# 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:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120/21 "2013-10-14T10:41:46Z")
> [@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? To minimize error from the overworked nursing staff? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120/22 "2013-10-14T11:16:33Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > 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. Nope, where the CO2 or O2 normally would be: the iron atom is still in place. The sulphur compound is doing the same thing that cyanide does: blocking the hemoglobin from carrying what it should. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120/23 "2013-10-14T12:15:18Z")
> [@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. My special psychic ability tells me that the OP is not coming back. ---
**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, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120/24 "2013-10-14T12:33:46Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > My special psychic ability tells me that the OP is not coming back. The devil you say! ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120/25 "2013-10-14T12:53:35Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > 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’ I’m at a loss to guess what sort of law enforcement sting leads from “help me guess which drug killed my friend,” but that could just mean the cops are much cleverer than I. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120/26 "2013-10-14T13:25:21Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Nope, where the CO2 or O2 normally would be: the iron atom is still in place. The sulphur compound is doing the same thing that cyanide does: blocking the hemoglobin from carrying what it should. Derp! Thatclose. Thanks for the correction. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120/27 "2013-10-14T18:51:23Z")
> [@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. Of course you aren’t, Doctor Banner.😉 ---
**Author:** ![escwilson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3e96dc/32.png) [@escwilson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/escwilson)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120/28 "2013-10-14T21:44:24Z")
As far as my other “thread” is concerned…after searching the internet (wording my search in different ways) I kept finding myself on “the straight dope” page therefore apparently my question wasn’t that strange, stupid, or 1 that isn’t far from whats been posted on here before. Now as far as the ones that was actually willing to try to help…me and his sister actually went to tie up some loose ends at the funeral home yesterday and talked with them directly. They said that in order to be embalmed they have to be able to put the fluid into an artery which will then pump through the veins and blood will leave the body through another artery. With my friend, it couldn’t be done because his arteries had closed up and his veins had what he would describe as pus like blisters. We went to motel 6 and manager said the only thing he seen (but wasn’t staring nor sticking around) was it looked like he had thrown up a lot of blood. Now the girl who done it is no hoe off the streets (even though hoe is correct) she was someone everyone knows and my friend tried to take care of. She gave another guy a shot back in feb. which sent him straight to the hospital and after 2 months in the hospital is body his body finally shut down and he died march 31st. so waiting 3 months for a dam autopsy and the final saying is bullshit so we’re trying to see what we can find out. When someone dies whom you loved dearly its not stupid to ask anybody, anywhere for the answer to a question they just might know!! ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120/29 "2013-10-14T22:49:13Z")
Death by hoe? Sounds like a bizarre gardening accident. ---
**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 14, 2013, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120/30 "2013-10-14T23:17:08Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > Death by hoe? Sounds like a bizarre gardening accident. Authorities said best leave it unsolved. ---
**Author:** ![Ottoerotic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/6de8d8/32.png) [@Ottoerotic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ottoerotic)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2013, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120/31 "2013-10-15T03:08:04Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > Death by hoe? Sounds like a bizarre gardening accident. That would explain his green thumbs! ---
**Author:** ![eightysix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecccb3/32.png) [@eightysix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eightysix)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2013, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120/32 "2013-10-15T03:56:03Z")
> [@escwilson](#): > > As far as my other “thread” is concerned…after searching the internet (wording my search in different ways) I kept finding myself on “the straight dope” page therefore apparently my question wasn’t that strange, stupid, or 1 that isn’t far from whats been posted on here before. Now as far as the ones that was actually willing to try to help…me and his sister actually went to tie up some loose ends at the funeral home yesterday and talked with them directly. They said that in order to be embalmed they have to be able to put the fluid into an artery which will then pump through the veins and blood will leave the body through another artery. With my friend, it couldn’t be done because his arteries had closed up and his veins had what he would describe as pus like blisters. We went to motel 6 and manager said the only thing he seen (but wasn’t staring nor sticking around) was it looked like he had thrown up a lot of blood. Now the girl who done it is no hoe off the streets (even though hoe is correct) she was someone everyone knows and my friend tried to take care of. She gave another guy a shot back in feb. which sent him straight to the hospital and after 2 months in the hospital is body his body finally shut down and he died march 31st. so waiting 3 months for a dam autopsy and the final saying is bullshit so we’re trying to see what we can find out. When someone dies whom you loved dearly its not stupid to ask anybody, anywhere for the answer to a question they just might know!! It still sounds like decomposition to me. Part of the process is fluid, called purge fluid, bubbling out of the mouth and nose. It is blood tinged and people who are not familiar with decomposition (such as unseasoned cops) often mistake it for frank blood/bleeding/bloody vomit. “Pus filled blisters” sounds like skin blebbing, again part and parcel of decomp. Have you read the autopsy report? If so, what did it say? If not, that is a necessary step before forming any conclusions. I highly recommend NOT letting all of your impressions be formed by scuttlebutt off the street and a funeral home worker. You might even try calling the pathologist who did the autopsy. Of course I can’t speak for anyone else, but If it were my case, I would have no problem trying to answer your questions and address your concerns. ---
**Author:** ![LurkerInNJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@LurkerInNJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkerInNJ)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2013, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120/33 "2013-10-15T19:54:14Z")
Is there any chance your cousin was taking a drug or a placebo that contained methylene blue? There would have been a reaction with the formaldehyde used in the embalming process that would have turned your cousin green. This can be fixed fairly easily, but perhaps for other reasons they were unable to do so. Perhaps you could call the funeral director again. Often when you are hearing the explanation for the first time, you are still in a bit of a shock and you don’t fully absorb what you are being told. Hearing it a second time months later, you may understand what you are hearing and be focused enough to ask questions about the parts you don’t understand. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120/34 "2013-10-16T19:12:31Z")
Reading [this](http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/16/health/krokodil-zombie-drug/index.html?hpt=hp_t3) about Krokodil in CNN today sure made me think of your description of your deceased friend. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120/35 "2013-10-16T20:31:00Z")
Captions I never thought I’d see: _Flesh-eating drug gains popularity_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-have-killed-my-friend/671120.md?page=1)