Heroin and Health

The reason why heroin is considered very dangerous is that along with the highly addictive nature, it can pose several health issues in the body of the user. The health issues are not always just due to the effect of heroin on the body. Besides the direct health implications, there are several indirect effects of heroin usage on the addict’s health.

Direct Health Implications of Heroin

Heroin binds itself to certain receptors in the body, and regular use can decrease these receptors in the body. This makes the body physically dependent on the drug. Heroin can also cause infection in the lining of the heart and valves, leading to heart failure. Because it depresses respiration, and due to the ill-health of the user, pulmonary complications like several types of pneumonia can result. It can also cause liver failure, depression and suicidal tendencies and other problems.

Direct Health Implications of the Additives in Heroin

Heroin is not always found in its pure form. Sometimes, it can have additives, some of which were never intended to be ingested in the human body. Since the most popular methods of taking heroin involve directly injecting it into the body, these additives can eventually clog the blood vessels. If these blood vessels happen to be leading to important organs, the blockage can cause poor circulation to those organs which leads to damage or death of the organ cells. This can cause organ failure.

Indirect Health Implications of Heroin

There are several indirect health hazards associated with heroin use, especially if it is being injected. One of the first and most important hazards is HIV/AIDS transmission. This spreads when an infected person’s needle is used by another user. Used needles can also lead to the spread of hepatitis C, which can cause cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver failure. Heroin use also causes unsafe sexual behavior with multiple partners which can also cause the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

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Alcoholism and the Broken Heart

Alcohol is not considered a drug even though it does behave like one. Alcohol abuse can be just as serious as any other substance abuse and can cause diseases and accidents, other than causing serious repercussions on one’s family life. Alcohol is one of the leading causes of motor accidents and domestic violence. Alcohol causes broken hearts literally as well as figuratively.

While alcohol in small quantities can be beneficial for the heart, larger quantities can adversely affect it. Small quantities of alcohol can help raise good cholesterol and prevents clots from forming by keeping platelets from clumping together.

Alcohol is classified as a food since it provides calories for the body to burn, but those calories have no nutritional value. Unlike other foods, alcohol is not digested. It goes directly into the blood stream after being ingested. Almost 80% of the absorption happens in the small intestine while about 20% happens in the stomach.

One of the effects of high levels of alcohol in the blood is blood-sludging. This is a phenomenon characterized by the clumping of red blood cells, which block the small blood vessels. This deprives tissues of oxygen, leading to starvation of tissue cells. One of the worst hit and very often unnoticed are the brain cells. This affects the muscles too, including the heart muscles. This makes the heart weak and unhealthy. As a result, Cardiomyopathy, or a sluggish heart, is rife among alcoholics. Several days of sustained drinking can cause Arrhythmia, or irregular heartbeat. High alcohol levels can also affect the blood pressure.

In case the alcoholic is diabetic, the effect on his heart would be more detrimental. Alcohol in excess can cause sugar levels in the blood to rise, and that affects the circulation of the blood to the extremities. It also leads to poor blood supply to essential organs including the heart.

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Heroin Addiction 101: Trivia

Heroin is extremely addictive, more so than morphine
Heroin was first marketed and named by Bayer as the non-addictive substitute for morphine, which was used as a cough suppressant
It can take as few as a single dose to develop an addiction to heroin
Heroin is broken down into morphine in the body and it combines with certain receptors in the body
Because repeated use of heroin decreases the number of these receptors, heroin becomes a physical addiction
Heroin produces a rush immediately after it hits the blood stream, where the user experiences sudden euphoria, warm flushing of skin, dry mouth and heaviness of the extremities
The second stage is a depressed functioning, alternately wakeful and drowsy state called going on the nod where the central nervous system becomes less alert, speech becomes slow and slurred, gait slow, pupils constricted, eyelids droopy, constipation, vomiting and impaired night vision
• Long term effects of chronic heroin use can be severe, and can include infection of the heart lining and valves, and lungs. Lung infection can manifest as pneumonia.
Additives in heroin can cause clogged blood vessels leading to important organs, which can cause cell damage or death due to poor circulation and oxygen supply
As regular heroin use develops a tolerance in the body, the user must consume increasingly higher doses to achieve the same high
Heroin overdose occurs most frequently when the user partakes of it in unfamiliar surrounding
One theory, unproven, to explain this is that when there is a regular spot for taking heroin, the body recognizes it and steps up the tolerance, whereas if the place is at a new location, the body’s resistance is not in place
Giving up heroin should never be done suddenly if the user was used to high doses as the physical withdrawal symptoms can be intense enough to be fatal

