What to Look for with Heroin Users that Could Save Their Life

What to Look for With Heroin Users That Could Save Their Life

Heroin has presented itself as now being one of the most dangerous and one of the most common drugs being used and abused in the United States. After a period in the 1980s and 1990s when heroin seemed to be on its way out in the U.S., the drug is now even more common. In fact, thanks to a spike in the trafficking of the drug and the abuse of the drug, heroin addiction is now more common in the United States than it ever had been before.

If you suspect that a family member or loved one might be a drug user, you will want to know how to tell if someone is on heroin. People who are on heroin display very specific signs of heroin addiction. If you know these signs and can recognize them easily, you will be able to tell if someone you care about has fallen into the trap of heroin addiction.

Some of the signs of heroin addiction are:

  • Difficulty breathing
  • Dry mouth
  • Disorientation and dizziness
  • Hyper-alertness followed by sleepiness and nodding off
  • Droopiness and lack of coordination
  • Sudden flair ups of anger, depression, anxiety, and grief
  • Small pupils, squinting often, wearing sunglasses often

Some of the paraphernalia to look for are things like:

  • Needles and syringes
  • Aluminum foil
  • Missing shoelaces (used to tie off injection sites)
  • Burned spoons
  • Plastic bags with white powder residue on them
  • Straw with burn marks on it
  • Pipes of different types

Some of the key, behavioral, attitude signs of heroin abuse are things like:

  • The individual lies and in general is deceptive and dishonest
  • Slurring speech, inability to talk coherently
  • Avoiding eye contact and human contact even
  • Sudden inability to perform well at work or school
  • Loss of motivation, apathetic
  • Withdrawal from friends and family members
  • No longer engaging in hobbies and activities once thought to be very important to one
  • Sleeping a lot, and at all hours of the day
  • Less attention spent on hygiene and appearance
  • Stealing and “borrowing” money and valuable possessions
  • Hostility towards loved ones
  • Negative comments, decline in self-esteem, decline in value of life
  • Wearing long pants and shirts no matter the weather

Some of the definitive, physical symptoms of heroin abuse are:

  • Weight loss all of a sudden and for no logical reason
  • Needle marks on arms, legs, and feet
  • Infections, abscesses, sores, bruises, scratch marks, irritated and red skin
  • Cuts and other signs of physical abuse and masochism
  • No more menstrual cycle for women
  • Runny nose and nosebleeds

Get Help Today

Heroin rehabilitation in Oklahoma can be found and capitalized on at Narconon Arrowhead. An addiction treatment center that uses a unique approach to addiction treatment, Narconon Arrowhead offers a focused and simple approach that can address not only heroin addiction but any kind of addiction for that matter.

Addressing addiction requires a treatment program to reduce a person's cravings and remove their chemical dependence on substances. It also requires a treatment center repairing the mental and emotional damage that substances have done. Finally, it requires a treatment center helping a person learn life skills to be able to do well in life after rehab. Narconon Arrowhead offers all of this.

If you or someone you know is suffering from heroin addiction, please do not hesitate to call today. Take the first step towards a new life and a better change. Narconon Arrowhead can be reached at 1-855-646-8505.

AUTHOR

Erica

NARCONON ARROWHEAD

DRUG EDUCATION AND REHABILITATION