# what could have killed my friend **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 13, 2013, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120 "2013-10-13T04:51:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![escwilson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3e96dc/32.png) [@escwilson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/escwilson)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120/1 "2013-10-13T04:51:41Z")
A friend of mine was found in a motel room bathroom dead and we just had his funeral. The word on the street is the girl he was with gave him a hot shot & took everything. But whatever it was she mixed with his dope ate his veins up so bad he couldn’t be embalmed and had to have a closed casket. what would have done that? Oh and the family said whatever it was made his veins green or him green i’m not sure. any ideas?? ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120/2 "2013-10-13T05:20:52Z")
I’m betting the findings from the autopsy stand a better chance at answering your question vs vague internet speculation. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120/3 "2013-10-13T05:33:01Z")
I agree with drastic\_quench. OTOH, earlier today, I was reading stories about how the amazingly toxic heroin knock-off [krokodil](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desomorphine) has apparently started showing up in[suburban Chicago](http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-krokodil-drug-flesh-eating-chicago-20131011,0,330855.story). Some of the reports indicate that krokodil can very quickly cause horrible tissue damage, due to the chemicals / solvents which are used to make it (including gasoline, paint thinner, and lighter fluid). ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120/4 "2013-10-13T05:40:27Z")
Since no factual answer is possible, let’s move this to IMHO. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120/5 "2013-10-13T05:46:06Z")
For the record, this is the OPs first post here. I’m reminded of back in the AOL SD days when the SD would be on the Welcome to AOL screen and we’d get hit on the MB and Chat by people who thought the Strait Dope was where you go to find out about illicit drugs; where to get them and how to mask your use of them. Just sayin’ ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120/6 "2013-10-13T06:48:45Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > OTOH, earlier today, I was reading stories about how the amazingly toxic heroin knock-off [krokodil](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desomorphine) has apparently started showing up in[suburban Chicago](http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-krokodil-drug-flesh-eating-chicago-20131011,0,330855.story). Some of the reports indicate that krokodil can very quickly cause horrible tissue damage, due to the chemicals / solvents which are used to make it (including gasoline, paint thinner, and lighter fluid). But green skin is not one of the signs of krokodil abuse. I think what we’re seeing here is fraug. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120/7 "2013-10-13T06:52:09Z")
Okay, I saw the thread title and knew there would be an Oct 2013 join date. I should start charging for these psychic readings. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120/8 "2013-10-13T09:49:23Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Okay, I saw the thread title and knew there would be an Oct 2013 join date. I should start charging for these psychic readings. Don’t I know it. I prophesied that somebody would say “Don’t ask random strangers on an internet message board about it” (or words to that effect). I scare me. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120/9 "2013-10-13T10:25:16Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > But green skin is not one of the signs of krokodil abuse. I think what we’re seeing here is fraug. Actually, greenish skin discoloration IS one of the signs, but I don’t think it happens instantly. If the OP’s friend did die of an illicit substance it was probably due to a lethal dose of opiate issues, not the longer term effects of something like krokodil which do take at least a few days to render you unfit for an open casket. I can’t think of any drug of abuse that will kill you that fast AND disfigure you to the point of a closed casket being necessary. Methinks some fact or speculation about his death has grown into a wild rumor. I agree waiting for autopsy results will provide better information than random internet strangers. ---
**Author:** ![Snerky\_Snerk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Snerky\_Snerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snerky_Snerk)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120/10 "2013-10-13T10:27:15Z")
I’ve narrowed it down to either a severe case of kermititis, or exposure to gamma radiation. I probably don’t need to point out that I am not a doctor. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120/11 "2013-10-13T10:37:59Z")
Does anything wholesome ever take place in a motel room? Methinks not. If you’re lucky enough to survive random encounters with gypsy hookers who’ll fry your veins in order to make off with a handful of change and your 3-year old cell phone, you’ll most certainly end up with bed bugs. ---