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Alcohol Abuse v/s Alcohol Dependence

Alcohol is often consumed during social functions and is not looked upon as abuse. However, when the drinking goes beyond a social activity and becomes a health hazard, it becomes substance abuse. There are several factors that can make a person susceptible to alcohol addiction:

- Genetics: People with a family history of alcohol abuse
- Social Environment: People who associate with heavy and frequent drinkers
- Emotional Health: Mental problems like anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder

Even though both categories consume unhealthy amounts of alcohol, there is a defined distinction between alcohol abusers and alcohol dependents. Alcohol abuse experts define alcohol abusers as those who have the ability to control their habit but choose not to. They choose the self-destructive and dangerous drinking pattern rather than being dependent on it.

Alcohol Abusers drink recklessly with little or no consideration for their own safety or of others. They might drink in situations where it could be dangerous, like before driving or operating heavy machinery. There alcohol habit is a way to relax and de-stress, but it can lead to them neglecting their responsibilities at home, work or school. Alcohol abusers can become alcoholics over a period of time.

Alcohol dependents, on the other hand, are physically dependent on alcohol and have no control over how much they drink. They develop a false tolerance to alcohol and drink more to get a similar high. If they stop drinking, they experience physical withdrawal symptoms. Alcoholics know they have a problem but are unable to stop.

A person may be considered an alcoholic if he:
- Feels guilty or ashamed about his alcohol consumption
- Feels the need to lie to conceal the habit
- Finds his family and friends worrying about the amount and frequency of his alcohol consumption
- Feels the need to drink in order to feel better emotionally
- Frequently blacks out after drinking
- Regularly consumes more than his intention

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Myths about alcohol

Alcohol has been consumed by humans since centuries, so obviously it has a lot of myths attached to it. Some of these myths are listed below:

• Mixing drinks will make you drunker: This myth probably stems from the fact that when you mix drinks, you get sick faster. However, intoxication is only dependent on the amount of alcohol consumed, not type.
• Cold showers and coffee can help sober up a person: A person cannot be considered sober until all the alcohol is out of their system. This happens at a fixed rate, and cannot be speed up with any number of showers or coffee.
• A full stomach keeps you from getting drunk: Food in the stomach delays the absorption of alcohol in the bloodstream but you will still get drunk if you drink enough.
• One drink for women, and two drinks for men, is ‘safe’: Everyone’s body reacts differently to alcohol, depending on their body weight, metabolism, body chemistry, and any medications they may be taking at the time.
• Alcohol warms you up: Alcohol creates a sense of warmth because it dilates blood vessels. This makes the body lose heat rapidly. This false sense of warmth can lead to hypothermia if it is allowed to be the only ‘warming’ factor.
• Beer cannot damage you permanently: Beer, like any other alcoholic drink, has alcohol in it. if consumed in enough quantities, beer can be as damaging as any other alcoholic drink.
• Hangover is the only risk of having too much to drink: Alcohol that people consume is ethyl alcohol, and it comes from a family of carbon compounds known as ‘Alcohols’. All alcohols are extremely toxic and so is ethyl alcohol. If taken in large enough quantities, it can kill you.
• Drugs are bigger killers that alcohol: Drugs are dangerous, but alcohol kills because of health problems as well as drunken driving, violence and crime.

