Heroin Use is Associated with Infectious Diseases

Injection drug users often neglect basic actions that would protect their health. If they share needles, they risk sharing hepatitis, HIV or other diseases. Injection can collapse veins, cause infection in the heart lining or valves or abscesses. Unless treated, most of these conditions can progress to more serious conditions that result in death. For example, local infections resulting from the adulterants in black tar heroin from Mexico can turn into necrotizing fasciitis, a fast-moving infection that progressively kills more and more tissue. Black tar heroin may be adulterated with dextrose, burned cornstarch, instant coffee, and sometimes dirt.

Drug users often neglect other basic personal care as well. Many fail to keep themselves clean and groomed and ignore illnesses. Their worlds are mostly consumed with making sure they have enough of the opiate to prevent dope sickness from setting in. The further they go down the road toward addiction, the more this pattern of drug abuse will consume their attention and shatter the pattern of their earlier sober lives. When extended, this effect of heroin use can destroy the person's sober living skills to the point that they no longer know how to make drug-free decisions.

Most heroin addicts have such a severe dread of the dope sickness that kicks in during withdrawal that they will do almost anything to prevent this experience. They are sure that they can't survive or enjoy anything in life if they are not high on heroin, so they refuse to admit the problem and resist efforts to help them.

If you are tired of the day to day fear of receiving a death sentence caused by the use and addiction of heroin, contact us at Above It All Treatment and Recovery Center.  We will show you how we can design a program that gives you the best possible chance of a successful recovery.