Effects of heroin abuse
Heroin is a natural opiate made from morphine. Morphine is extracted from the opium poppy. Like many drugs made from opium, including synthetic opioids (e.g. methadone) heroin is a very strong painkiller. Heroin can be smoked, snorted or injected (either into a vein or under the skin)
Heroin slows down body functioning and substantially reduces physical and psychological pain. It is a neurological depressant. In small doses it brings about feelings of warmth and wellbeing. Increased doses will result in increased sedation causing sleepiness and a lower level of consciousness. Nausea, vomiting and dizziness can be experienced initially.
Street names: Brown, skag, H, horse, gear, smack.
Legal status: Illegal - Class A Effects
The risks
Deaths from overdoses occur. But the risk increases after a period off the drug because the body's tolerance for the drug goes down. Overdoses can lead to coma and even death from respiratory failure (i.e. when breathing stops). If heroin is taken with other drugs, including alcohol, overdose is more likely. Other downers such as benzodiazepine tranquillisers are also associated with heroin overdose deaths. There's also a risk of death due to inhaling vomit as heroin stops the body's cough reflex working effectively.Injecting heroin can damage veins and has been known to lead to gangrene (death and decay of body tissue, usually a digit or a limb) and tissue infections. The risks of sharing needles and other works to inject are well-known, increasing the danger of contracting infections like hepatitis B or C and HIV/AIDS.
Heroin addiction / dependency - top of page
Heroin is highly physically addictive. Over time, effects of heroin on the brain cause 'craving' and a strong psychological desire to keep on using. Also tolerance builds and the desired effects reduce so much that users have to take more just to get the same effects and even more just to feel 'normal' or to avoid the unpleasant withdrawal state.Withdrawal symptoms of heroin - top of page
The signs and symptoms of heroin withdrawal are the opposite of the direct pharmacological effects of heroin, and are typically compared to a bad case of flu depending on the userīs history of heroin use. On the other hand, withdrawal severity depends on dose and route of administration. A substantial portion of the physical symptoms seem to depend on the activity of a part of the brainstem called the locus coeruleus. Opiates depress this area and it would therefore be expected to become hyperactive during withdrawal. The locus coeruleus is an important center in the brain's fear-alarm system, and such hyperactivity would be consistent with the marked anxiety and agitation that withdrawing addicts report.Heroin withdrawal typically begins 6 to 8 hours after the user's last dose of heroin. The most severe withdrawal symptoms tend to be experienced around 48 to 72 hours after the user's last dose and last for an average of a week.
Symptoms include: Anxiety and strong desire for the drug (cravings). Watery eyes, watery discharge from the nose, and yawning. Dilated (enlarged) pupils of the eyes, loss of appetite, shakes, hot and cold flashes, muscle cramps and aching body, fever, high blood pressure, fast pulse, goose flesh and rapid breathing, diarrhea, vomiting, low blood pressure, and dehydration.
Depression is also a symptom of heroin withdrawal. During withdrawal, many individuals experience such a deep and overwhelming depression and a feeling like they're going to die, that they are not able to make it through the withdrawal process, and that is what leads to relapses. Withdrawal, nevertheless, almost never kills anyone. It can be harmful to people with HIV/AIDS. It can also be harmful to the fetus if a woman is pregnant, and to anyone with a serious health problem.
Treatment of heroin addiction - top of page
Symptomatic control with Lofexidine.Substitute prescribing of an opiate such as buprenorphine which will replace the heroin and then be reduced in a controlled manner.
Aftercare - top of page
Naltrexone (an opiate blocker) can be considered to prevent relapse. This can be implanted or taken orally.The Causeway offers 12 months post detox addiction aftercare support and advice.