Intravenous Drug Use: Risks, Signs & Treatment Options

IV drug users suffer from skin infections or abscesses due to pathogens, including bacteria and fungi. A user may ingest, snort, smoke, or inject drugs as a form of self-medicating. Injections of liquids are given intravenously with the assistance of a syringe connected to a needle. Injected medications can be injected intravenously, intramuscularly, or subcutaneously.

Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) in IV Drug Users

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)is a potentially deadly virus that has no known cure. HIV is the virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a chronic disease that slowly affects your immune system’s ability to fight infection. While the HIV infection rate has steadily dropped, hepatitis C remains a high-risk viral pathogen with a prevalence rate of still nearly 20 percent. In particular, Heroin users suffer from vein damage due to the amount of injections users typically administer.

Drugs Mentioned In This Article

Guidance about length of treatment in the general population is not based on evidence from this particular group. Factors such as continuing injection (known to increase recurrence risk) may be more relevant. Skilled management of ulcers by nursing staff, and use of stockings and compression bandages, are also necessary but again require regular, periodic clinic attendance to be effective. O’Donnell and colleagues alert us to the high prevalence of skin and groin infections. Injecting manure and other materials used in heroin production produces predictable soft-tissue infections and abscesses, as well as the occasional exotic infection such as botulism, necrotising fasciitis, or tetanus. Infections not directly related to injecting, such as pneumonia, are also more common than the general population and likely to be caused by poor living conditions and poor nutrition.

Complications of Injection Drug Use

IV drug users can acquire HIV by sharing contaminated needles or other drug paraphernalia. They can also engage in risky behaviors such as unsafe sex, which can further increase their risk of acquiring HIV. This infection is caused by the Aspergillus fungus and can affect the lungs, sinuses, and other organs.

This includes providing access to clean needles and syringes, as well as other injection equipment such as cookers, filters, and tourniquets. Needle exchange programs have been shown to be effective in reducing the spread of infections, as they drug addiction provide a safe and sterile environment for users to exchange used needles for new ones. Access to comprehensive prevention services is essential for all persons who inject drugs.

• The use of intravenous opioids is linked to a higher risk to the individual developing a substance abuse problem than people who misuse drugs in other ways.
• HIV is a chronic autoimmune disease that can occur from a contaminated needle.
• Unfortunately, the use of contaminated needles and unsanitary injection practices can result in a variety of serious infections.
• Many times, patients engaging in drug use may not know where to go if they have early signs of infection and may wait until the infection is more serious before going to the emergency room or urgent care.
• Here are some of the serious complications from IV (intravenous) drug use that I’ve witnessed in patients as a cardiac nurse.

Treatment of opioid addiction often entails medical manipulation of the brain with implanted medication to replace the body’s natural opioid molecules. Methadone is another opioid with a long-lasting action that is not as powerful as heroin. Methadone is an oral solution that doesn’t affect the same way as heroin but helps block opioid receptors from consuming other opioids. If you or a loved one has recently used an IV drug and is showing signs of sepsis, it’s important to get medical help right away and to tell the doctor about the injections. Additionally, certain drugs, especially those combined with heroin, are so toxic and potent that they can absorb through the skin.

How to Tell if Someone is Shooting Up Drugs?

Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) using methadone, buprenorphine, or naltrexone proves especially beneficial for opioid injection users by reducing cravings and preventing relapse. Treatment programs that include counseling for co-occurring mental health disorders, life skills training, and ongoing support groups provide the comprehensive care needed for long-term recovery success. Most if not all of the infection control and other safety precautions intravenous drug injectors should follow also apply to individuals who inject drugs intramuscularly. In addition, muscle-poppers are at high risk for abscess formation, especially if what they inject has any particles in it whatsoever. When muscle-popping, it is extremely important to inject only a solution that is as particle-free as possible. Harm reduction strategies can help reduce the risk of infections among IV drug users.

Intravenous drug use

Be sure not to touch the injection site with your fingers after you’ve cleaned it. Routinely cleaning the skin prior to injection is one of the most important things you can do to reduce your risk of endocarditis, blood poisoning, and similar infections (discussed in chapter 3). Hopefully, there are things in this manual that will be new and helpful even to those of us who have been injecting for a long time. iv drug user However, reading about how to inject and actually doing it are two different things. If you are new to injecting, we can only caution you to read this manual thoroughly before you begin and to go slow and be aware of everything you’re doing.