Heroin Identification For Parents
Heroin is an opiate derived from the opium poppy. Opiates have long been used in pain relief and heroin is in the same category. In the UK, a cocktail is made from heroin and alcohol and given to terminally ill cancer patients to relieve them of pain.
Heroin use has been popular with teenagers since about the sixties and reached alarming proportions in the US in the nineties. It is still used by teenagers and adolescents though it is becoming increasingly difficult to procure.
Heroin is rapid-acting, and one of the fastest drugs to become addictive. Most users start by snorting or smoking, secure in a misguided belief that in so doing the drug is not addictive. But this is not the case, and once the body becomes addicted they graduate to injecting themselves. Users typically relate experiencing a surge of pleasurable sensation, a “rush”, the intensity of which depends on the quantity taken and the speed at which it reaches the brain. With regular use intolerance sets in which requires greater or more frequent doses to satisfy the addiction.
Here are some of the symptoms that can warn parents of drug abuse:
Cycles of restlessness, increased energy, and insomnia.
Abnormally slow movements, speech or reaction time, confusion and disorientation.
Abrupt weight loss or gain
Bouts of excessive sleep
Unexplained changes in clothing, such as a switch to long sleeved shirts, to hide needle scars.
Presence of drug paraphernalia such as unexplained pipes or syringes.
A persistent cough or bronchitis with coughing up excessive mucus or blood, the result of smoking heroin.
Chronic sinusitis or nosebleeds from snorting heroin.
If any of these physical symptoms are noticed, it is time for the parent to seek expert counseling to deal with the problem.
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Pauline Go is an online leading expert in medical industry. She also offers top quality articles like:
Effects of Drug Addiction, Health Medicine Alternatives