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Alcohol Withdrawal

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Alcohol Withdrawal
Alcohol addiction follows 4 basic characteristics.

The urge to repeat the process of getting high on alcohol can be quite overwhelming, and can sometimes be stronger than the person’s will power, in spite of the full awareness of the risks

The urge to satisfy the craving for alcohol becomes the number one priority in the addict’s life, eventually becoming greater than any of the other needs of the body, including hunger, sexual needs, and even survival

Any emotional high or low can trigger the desire to drink, making it inextricably linked with almost every aspect of life

No matter how long a person has been sober, the risk of falling back into the habit is always there. An alcohol-abusing person can never be cured of his habit, but can only learn to control it.

The tolerance for alcohol increases over continued consumption, which leads the person to assume that he can now drink more. It also leads to him drinking more to achieve the same high. Over a period of time, with regular use of alcohol, the liver might eventually get damaged. This manifests itself as a reverse tolerance where the body’s tolerance appears to go down. This is a sign of an advanced stage of alcoholism.
First stage Alcohol withdrawal symptoms are::

  • Hangovers
  • Sleep disturbance
  • Irritability, anxiety and restlessness
  • Tremors or Morning Shakes
  • Physical weakness accompanied by a rapid heart rate
  • Mental sluggishness
  • Difficulty in thinking

If the person was not a heavy drinker or severely addicted, these symptoms clear up on their own after a period of abstinence. Second stage withdrawal can bring convulsions where the person experiences seizures after 12-48 hours of the last drink, unconsciousness and body control.

Third stage symptoms can be alcoholic hallucinates and delirium tremens. There may be a chance of death at this stage of withdrawal, without medical supervision.

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Health Effects of Cocaine Abuse

Cocaine is an alkaloid that is extracted from the leaves of the coca plant. It stimulates the central nervous system, suppresses the appetite, and acts as a topical anesthetic. It affects the part of the brain that stimulates the feeling of rewards, which makes it addictive. Cocaine increases the levels of dopamine in the blood, which is a neurotransmitter responsible for the feeling of pleasure. Once dopamine has released the pleasure response into the neuron, it is normally recycled and absorbed by the cell that released it. Cocaine prevents the dopamine from being recycled, so it remains in the bloodstream and amplifies the pleasure response. With repeated use, this can damage the pleasure centre of the brain.

Cocaine abuse can harm the body in many ways. It constricts blood vessels, increases heart rate and blood pressure, dilates pupils and increases body temperature. Headaches and gastro-intestinal complications may also occur, resulting in abdominal pain and nausea. As cocaine affects the appetite as well, it could result in malnutrition which can compound the health issues.

People who snort cocaine can lead to a loss of sense of smell and chronic runny nose. With regular snorting, the blood vessels in the nose can be affected and nosebleeds may occur. The throat becomes hoarse and one experiences problems in swallowing.

When ingested, cocaine can reduce the blood flow to the stomach and cause severe bowel gangrene. In case cocaine is being injected, one faces the risk of allergic reaction and an increased risk of contracting HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C and other blood-borne diseases that can be transmitted through an unsterilized syringe. People who tend to binge on cocaine can experience irritability, restlessness, and anxiety. Severe abuse of cocaine can lead to the abuser experiencing severe paranoid psychosis, where they can lose touch with reality and experience auditory hallucinations. Repeated use of cocaine may lead to cardiovascular failure, cerebrovascular emergencies, strokes and seizures. Overdose may result in death.

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Effects of Marijuana Abuse on Health

Marijuana, or Cannabis sativa, is a drug that is most commonly abused. Very often, it is the first addiction in many people’s lives before it leads to harder substances. The drug is ingested in multiple ways. As a joint, it is rolled into cigarette or a pipe. It can also be mixed with tobacco and filled in a cigarette. Many people mix it in food items or boil it to make a kind of tea.

