What Is Heroin?
Heroin is an opioid and one of the most dangerous and addictive drugs. Even after a short period of use, heroin use can quickly lead to physical and mental dependency. Moreover, opioids have been a major driving factor in the overdose epidemic that has stolen countless lives throughout the United States. Despite the increased risk for dependency and the impact of opioid drug addiction on your mental and physical health, many still engage in substance abuse. Several factors can contribute to your or a loved one’s prolonged heroin use and drug addiction.
Some of the factors that contribute to prolonged heroin use include difficulties with your mental and physical health. People may take heroin to get a sense of calm or relief, but it only lasts for a few minutes. Your tolerance to heroin quickly rises, so you have to take more to achieve the desired effect, which puts you at a higher risk of an overdose. Further, heroin use is so addictive that 1 in 4 people who try it get hooked. Thus, an addiction to heroin can very quickly take control over every aspect of your life. Much like other drug addictions, heroin changes the type of person you are, your relationships, and how others view you.
Opioid use in the United States has become an epidemic, with rates of use doubling in the past decade for people aged 18-25. For many years, the understanding of the addictive nature of opioid medications was overlooked as prescription opioids like fentanyl flooded communities. Despite newer restrictions on prescribing opioid medication, many transition to heroin use. Heroin, for those who can no longer get prescription opioids, is seen as a less expensive and easier-to-access substance. Additionally, newer individuals with substance use disorder may mistakenly believe that snorting or smoking rather than injecting heroin is less addictive or will carry less stigma.
Although intravenous heroin use is the most dangerous, as it is the easiest way to overdose and catch communicable diseases like HIV and hepatitis, every form of heroin use can be highly addictive. Thus, the staggering prevalence of substance use disorder to substances like opioids has left a crater of devastation in its wake for countless families.
Short and Long-Term Effects of Heroin Use
Substance use disorder can come with a variety of physical and mental health challenges that impair your well-being. Understanding the short and long-term effects of heroin use can provide insight into the importance of seeking heroin detox in a heroin addiction treatment program. Listed below are some of the short-term effects of heroin use on your physical health:
- Excessive sleepiness
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Severe itchiness
- Slowed breathing
- Changes in heart rate
- Dry mouth
- Warm flushing of the skin
- A sense of weightiness to one’s limbs
In addition, heroin use can have serious long-term effects on your physical and mental health, including:
- Difficulty sleeping
- Problems with bowel movements
- Abscess
- Liver disease
- Kidney disease
- Lung disease
- Sexual dysfunction
- Mental health disorders
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Antisocial behavior
- Changes in menstrual cycles
- Increased risk for HIV and hepatitis
- Collapsed veins
- Increased risk for bacterial infections of the skin, bloodstream, and heart
- A bacterial infection in the heart can lead to endocarditis
- A life-threatening inflammation of the lining inside the heart’s chambers and valves
If you or a loved one is experiencing short and long-term symptoms of heroin use, seeking out heroin addiction treatment from our drug rehab center can help. Our heroin rehab programs at Profound Treatment offer treatment plans that meet you where you are. We know there are no one-size-fits-all treatment options because each client has unique needs and experiences. Thus, you deserve addiction treatment programs that do not try to put you in a box. Here in our heroin rehab in Los Angeles, you can find the support you need for lasting recovery.
Understanding the Risk of Heroin Overdose
Seeking heroin addiction treatment is not only valuable for reducing short and long-term symptoms, but also for reducing the risk of overdose deaths. Heroin use has a high overdose rate, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes in 2023, approximately 5% of all opioid overdose deaths involved heroin. Although 5% may seem like a small percentage, that still means thousands of people’s lives are cut short by a heroin-related overdose. Another heroin use-related overdose risk is the prevalence of polysubstance use. Some may falsely believe that the risk of overdose and death from heroin is no longer a concern, since, as the CDC notes, heroin overdose death rates have decreased by approximately 33% between 2022 and 2023.
The decrease in heroin-involved deaths can be related to fewer people initiating heroin use and the acceleration of the illegal fentanyl market. While illegally made fentanyl (IMF) has mostly replaced heroin, that does not mean heroin is no longer being abused or a cause for physical health deterioration. Rather, heroin and IMF are being mixed to create a greater risk for overdose deaths. As Medline Plus notes, heroin is not only mixed with fentanyl, but many people who use heroin engage in polysubstance use. Many individuals involved in heroin use, abuse prescription medication, and other drugs, and may also have a co-occurring alcohol addiction. Thus, co-occurring drug addiction and alcohol addiction, coupled with mixing opioids, can create a deadly combination.
Listed below are some of the symptoms to look out for if you or a loved one is experiencing a heroin related overdose:
- Slow and difficult breathing
- Shallow breathing
- Stop breathing
- Low blood pressure
- A weak pulse
- Dry mouth
- Pinpoint pupils
- Discolored tongue
- Lack of oxygen in the blood can cause cyanosis
- Grayish or bluish-colored fingernails, toenails, and lips
- Uncontrolled muscle movements
- Spasms of the stomach and intestines
- Drowsiness
- Disorientation
- Delirium
- Coma
The symptoms of a heroin overdose and the risk of death further highlight the need for detoxification and inpatient or outpatient treatment.
Symptoms of Heroin Use
Heroin use is not only detrimental to your mental health, but also to your physical health. Your heroin use changes the way you think and behave in ways that are harmful to your relationships, daily functioning, and quality of life. As the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) states, repeated and long-term heroin use changes the physical structure and physiology of your brain. Changes to the structure and physiology of your brain result in a long-term imbalance in the neuronal and hormonal systems.
Additionally, prolonged heroin use has also been shown to contribute to the deterioration of white matter in the brain. Structural changes and deterioration in the brain can impair decision-making skills, behavioral regulation, and stress responses. Listed below are some of the other behavioral health and physical health issues that can arise from heroin use:
- Mood swings
- Anxiety
- Hostility toward others
- Agitation and irritability
- Lying about your heroin use and drug addiction
- Avoiding your loved ones
- Significant weight loss
- Delusions
- Forced or pressured speech
- Hiding track marks on your arms and legs
- Warm, flushed skin
- Constricted pupils
- Extreme itching
- Poor concentration
- Difficulty making decisions
Many of the behavioral health and physical health symptoms of heroin use can contribute to loss of productivity at work or school, and failure to meet and maintain your obligations at home. A loss of productivity at work and school can contribute to unemployment, housing instability, and expulsion. Failure to meet your work, school, and or home obligations can also contribute to relationship strain and estrangement from your loved ones. Thus, the symptoms and consequences of heroin use speak to how vital substance abuse treatment is for addiction recovery and relapse prevention.
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