Heroin:
* Addiction
* Feeling warm, drowsy and content
* Relieves stress and discomfort
* Relaxed detachment from pain (increased tolerance to pain), desires and activity
* Decreased sexual pleasure, indifference to sex
* Short-lived state of euphoria, followed by drowsiness
* Nodding off, ‘gouching’ (at very high doses)
* Small pupils ('pinned' eyes), droopy eyelids, impaired night vision
* Constipation
* Slowed and slurred speech
* Itching (at first few uses, sometimes later at larger doses)
* Dry mouth
* Reduced appetite / thirst
* Irregular menstruation
* Vomiting (at first use and later at high doses)
* Slow, irregular heart rate
* Irregular blood pressure
* Depressing of the nervous system, including reflexes such as coughing, breathing and heart rate
* Widening of the blood vessels, which gives a feeling of warmth but reduces bowel activity
* As tolerance develops more heroin is required to achieve a ‘high’
* As tolerance develops more heroin is required just to feel ‘normal’ and not to be ill
* Sedation and coma
* Death from overdose
* Respiratory depression
* Infectious diseases i.e. HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B and C
* Can impair immune system
* Convulsions (part of withdrawal syndrome)
* Collapsed veins
* Abscesses
* Bacterial infections
* Spontaneous abortion / labour
* Infection of heart lining and valves
* Arthritis and other rheumatologic problems
* Impair soft tissues in certain voluntary muscles (i.e. the intestines)
For more information on physical effects of drug addiction.
Drugs and Alcohol highly affect Teenagers, for more information on this topic click here.
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