. > > He has ptosis on the right side of his face. That means that his right eyelid is drooping. > > Your eyelid is controlled by the levator palpebrae muscle, which is controlled by both the facial nerve (CN VII) and the sympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic trunk comes off of the spinal cord and courses up along the carotid artery to get back up to the head. This individual probably damaged his sympathetic trunk when he injected drugs into his carotid artery because they are in such close proximity. He also probably can’t sweat and might have a small pupil on the right. So what would you prescribe— shooting up on the other side too? ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2012, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-shoot-dope-avoid-neck-arteries/613410/24 "2012-02-20T17:38:08Z")
> [@heavyarms553](#): > > Neurologist here. He doesn’t look fine. > > He has ptosis on the right side of his face. That means that his right eyelid is drooping. > > Your eyelid is controlled by the levator palpebrae muscle, which is controlled by both the facial nerve (CN VII) and the sympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic trunk comes off of the spinal cord and courses up along the carotid artery to get back up to the head. This individual probably damaged his sympathetic trunk when he injected drugs into his carotid artery because they are in such close proximity. He also probably can’t sweat and might have a small pupil on the right. > > Heres the wikipedia article for horner’s syndrome, which he probably has: > [Horner's syndrome - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horner%27s_syndrome) > > Also, he appears to be leaking sparks out of the left side of his head. All of this could be explained by a bad photographer as well - not that I doubt your opinion as to what might be going on. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2012, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-shoot-dope-avoid-neck-arteries/613410/25 "2012-02-20T18:56:35Z")
Naive idiot checking in. I thought dope was marijuana? What the fuck are people shooting in their necks? Also, you can’t even see your own neck, unless you use a mirror, and then, you always fuck it up backwards. Why not seek a vein in your arm? ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2012, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-shoot-dope-avoid-neck-arteries/613410/26 "2012-02-20T22:17:02Z")
Dope, if I’m not mistaken used to only refer to heroin. Now-a-days it refers to pretty much any of the following: weed, cocaine, crack, heroin and/or meth. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2012, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-shoot-dope-avoid-neck-arteries/613410/27 "2012-02-20T22:20:59Z")
> [@Covered\_In\_Bees](#): > > Dope, if I’m not mistaken used to only refer to heroin. Now-a-days it refers to pretty much any of the following: weed, cocaine, crack, heroin and/or meth. Depending upon when and where you were, “dope” could be any drug. It used to be slang for Coca Cola a century ago. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2012, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-shoot-dope-avoid-neck-arteries/613410/28 "2012-02-20T22:23:41Z")
Yeah I was going to say that it could refer to damn near any drug, but I’ve never really heard PSP, LSD, psilocybin or opiate-based painkillers referred to as dope, so I just went with the ones I was more sure on. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-shoot-dope-avoid-neck-arteries/613410/29 "2012-02-21T16:38:12Z")
Yeah, dope is heroin. At least when you shoot it. Or it could be meth or even coke, I guess, injected. But when you “smoke dope,” it’s always referring to pot. Or maybe heroin, too. Look, it’s very simple, OK? Quit harshing my buzz! ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-shoot-dope-avoid-neck-arteries/613410/30 "2012-02-21T16:39:30Z")
OK, that question’s answered. But why are people shooting up _IN THEIR FUCKING NECKS!?_ ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-shoot-dope-avoid-neck-arteries/613410/31 "2012-02-21T16:55:19Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Why not seek a vein in your arm? Heavy users often have collapsed veins in their arms. I’ve heard of users shooting up between their toes. ---
**Author:** ![Jasper\_Kent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@Jasper\_Kent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasper_Kent)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-shoot-dope-avoid-neck-arteries/613410/32 "2012-02-21T17:20:05Z")
I’ve known people who shot up in their necks. And hands, thighs, ankles, breasts, and penises. For a desperate junkie, any vein that still works will do. Even in my wildest days, some of that stuff kinda freaked me out. There’s a reason they’re called “arm drugs,” people! ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-shoot-dope-avoid-neck-arteries/613410/33 "2012-02-21T18:13:55Z")
> [@heavyarms553](#): > > Neurologist here. He doesn’t look fine. > > He has ptosis on the right side of his face. . . . > > Heres the wikipedia article for horner’s syndrome, which he probably has: > [Horner's syndrome - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horner%27s_syndrome) I agree, of course, but wanted to point out that his right pupil appears slightly _larger_ than the left (in the apparent low light conditions under which the picture was taken). So, not a classic Horner’s. As they say, ‘a full house is as rare in Medicine as it is in poker’. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-shoot-dope-avoid-neck-arteries/613410/34 "2012-02-21T20:22:35Z")
> [@bup](#): > > OK, that question’s answered. > > But why are people shooting up _IN THEIR FUCKING NECKS!?_ Because they’re not complete and utter pussies. Pfft…_arm_ veins…what wusses… ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-shoot-dope-avoid-neck-arteries/613410/35 "2012-02-21T23:10:21Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > I agree, of course, but wanted to point out that his right pupil appears slightly _larger_ than the left (in the apparent low light conditions under which the picture was taken). So, not a classic Horner’s. As they say, ‘a full house is as rare in Medicine as it is in poker’. Is he going to recover without any intervention, or is he perma-screwed? ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-shoot-dope-avoid-neck-arteries/613410/36 "2012-02-21T23:32:45Z")
Probably scuppered forever. As **heavyarms553** noted, the fellow seems to have given himself a [Horner’s Syndrome](http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1220091-overview) (nice picture [here](http://www.hxbenefit.com/horner%E2%80%99s-syndrome.html)) probably by pinging what’s called the superior cervical ganglion (aka [stellate ganglion](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellate_ganglion) ([nice pic](http://www.doereport.com/enlargeexhibit.php?ID=12907))) which brings [sympathetic fibres](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sympathetic_ganglion) to the orbit and face. I suppose he could have injured the ganglion mechanically with the needle or, perhaps, caused an interruption to its blood supply (i.e. essentially a stroke of the stellate ganglion). Both would seem to be irreversible IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Jasper\_Kent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@Jasper\_Kent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasper_Kent)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-shoot-dope-avoid-neck-arteries/613410/37 "2012-02-21T23:42:30Z")
I remember when this article was circulating, back when I _ **was** _ shooting coke and heroin. No, I did not try what this gentleman did. > **[Man loses fingers, legs to cocaine abuse](http://cocaine.org/health/dangers.html)** > > some people will try anything ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-shoot-dope-avoid-neck-arteries/613410/38 "2012-02-22T03:06:21Z")
“The patient’s penis fell off by itself, doctors said.” :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-shoot-dope-avoid-neck-arteries/613410/39 "2012-02-22T03:47:02Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > “The patient’s penis fell off by itself, doctors said.” > > :eek: You’d think if there were anything that would get a guy to quit drugs, that would have to be it. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-shoot-dope-avoid-neck-arteries/613410/40 "2012-02-22T05:41:56Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > You’d think if there were anything that would get a guy to quit drugs, that would have to be it. Um, no. If anything were to _keep_ him taking drugs this is it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-shoot-dope-avoid-neck-arteries/613410.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-shoot-dope-avoid-neck-arteries/613410.md?page=3)