Listed in 
June 28th, 2011
Heroin is an opiate drug that is synthesized from morphine. It typically appears as a brown or white powder. The drug can be injected, snorted, or smoked. These routes of administration rapidly deliver the drug to the brain. All of these methods for administering heroin can lead to severe health problems and addiction. Risks associated with these methods of administration include HIV, hepatitis, contamination, any many more.
Heroin Tolerance Can Develop Rapidly
When heroin enters the brain, it binds to receptors that control perception of pain and receptors that are involved in reward. These receptors, known as opioid receptors, are located in the brain stem, which is important for breathing, blood pressure, and arousal. Tolerance to heroin can develop with regular usage of the drug, requiring more and more of the drug to experience the same intensity of effect. This puts users at a high risk for addiction.
Chronic use of heroin leads to a physical dependence, a state in which the body has become accustomed to the presence of the drug within the body. This makes withdrawal from heroin very tricky. If the user stops the drug abruptly, he or she may experience severe symptoms of withdrawal, including muscle and bone pain, insomnia, diarrhea, vomiting, cold flashes, and kicking movements.
Heroin Withdrawal and Treatment
Treatments for users who wish to withdrawal from use of heroin include medications and behavioral therapies. Medications used to help prevent relapse include Methadone, Buprenorphine, Naltrexone, and Naloxone. Typically a combination of medication and behavioral therapies are used for withdrawal from heroin. Heroin treatment procedures should be individual-specific.