**Author:** ![sylmar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@sylmar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sylmar)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120/12 "2013-10-13T12:14:28Z")
> [@Snerky\_Snerk](#): > > I’ve narrowed it down to either a severe case of kermititis, or exposure to gamma radiation. > > I probably don’t need to point out that I am not a doctor. So there’s the possibility of a zombie Hulk thread ? ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120/13 "2013-10-13T17:26:36Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > Does anything wholesome ever take place in a motel room? Methinks not. If you’re lucky enough to survive random encounters with gypsy hookers who’ll fry your veins in order to make off with a handful of change and your 3-year old cell phone, you’ll most certainly end up with bed bugs. He’s lucky his kidneys didn’t get stolen, too. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120/14 "2013-10-13T18:03:37Z")
I’m sorry about your friend. It’s really anyone’s guess, though. Postmortem rumors spread quickly, and are often really inaccurate or distorted. Krokodil can lead to gangrene, which can produce greenish skin. But it’s green_ish_, not really green green. And while it can happen frighteningly quickly, it doesn’t happen overnight. Has he been missing for a few weeks? If he’s been using for a while, he might have been green from that. There’s also a medical condition called [sulfhemoglobinemia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfhemoglobinemia)which makes blood green (and not useful for carrying oxygen). It’s usually caused by an excess of some medications, which cause a sulfur atom to bind to hemoglobin where an iron atom should be. But what I really want to know is about this report I just stumbled on (while doing a google search for a Krokodil green skin picture that I thought twice about posting): > [@](#): > > [Green skin discoloration associated with multiple organ failure - PubMed](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11990922) > PATIENT: > > A 67-yr-old woman with unstable angina, electrocardiographic S-T segment elevation, and a left ventricle thrombus requiring emergent coronary revascularization surgery. > INTERVENTIONS: > > Postoperative monitoring and treatment for multiple organ dysfunction that included small-bowel tube feeding and propofol sedation. > MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: > > The patient developed an intense green skin color. > CONCLUSION: > > Patients with multiple organ failure may be at risk for unusual pigmentation effects from tube feeding dyes. Why the fuck are we putting dyes in tube feeding solution? So they look tasty? They’re tube feedings, who cares what they look like? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120/15 "2013-10-13T18:09:50Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Why the fuck are we putting dyes in tube feeding solution? So they look tasty? They’re tube feedings, who cares what they look like? At a guess, so they can be distinguished from other bodily fluids or emissions. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120/16 "2013-10-14T01:35:33Z")
> [@Accidental\_Martyr](#): > > He’s lucky his kidneys didn’t get stolen, too. Did you even read the OP? The girl took _everything_. Everything! Kidneys, too. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120/17 "2013-10-14T02:10:28Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > At a guess, so they can be distinguished from other bodily fluids or emissions. That too, and now that we have propofol, which looks just like milk, it’s done so they don’t accidentally get administered via IV. It’s happened; trust me on this. :eek: Intravenous fats (lipid emulsion) looks the same, and TPN (total parenteral nutrition) is usually bright yellow and looks a lot like Mountain Dew. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120/18 "2013-10-14T02:46:54Z")
Going out on a limb… since he was apparently a chronically addicted drug addict sharing intravenous drugs with hookers is there any chance, however remote, that the “word on the street” is not 100% gold, and that he died as result of the accumulated effects of his long term drug addiction. ---
**Author:** ![eightysix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecccb3/32.png) [@eightysix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eightysix)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120/19 "2013-10-14T04:23:08Z")
The green discoloration is classic decomposition. It can happen surprisingly quickly, especially in a warm environment. I’d assume that was the reason for the closed casket. ---
**Author:** ![eightysix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecccb3/32.png) [@eightysix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eightysix)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120/20 "2013-10-14T04:35:06Z")
Another thing that happens is called marbling, where decomposition of blood in superficial veins shows through the skin in a greenish arborizing pattern. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120.md?page=2)