The choice of treatment approach depends on individual circumstances, including the severity of addiction, personal preferences, and available resources. It’s essential to consult with healthcare professionals or addiction specialists to determine the most suitable treatment plan. The onset of heroin’s effects depends upon the route of administration. For those who aren’t yet ready to completely quit using heroin, harm reduction strategies can help minimize the risks. Heroin use causes both immediate and long-term effects, many of which are dangerous and irreversible.
This drug impacts nearly every organ in the body, including the brain, heart, and lungs. Diagnosing any kind of substance use disorder, including What Is Heroin 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. 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.
Naloxone (Narcan) can reverse the effects of opioid overdose, but it needs to be administered right away. Heroin addiction happens quickly because of how it changes the brain’s reward system. When you use heroin, it releases a surge of dopamine, creating a strong sense of pleasure. Over time, your brain starts to rely on heroin to feel good, which causes both physical and psychological dependence. This makes it hard for people to function normally without the drug, which is why addiction isn’t a matter of willpower—it’s an overpowering compulsion.
Without the help of most drugs, withdrawal from heroin use can be a difficult and lengthy process — symptoms can include extreme pain, insomnia, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, according to the NIH. Death from heroin overdose almost quadrupled from 2000 to 2013, from 0.7 to 2.7 deaths per 100,000 people in the United States, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. The United States and most other countries eventually banned heroin; it’s now listed under the U.S. Controlled Substances Act as a Schedule I narcotic, which means it’s considered to have no medical benefit and a high potential for abuse, according to the DEA.
Withdrawal Challenges
Hoffman’s company, which eventually grew to become the pharmaceutical giant Bayer, marketed diacetylmorphine as “Heroin” based on its supposed heroic qualities. The company promoted its new product as a safer painkiller than morphine, until it was discovered that heroin rapidly metabolizes into morphine in the body. Heroin can make users feel an initial surge of euphoria, along with a feeling of warmth and relaxation. Users also often become detached from emotional or physical distress, pain or anxiety.
But once you’re physically dependent on heroin, if you stop using, your body will go into withdrawal. Eventually, you can develop a full-scale addiction, also known as heroin use disorder.8 This goes beyond physical dependence and turns into a chronic, relapsing disease. People with heroin addiction feel an overwhelming urge to use heroin, even if it’s hurting their health, work, or relationships. In the past few years, heroin tainted with fentanyl has been implicated in deaths.
How heroin works
Heroin is a synthesized drug that is derived from morphine, which is extracted from the opium poppy plant. Chemically, heroin is diacetylmorphine, and it is classified as a Schedule I controlled substance due to its high potential for abuse and lack of accepted medical use. Heroin is typically sold illicitly and is commonly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Heroin illegally available on the street is of varying purity, anywhere from 1 to 100 percent.
- People sometimes use heroin to stop the pain from withdrawal and detox itself.
- The contribution of these receptors to the overall pharmacology of heroin remains unknown.
- Heroin is highly addictive no matter how it’s taken, but methods like injection and smoking, which deliver the drug to the brain faster, only increase that risk.
- About 23 percent of people who have tried heroin become dependent on it, NIDA reported.
- Some people believe that heroin is just as safe as other opioids, because it is metabolized to morphine, but that is not true.
Understanding Heroin
Many people think snorting is safer than injecting, but it can still easily lead to addiction—especially since it’s easy to underestimate how strong the product really is. Researched, fact-checked and transparent articles and guides that offer addiction and mental health insight from experts and treatment professionals. Every month, 150,000 people search for addiction or mental health treatment on Recovery.com. 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. Sometimes opioid use disorder begins with legal drugs like painkillers that are prescribed after a surgery or some other injury.
Behavioral Signs
In addition to impaired mental functioning from the high it causes, heroin use can lead to tolerance, in which users need more of the drug to reach the same level of euphoria. Repeated use can also lead to dependence, in which people continue to use the drug so they can void withdrawal symptoms, according to NIDA. When it comes to heroin, one of the most concerning aspects is its addictive nature and the potential for dependency.
- In powder form, heroin can be inhaled, “snorted” into the nostrils or smoked, Krakower said.
- Heroin use depresses breathing,3 which is why pulmonary edema (respiratory failure caused by too much fluid in the lungs) is the main cause of death from heroin overdose.
- In the short term, heroin causes a quick rush of pleasure, followed by feeling very sleepy and relaxed.
Japan’s war with China had cut the normal distribution routes for heroin and the war had generally disrupted the movement of opium. Diamorphine continues to be widely used in palliative care in the UK, where it is commonly given by the subcutaneous route, often via a syringe driver if patients cannot easily swallow morphine solution. The advantage of diamorphine over morphine is that diamorphine is more fat soluble and therefore more potent by injection, so smaller doses of it are needed for the same effect on pain.
Illicit supply chain
If a person takes an opioid repeatedly over time, the brain doesn’t naturally produce dopamine as it once did. This results in the person taking higher or more frequent doses of the opioid in order to achieve the same level of good feeling. Most often, heroin is abused by injection because that yields the fastest effects. Sometimes, heroin is “snorted”, or inhaled into the nose, to get a fairly rapid high without having to inject the drug. The side effects of methadone, like other opioid agents, include sedation, constipation, pupil constriction, difficulty breathing and constipation, Krakower said.
If you suspect that you or someone you care about has a heroin addiction, talk with a professional. This can include a mental health professional like a licensed drug or alcohol counselor or a social worker, physician, or psychiatrist. In high doses, heroin can result in convulsions, a dangerously low pulse, blue lips and fingernails, clammy skin, a coma or even death, according to the U.S.
Recognizing the signs of heroin use and encouraging early intervention can prevent lasting harm. Our advisory council brings together leaders in behavioral health, technology, and business. Their diverse expertise ensures our resources and product are innovative, evidence-based, and effective. They guide our mission as accomplished individuals dedicated to improving the landscape of addiction recovery and mental wellness.
Maintain your profile by updating your photos, video links, treatment services, and contact details to ensure optimal visibility. Live Science is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. The drug also causes constricted pupils, nausea, constipation, muscle spasms and a slowed pulse and rate of breathing, according to the DEA. “It gives people an immediate rush or a high, and ultimately can be deadly,” Krakower told Live Science. Intensive therapy & support for those who do not require 24/7 hospitalization.
By working together, we can help prevent further harm and promote recovery for individuals affected by heroin use. Comprehensive addiction treatment programs that include detox, medication-assisted treatment, talk therapy, and social support offer a path to a new, substance-free life. If you’re ready to take your first step toward recovery, search for heroin addiction treatment centers and reach out to a support specialist today. The origins of the present international illegal heroin trade can be traced back to laws passed in many countries in the early 1900s that closely regulated the production and sale of opium and its derivatives including heroin.