The chemical, in marijuana, that causes the high is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol or THC. THC attaches itself to certain receptors in the brain. These Cannabinoid Receptors are most concentrated in the part of the head that is responsible for the cognitive abilities, perception of time and senses, coordination of movement, concentration and pleasure.

Abuse of marijuana affects one’s perceptions and coordination, distorting the first and impairing the other. The ability to think and problem-solve also decreases. Learning and memory can be affected for a long time after the abuse has stopped. Marijuana abusers are found to be anxious, depresses or schizophrenic.

Marijuana increases heart rate, causes arrhythmia and palpitations, and increases the risk of heart attack. Smoking marijuana increases risk of cancer as its smoke has many more carcinogenics than tobacco smoke. Also, marijuana users inhale more deeply and hold the smoke longer in their lungs. It also increases risk of lung diseases and respiratory disorders.

Because of the effects it has on perception and mental health, marijuana can be quite detrimental to one’s daily life. The depression of the cognitive abilities and the physical problems caused by its abuse can lead to increased absences from work, risk for accidents, workers compensation claims and changing jobs. When the use is stopped, withdrawal symptoms like irritability, insomnia, low appetite, anxiety, and a craving for a fix appear. The symptoms begin after a day and start dissipating after a week or two of abstaining.

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Repairing Bridges

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In the midst of a person’s addiction, they isolate themselves from those who know them best. Be it a close sibling, spouse, or best friend, the bridge between them becomes strained. Sometimes they lose touch altogether. Let’s take a brief look at the process of repairing broken relationships.

You look down at your Philip Stein watch. You know that the time you’ve placed into recovery is a worthy process. Now you want to turn your attention toward the relationships that may have suffered strain.

Whenever people’s hearts are placed on the line, it’s difficult to say how long it will take them to come back around. Many times, during the course of an addiction, trust is broken. Repairing trust is tricky. Depending on the severity of the rift between you and your loved one, you may want to consider seeking professional advice.

Sometimes an experienced professional acting as a third party can assist in being a buffer when approaching an initial conversation in a strained relationship. If you find that this would be an optimal step for you, find a counselor who is trained to mediate issues that may arise. Consulting your local treatment center is a good place to start.

Be patient with each other. Whenever trust is broken, people are shy to jump in and put their heart on the line again. However, in order for a relationship to be repaired, you must be genuinely committed to the work. Think of your trust with that person as glass. You will be starting with an empty glass. Reestablishing trust levels will require slowly showing that person how you’ve changed. It certainly isn’t impossible to reconnect. The relationship will be a brand new one.

Letting go of the past can be such a hard thing to accomplish. Patience and communication will go a long way to helping restore a broken bridge between loved ones.

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Knowing When to Seek Alcohol Treatment

Dětský alkoholismus
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It is a sad time for any family, when it is realized that someone in the home needs alcohol treatment. Unfortunately, this happens way too often in the United States. It has become common for those dealing with stress and frustrations to turn to alcohol. Some of these people are able to partake of a drink and not have a problem. Many others, though, are unable to do this. In fact, alcoholism is the third leading cause of preventable death in the United States.

For those in the situation of dealing with alcoholism, it can be hard to admit that it is time to look into alcohol treatment. It can also be difficult for those around the person dealing with the problem to admit it. This is because it is a very hard thing to deal with. Admitting that there is a problem, as we all know, is the first step. But that first step can feel like a never ending fall to some. Many people believe that if you have to seek treatment or help that you are weak or have some sort of personality flaw. This is most definitely not the case. In fact, admitting that there is a problem, and seeking help for that problem is one of the strongest things that a person can do.

Alcoholism should not be treated lightly. It is something that hurts not only those that are dealing with it themselves, but also those around them. Cases of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse rise significantly when alcohol and alcoholism are in play. This is something that can affect everyone around you. If you feel that you have a problem, and may need help, or if you have a loved one that is in this situation, finding help is crucial. There are treatment centers for alcoholism out there that are there to help.

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