Many additives in street heroin may include substances that can cause severe damage to various organs in the body including the lungs, kidneys, liver or brain. Sharing 2cb effects of needles and other equipment needed to administer heroin can lead to severe problems and infections like HIV, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C. Heroin use causes a shift in the brain, making a person crave the drug and abandon former interests and other parts of their life.
This can harm the cells that keep vital organs like your lungs, liver, kidneys, or brain working properly. Your immune system might also react to these additives, causing arthritis or other joint problems. People who use drugs do things that raise the odds of exposure to viruses that live in blood or body fluids, including sharing needles and having risky sex. And if you get sick, you may pass the infection (hepatitis B and C, HIV) to your sexual partners or kids. Over time, you may lose the ability to control your actions or make good decisions. If you snort heroin a lot, you may damage the lining of your nose or airways.
Signs and Symptoms of Heroin Use
- While this issue can be challenging to talk about, having a conversation with a person about their relationship to heroin may help save their life.
- The first step to getting better is admitting you have a problem.
- If you or someone you love is addicted to heroin, reach out to your family doctor or someone else you trust.
- As widespread as heroin has become, it can still be difficult to detect when someone is using the drug.
Other strong risk factors for drug misuse include mistreatment as a child, family history of substance misuse, and a personal history of mental illness or drug use. A medication called naloxone can block the effects of opioids and reverse a heroin can alcoholism cause narcissism overdose if it’s used quickly. But it also comes in measured doses as an auto-pen (Evzio) and a nasal spray (Narcan).
Behavioral Signs And Symptoms Of Heroin Abuse
In 2019 alone, over 14,000 people died of a drug overdose involving heroin in the United States. Once the person affected has stabilized medically, they will most likely need to receive a medication called methadone. Taking high doses of heroin, or mixing it with other drugs, can have dangerous effects, including stopped breathing—a hallmark sign of heroin overdose. If you or someone you love is addicted to heroin, reach out to your family doctor or someone else you trust.
Heroin Addiction: What You Should Know
Fentanyl has become one of the leading contributors to overdose deaths in the U.S. If you suspect that someone you care about is addicted to heroin, pay attention to their home, physical characteristics, and lifestyle habits. This may help you discover the truth and learn the depth of the problem. Identifying the signs of heroin addiction is an important first step toward supporting your loved one’s recovery.
They may be able to help you find treatment facilities, addiction experts, and other sources of support and information. People with a history of heroin addiction may develop kidney, liver, or heart disease because of their drug use. They may experience frequent infections because their immune system is unable to fight off bacteria. Diagnosing any kind of twelve steps of alcoholics anonymous substance use disorder, including opioid use disorder, is done by a thorough examination and assessment by a psychiatrist or psychologist. In some states, a licensed drug and alcohol counselor may make the diagnosis. The type of drug you take also raises the odds you’ll misuse it.
How heroin affects the body
Sometimes opioid use disorder begins with legal drugs like painkillers that are prescribed after a surgery or some other injury. These pain-relieving drugs act in similar ways to heroin. It’s an opioid, which binds to receptors in the brain to release the chemical dopamine. As with most drug side effects, this release is only temporary — which leaves some people wanting more of the “good” feeling. A large or strong dose can slow your heart rate and breathing so much that you can’t do it on your own. You may develop a substance use disorder if you use heroin regularly for 2-3 weeks.
Narcan (naloxone) is one of the most commonly used drugs to revive those who overdose on heroin. An opioid receptor antagonist, naloxone successfully works to reverse an opioid overdose and eliminate all signs of intoxication. By rapidly binding to opioid receptors in the brain, naloxone does an effective job in preventing heroin from activating these receptors and causing significant damage or death. However, if too much time lapses from overdose to the time of medical treatment, it may be too late.
But heroin use can result in the loss of life, family, friends, and stability as the addiction takes over. Financially, many problems occur when people who are addicted to heroin lose control of their lives. Additives in heroin can also coagulate and clog blood vessels, such as arteries and veins. This can lead to heart attacks, strokes, and permanent organ damage.
It can include genetic, psychological, and environmental factors. While it’s impossible to say who’s at risk for an opioid use disorder, there are factors that can raise the risk of developing a drug addiction. If a person becomes addicted to these prescribed medications and can’t obtain them anymore, they may pursue illegal drugs like heroin to achieve the same pleasurable feeling. Talk to your doctor or visit FindTreatment.gov if you can’t quit using heroin on your own. Medication and other substance use treatments can help ease drug cravings and withdrawal symptoms that come with ongoing heroin use. But if you’re going to take heroin, there are steps you can take to lessen the chances of serious health consequences, including overdose or death.