Heroin Addiction & Intervention
What is heroin?
Heroin is a highly addictive drug, and its use
is a serious problem in America. Recent studies
suggest a shift from injecting heroin to snorting
or smoking because of increased purity and the
misconception that these forms of use will not
lead to addiction. Heroin is processed from morphine,
a naturally occurring substance extracted from
the seedpod of the Asian poppy plant. Heroin usually
appears as a white or brown powder.
How does heroin affect the
brain and body?
The short-term effects of heroin abuse appear
soon after a single dose and disappear in a few
hours. After an injection of heroin, the user
reports feeling a surge of euphoria ("rush")
accompanied by a warm flushing of the skin, a
dry mouth, and heavy extremities. Following this
initial euphoria, the user goes "on the nod",
an alternately wakeful and drowsy state. Mental
functioning becomes clouded due to the depression
of the central nervous system.
What are the possible consequences
of heroin use and abuse?
Long-term effects of heroin appear after repeated
use for some period of time. Chronic users may
develop collapsed veins, infection of the heart
lining and valves, abscesses, cellulitis, and
liver disease. Pulmonary complications, including
various types of pneumonia, may result from the
poor health condition of the abuser, as well as
from heroin's depressing effects on respiration.
In addition to the effects of the
drug itself, street heroin may have additives
that do not readily dissolve and result in clogging
the blood vessels that lead to the lungs, liver,
kidneys, or brain. This can cause infection or
even death of small patches of cells in vital
organs.
Tolerance develops with regular
heroin use. This means the abuser must use more
heroin to achieve the same intensity or effect.
As higher doses are used over time, physical dependence
and addiction develop. With physical dependence,
the body has adapted to the presence of the drug
and withdrawal symptoms may occur if use is reduced
or stopped.
Withdrawal, which in regular abusers
may occur as early as a few hours after the last
administration, produces drug craving, restlessness,
muscle and bone pain, insomnia, diarrhea and vomiting,
cold flashes with goose bumps ("cold turkey"),
kicking movements ("kicking the habit"),
and other symptoms. Major withdrawal symptoms
peak between 48 and 72 hours after the last dose
and subside after about a week. Sudden withdrawal
by heavily dependent users who are in poor health
is occasionally fatal, although heroin withdrawal
is considered much less dangerous than alcohol
or barbiturate withdrawal.
Heroin abuse is associated with
serious health conditions, including fatal overdose,
spontaneous abortion, collapsed veins, and infectious
diseases, including HIV/AIDS and hepatitis. It
is the second most frequently mentioned drug in
overall drug-related deaths.
Help! I have a loved one that needs help
with his or her addiction to heroin.
Many individuals have approached their loved one
regarding his/her drug addiction, with no success.
It may be helpful when talking with your loved
one, to have a third party present that is professionally
trained and knowledgeable about drug abuse.
Addiction Intervention Resources moves your family
out of crisis and assists in addressing your loved
one’s drug addiction.
To read more information on our Drug Intervention Program, Click Here or call our National Call Center 800.561.8158