Heroin is a highly addictive drug that can be injected, smoked, or snorted. Users develop a tolerance, leading to larger doses and a high risk of overdose. Symptoms include coma, respiratory arrest, and death. Other health risks include contracting diseases from sharing needles and liver disease. If you suspect an overdose, call emergency services immediately.
Heroin is one of the most dangerous and addictive drugs ever produced. An opium derivative obtained through processing the Asiatic poppy plant, heroin is often known by street names such as smack, dope, horse, black tar, or trash. Users develop a tolerance that requires ever larger doses to achieve the euphoric effects they seek, a habit that can often lead to a heroin overdose. Symptoms are many and varied, although the most obvious are coma, respiratory arrest or death.
Some of the signs of a heroin overdose are virtually indistinguishable from the physical effects that occur when a user is in the midst of a heroin high. Some of these may include blue lips, skin, and nails, a weak pulse and very low blood pressure, and both shallow and slow breathing. Often, a person in the midst of a heroin overdose will exhibit cold, clammy skin and spasms of the muscles and stomach. If you suspect a person has overdosed on heroin, there’s absolutely no time to waste. Call 911 or another emergency number immediately, as deaths are by no means uncommon.
Heroin can be injected, smoked or snorted. Contrary to popular belief, each method of ingestion is equally addictive. The chemical makeup of heroin is such that the drug travels almost instantly to the brain, with physical manifestations occurring immediately. In addition to the sense of euphoria, users will also exhibit dry mouth, extreme tiredness, heavy limbs, and a markedly reduced capacity for thought and emotion.
Although regular users are slightly more likely to overdose on heroin, again due to their need for ever-increasing amounts of the drug, new users are also at risk. Street heroin is often cut up by drug dealers, which means pure heroin is mixed with other substances to create a larger supply, sell more shots, and make more profit. The substances used to reduce heroin can range from baby formula to rat poison, and therefore a user never knows exactly what they are injecting, smoking or snorting.
All heroin users are at constant risk of overdose, but there are numerous other health risks as well. There is a high probability of contracting Hepatitis B and C, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) due to the practice of sharing needles. Users may also experience collapsed veins, heart infections, and liver disease. If a person survives a heroin overdose, they are usually treated with methadone, buprenorphine, naloxone, or other drugs in an attempt to slowly wean them off the heroin.
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