What Are the Effects of Heroin on the Body?

Heroin enters the brain rapidly and binds to opioid receptors on cells located in many areas, especially those involved in feelings of pain and pleasure and in controlling heart rate, sleeping, and breathing. As a result, the effects of Heroin on the body are severe and damaging, both short-term and long-term. Addiction to this powerful opiate happens quickly, and can become devastating within an extremely short time. Given the power of this drug and the fact that it is often “cut” or “mixed” with dangerous chemicals to extend the yield, even one usage can be deadly.

Prescription Opioids and Heroin

It’s a well-known fact that prescription opioid pain medicines such as OxyContin^® and Vicodin^® have effects similar to heroin. After all, they are derivatives of Opium. What’s alarming is that continuing research suggests that misuse of these drugs may open the door to heroin use. Nearly 80 percent of Americans using heroin (including those in treatment) reported misusing prescription opioids first. While prescription opioid misuse is a risk factor for starting heroin use, only a small fraction of people who misuse pain relievers will switch to heroin. According to a national survey, less than 4 percent of people who had misused prescription pain medicines started using heroin within 5 years. This suggests that prescription opioid misuse is just one factor leading to heroin use. Read more about this intertwined problem in this Prescription Opioids and Heroin Research Report. Most people who switch to Heroin come from other gateway drugs or substances. The typical path might start with alcohol, then marijuana, then cocaine, meth or crack and lastly Heroin. Unfortunately, Heroin is often the last stop for the drug addict, largely because many addicts don’t survive extended periods of abuse. [contact-form-7 id=”27″ title=”Contact form 1″]

Short-Term Effects of Heroin on the Body

People who use heroin report feeling a “rush” (a surge of pleasure, or euphoria). However, there are other common effects, including:

dry mouth
warm flushing of the skin
heavy feeling in the arms and legs
nausea and vomiting
severe itching
clouded mental functioning
going “on the nod,” a back-and-forth state of being conscious and semiconscious

Long-Term Effects of Heroin on the Body

People who use heroin over the long term may develop:

insomnia
collapsed veins for people who inject the drug
damaged tissue inside the nose for people who sniff or snort it
infection of the heart lining and valves
abscesses (swollen tissue filled with pus)
constipation and stomach cramping
liver and kidney disease
lung complications, including pneumonia
mental disorders such as depression and antisocial personality disorder
sexual dysfunction for men
irregular menstrual cycles for women

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Injection Drug Use, HIV, and Hepatitis

People who inject drugs such as heroin are at a much higher risk of contracting the HIV and hepatitis C (HCV) virus. These diseases are transmitted through contact with blood or other bodily fluids, which can occur when sharing needles or other injection drug use equipment. HCV is the most common bloodborne infection in the Unites States. HIV (and less often HCV) can also be contracted during unprotected sex, which drug use makes more likely. This is one of the uglier side effects of heroin on the body — if the drug doesn’t kill you, the diseases you contract while using might. NIDA better covers the connection between heroin and these diseases in this Heroin Research Report.

Other Potential Effects of Heroin on the Body

Heroin often contains additives, such as sugar, starch, or powdered milk, that can clog blood vessels leading to the lungs, liver, kidneys, or brain, causing permanent damage.

Co-Occurring Disorders

Heroin addiction can occur along with a number of other mental illnesses. These mental illnesses that co-occur with heroin addiction include:

Depressive disorders
Anxiety disorders
Bipolar disorder
Schizophrenia
Eating disorders
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Personality disorders
Other substance addictions
Alcoholism

As the Disease Progresses

The effects of the abuse of heroin on the body will differ from person to person, depending upon the length of abuse, amount of heroin used, the presence of other substances, and individual makeup. Severity of symptoms tend to get worse the longer the drug is abused. The most common effects of heroin addiction may include: