The short answer: yes, if the people close to the addict are not looking for signs. An addict attempting to hide the symptoms from family and friends will always give it their best effort. With the right tools, however, a keen eye can spot the warning signs and catch their meaning. Often times, it is up to the family and friends to recognize the signs and get the addict into a rehab program because an addict is often too afraid of the pain and sickness of withdrawals.
What Are The Signs of Heroin Addiction
There are various things to look for to determine if a loved one is an addict. Heroin is usually smoked, snorted, or injected into the body. Drug paraphernalia is often spotted around an addict’s life. For those who inject, look for used needles, spoons, and lighters. Spoons are used to measure out a dose of heroin while the lighter is used to heat the spoon and dissolve the heroin into a liquid. This way, it can be put in a syringe and injected into the bloodstream. Injectors also use belts or other things that can enlarge their veins.
For smokers, or those who snort the drug, the drug will be closer to its natural form. Look for a powdery or crumbly substance (black and sticky substance for black-tar heroin). The colors can range anywhere from off-white to black. Anything that looks like it could be sprinkled on a meal is a giveaway. Also look for glass, metal, or makeshift pipes (which can be just about anything. Anything with two holes can be used as a pipe.)
Symptoms of Heroin Use
As for observing the behaviors on the person, there are several things to look for. Since the heroin opiate is a fast-reacting substance, the effects will not take long to be observable on the user. The user will get a dry mouth or their skin will pale. Their pupils will also constrict (get smaller) and they will be prone to nod off. In cases of overdoses, the breathing will be slowed. The user might also itch or vomit, as nausea can follow heroin usage. Constipation is also a possibility, so if the user is often looking for laxatives, they may be an opiate abuser. As with most drugs, the immune system will be unhealthy and less able to fight off sickness, so the user may be ill often. The user will also feel less pain (opiates are used as pain relievers).
Treating Heroin Addiction
Most drug abusers are not aware of the damage they are causing to themselves and those around them. If you believe that your loved one is an addict, it is best to get them to a rehabilitation center for help. Contact Narconon for questions on what to do. Narconon is specially equipped to help addicts free themselves from the drug trap. Narconon utilizes various programs – such as the New Life Detoxification Program, which uses a sauna, exercise, and specific nutritional supplements that revitalize the addict and wean them off of drugs.
The Narconon Experience
The Narconon Programs are available to help addicts get their lives back. With a high graduate success rate, Narconon is one of the best in the industry. John M., a heroin addict who graduated from the Narconon program, volunteered to talk about his experience.
“When I was about halfway through the sauna portion of the program, I started feeling revitalized. I started feeling my energy coming back…I felt like I was returning to my old self and it just got better from there on out. After completing the Narconon program, I can walk back into my life…I have tools now, tools of life. How to communicate with people…it saved my life.”
See the full story at:
Reference:
Narconon – http://www.narconon.org/drug-abuse/signs-symptoms-heroin-use.html