IV drugs are often injected into the veins (intravascular), under the skin (subcutaneous) or the muscle Alcohol Use Disorder (intramuscular). Apart from marijuana, most drugs can be injected, resulting in stronger and more dangerous effects on the body. The most important aspect of recovering from IV drug use is understanding the severity of your addiction or that of a loved one.
Clinical prediction guides
Much of the public health research that’s been done on opioid overdoses focuses on emergency treatment options, https://maryamandmom.com/building-and-managing-personal-relationships-in/ including naloxone, a drug used to treat opioid overdoses. Cotton fever is a slang term used to describe a temporary fever that sometimes occurs when using IV drugs that have been filtered through cotton. Cotton fever will cause an elevation in temperature and may cause some flu-like symptoms. These symptoms will normally go away by themselves and do not typically require advanced treatments.
Fig. 18.
- Another method of injecting drugs, known as “skin popping,” involves injecting into the skin, rather than the veins, to try and have a slower absorption of the drug.
- Additionally, they lower the risks of an unlucky person sticking themselves with an improperly discarded needle.
- Continual intravenous drug use can cause sudden and significant weight loss.
- Infections are also a concern, as bacteria can enter the bloodstream through the needle tracks.
In addition to the germs present on the skin, an infection can occur from a contaminated needle that carries bacteria or germs. When a contaminated needle is used, it directly introduces the bacteria into the body and potentially the bloodstream. We retrospectively included in intravenous drug abuse the analysis 440 patients with definite and active, non-device related IE, referred to a single surgical centre from January 2012 to December 2020.
The Recovery Village Ridgefield
Endocarditis is a serious infection of the heart’s inner lining, also known as the endocardium. It most often occurs when bacteria or other organisms enter the bloodstream and settle on the heart valves. Intravenous drug use is one of the most common risk factors for endocarditis, as it can introduce bacteria directly into the bloodstream. People who inject drugs are one of the groups most affected by HIV/AIDS. According to UNODC, about 11 million people inject drugs globally, but around 1 in 8 (or 1.4 million) of these people are living with HIV. HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus, attacks the body’s immune system, making the person infected susceptible to other infections and illnesses, which can lead to AIDS.
How to Identify Track Marks
- If cellulitis is left untreated, it can cause serious complications and health problems.
- For example, repeatedly injecting drugs intravenously produces track marks.
- EKG performed at triage reveals an incomplete right bundle-branch block, and bedside chest radiograph reveals vascular congestion.
But for an IV drug user, the goal is often to reach a high as quickly as possible. The substance hits the bloodstream and delivers the desired effect long before other drugs or even alcohol can. In fact, after using other types of drugs, addicts may find themselves drawn to IV drugs because they can get a more intense high in a shorter amount of time. It’s also true that the body absorbs all of a substance when it is injected versus only a portion when it is smoked.