What Is a Heroin Needle or Syringe?

Heroin is a white or brown powder. It is an opioid created from the Asian poppy plant. As mentioned, heroin is mixed with water and injected directly into a person’s vein using a needle or syringe. Additionally, it can be snorted or smoked. All ways of use can quickly enter the bloodstream, instantly causing a person to feel high. This is what leads to heroin being very addictive.

Long-term side effects of chronic needle use for heroin may develop collapsed veins, infection of the heart lining and valves, abscesses, and liver or kidney disease. Additionally, heroin creates unique risks because of the transmission of HIV and other diseases from sharing needles or unsafe injection tools.

How Are Needles Used in Heroin Use?

Needles are used with heroin by injecting the drug directly into a user’s vein. Users often use discreet injection sites. Most users start by injecting in their forearms but may move to other areas such as the neck, groin, hands, feet, or face when scarring or inflammation occurs.

In addition to scarring and inflammation, using a needle for drug use over time can lead to damaged or collapsed veins, lesions, bruising, and painful sites.

The more visible the injection site, the more likely a user will try to cover it up with clothing, make-up, or tattoos. The ability to identify track marks is one way to detect use.

The patterns of injection can change over time. A person who injects will fall into a routine that balances the need for the high, the symptoms of withdrawal, and what is financially available. Some people inject drugs multiple times daily in smaller doses to have a stable high. Another person may inject only a few times a day or wait until withdrawal symptoms begin.

Why Do People Choose to Use Heroin Intravenously?

Research indicates that intravenous drug users are more likely to be 35 years and older, unemployed, possess less than a high school education, and reside in rural areas. Additionally, people who used injection as a primary source of heroin exhibited higher abuse rates, a higher need for substance abuse treatment, and experienced higher rates of physical and psychological problems.

As research has indicated, the reason people may use heroin intravenously is that users may have a more serious addiction than people who use heroin in other ways. This may be because the high is more intense with an injection or because this may be the most easily accessible way of obtaining heroin in the region.

What Are the Dangers of Using Heroin Needles?

As mentioned, there are short-term and long-term effects of using heroin needles. The dangers include an increased risk of infection, the transmission of diseases, and collapsed veins.

Infection

Because a person may not be using clean or sterilized needles when intravenously using heroin, bacterial infections can occur. These infections can occur locally at the drug use site or spread from the injection site. Examples of conditions that may not need hospitalization include cellulitis, abscesses, and ​​thrombophlebitis. However, severe bacterial infections, such as bacteremia, endocarditis, osteomyelitis, and central nervous system abscesses, can occur. Treatment for these infections requires hospitalization.

Transmission of Diseases

Hepatitis, HIV, and other diseases can spread through the injection of heroin if people use needles, syringes, or other tools used by someone who has had one of these infections.

During the last decade, the United States has seen an increase in injection drug use, primarily the injection of opioids. Outbreaks of hepatitis C, hepatitis B, and HIV infections coincide with increased injection use.

Most new hepatitis C diseases are due to injection drug use, and the country has seen hepatitis C increase 4.9 times from 2010 to 2019. New hepatitis C infections are increasing most often among young people, with the most significant occurrence among individuals aged 20-39.

Until recently, CDC had observed a decline since the mid-1990s in HIV diagnoses associated with injection drug use. However, new HIV infections among people who inject drugs increased by 12% from 2014 to 2019.

Collapsed Veins

Collapsed veins are common for those who chronically use injections as the source of heroin use. Veins that collapse is caused by the acidity of heroin that leads to the structure of the vein collapsing. The loss of accessible veins is the primary concern, as this can lead to increased time, frustration, and trouble receiving necessary medical care for people who inject drugs. Additionally, collapsed veins can heal, but some never do recover. Not only does this pose a concern with receiving necessary medical care, but it also impacts the circulatory system.