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Shawn Stanford and his girlfriend, Amanda Frasier, lie in bed in their tent as they recover from cotton fever at the homeless encampment in Waterville, Maine on September 16, 2022. Cotton fever is an illness that is prevalent among IV drug users. It happens when fiber from cotton ball used to purify the drug that is being prepared for injection, makes into the needle and enters the bloodstream when injecting the drug. âIt feels like your bones are ice.â Said Frasier as she described the feeling. âItâs so painful. I canât drink water. Itâs too cold. It hurts.â