Heroin has an infamous reputation as one of the hardest drugs, and it’s well-earned. However, this reputation can isolate people in your life who are quietly struggling with addiction. Many people manage to hide their addiction, at least temporarily. However, there are certain physical symptoms that are impossible to hide completely as well as behavioral signs that will come out in time. You can’t help someone get better if you don’t know they’re struggling, so identifying heroin abuse is your first step.
The Different Signs of Heroin Abuse
The impacts of heroin use take a heavy toll on someone physically and mentally, but many signs will vanish as they’re no longer high. Even after they’re no longer high, though, it’s possible to pick out various signs of heroin abuse.
Baseline Heroin Abuse Symptoms
Heroin floods the body with reward compounds and creates a rubberbanding situation of dependency that keeps on driving them back to the relief of heroin. This can cause trouble sleeping and many compulsive behaviors, such as picking at the skin. Watch out for these signs of heroin abuse:
- Tiny pupils during a high
- Large pupils when coming down from a high
- Puffy eyelids
- Dark undereye circles
- Fatigued expressions
- Numerous unexplained scabs
- Weight loss
- Fever
- Aches
- Nausea
Signs of Recent Drug Abuse
It’s hard to hide the signs of heroin abuse, as it’s quite hard on the body. Injecting leaves the pockmarked injection sites, smoking causes a hacking cough and other symptoms, while snorting can cause nose bleeds. Overall, the consumption method-related signs of drug abuse include:
- Burn marks and/or hacking cough after smoking heroin
- Bleeding or runny nose after snorting
- Needle marks on arms from injecting heroin
- Always wearing long-sleeved shirts or jackets (as a means of hiding the needle marks)
Owning drug paraphernalia relating to heroin is another sign of abuse and addiction.
Behaviors Associated with Heroin Abuse
When someone begins engaging in heroin abuse, there are likely to be many shifts in their behavior that will only become more pronounced as they slide into addiction. A person who’s struggling with heroin addiction will become increasingly disinterested in things they used to enjoy, such as spending time with family or friends. At this stage of dependency, little can make a person feel good except for engaging in heroin abuse.
An unstable mood also tends to result from the agitation and obsession that comes with addiction. This segues into another major sign of heroin abuse, isolating behavior and social withdrawal. Not only does a person become disinterested in spending time with others and engaging in hobbies, but they stop and increasingly keep to themselves.
Find Your Next Step with Hickory Treatment Centers
When you suspect that someone you care about is abusing heroin, it’s scary and difficult to know what your next step is. However, it’s easier to find and take that step with the help of a friend who understands addiction and knows how to help. Hickory Treatment Centers are that friend, and if you choose to stage an intervention we can take your loved one in afterward. We offer the latest in evidence-based treatment methods, with an approach that combines detox treatment as well as therapy. Get in touch today to move forward with the help of HIckory Treatment Centers.
