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Placement of an IV line may cause pain, as it necessarily involves piercing the skin. Infections and inflammation (termed phlebitis) are also both common side effects of an IV line. Phlebitis may be more likely if the same vein is used repeatedly for intravenous access, and can eventually develop into a hard cord which is unsuitable for IV access. The unintentional administration of a therapy outside a vein, termed iv drug use extravasation or infiltration, may cause other side effects. Additionally, one participant reported seeking a larger gauge needle due to difficulty finding a vein. Understanding blood-borne viral transmission risk was also reinforced as a result of participants’ lived experiences, which subsequently would lead to avoidance of needle sharing practices.

• This leaves a dark, sooty residue at the injection site, referred to as a “sooting tattoo.” The article asserts that some people will actually get an inked tattoo to cover this up.
• When many pills are crushed and injected, they are often laced with other drugs or additives, resulting in toxic interactions in the body.
• Syringe service programs can vary in how they are structured, but they typically provide clean syringes and needles to help people avoid reusing them and getting infections.

Diagnosis of Injection Drug Use

The dangers of IV drug use include an increased risk of infection, permanent damage and raised risk of an overdose. Among the most popular in many countries are morphine, heroin, cocaine, amphetamine, and methamphetamine. Prescription drugs—including tablets, capsules, and even liquids and suppositories—are also occasionally injected. This applies particularly to prescription opioids, since some opioid addicts already inject heroin. Injecting preparations which were not intended for this purpose is particularly dangerous because of the presence of excipients (fillers), which can cause blood clots.

Here Are Some Common Signs of An Overdose

Social-ecological models with respect to drug-related risk and harms emphasize the complex interplay between both behavioral and structural factors, with the need for a multi-level approach to harm reduction 31, 32. Structural factors and injection drug use networks directly impact drug use, injection drug use practices, and harm reduction knowledge, ultimately resulting in tissue damage and inoculation of bacteria into the host and subsequent development of SBI. Despite perceived safe injection practices among PWID, limited practice of these behaviors and knowledge deficit on how to reduce their risk of drug-injection-related SBI was common. Effective healthcare and community prevention efforts targeted toward reducing risk of bacterial infections could prevent long-term hospitalizations, decrease health care expenditures, and reduce morbidity and mortality.

Mental Health Resources

This will result in a less painful injection and may prevent the soreness you usually feel the following day or two. When injecting into a muscle, insert the needle in one quick stab straight into the injection site at a 90° angle to the body. You definitely want to draw your plunger back slightly to make sure no blood comes into the syringe. If blood does appear, you’ve hit a blood vessel and need to pull out and try again. Many of the substances that require intramuscular injection come pre-prepared in liquid form.

• However, as addiction worsens as addicts chase faster highs, they will become most likely to consider (or start) taking intravenous distribution (as IV Drug use is called) of drugs such as heroin or cocaine.
• Through a needle, these germs can immediately bypass the normal barriers and protective defenses your skin has, increasing the likelihood that an infection can develop.
• Professional help can provide the structure and experienced guidance that can make a difference on the path to recovery.
• Several participants reported injection site abscesses within the preceding 4 weeks prior to admission for SBI.
• Continual intravenous drug use can cause sudden and significant weight loss.

Substances

Sharing of other drug injection equipment, including cottons/filters, cookers, and drug diluting water and/or containers, was more commonly reported among participants and perceived as less risky. On further probing he noted that in the preceding six months leading up to admission he had not shared syringes but could recall sharing equipment including cookers, cottons, and drug diluting water with up to 5 individuals who were not close injection network members. One is the kind of drug being injected.Studieson heroin injection illustrate the drug’s acidity has a damaging effect on vein health. The same studies indicate that people who regularly use drugs and suffer from vein damage will seek alternate veins, spreading the damage to other parts of the body.

What Types Of Drugs Do People Inject Intravenously?

Transitioning from inpatient to outpatient treatment for infectious endocarditis may be complicated by concerns about discharging PWID with intravenous access for completion of parenteral antibiotic treatment. Short-course intravenous or oral antibiotic regimens may be considered in some uncomplicated cases.69 Persons with severe valvular regurgitation from infectious endocarditis should be referred for valve replacement. The intravenous route is the fastest way to deliver medications and fluid replacement throughout the body as they are introduced directly into the circulatory system and thus quickly distributed. For this reason, the intravenous route of administration is also used for the consumption of some recreational drugs. Many therapies are administered as a “bolus” or one-time dose, but they may also be administered as an extended infusion or drip. The act of administering a therapy intravenously, or placing an intravenous line (“IV line”) for later use, drug addiction treatment is a procedure which should only be performed by a skilled professional.

Since there is a great risk of overdosing with IV drug use, https://ecosoberhouse.com/ users put their bodies at risk of suffering from an overdose if they try to take too many medications at once. When many pills are crushed and injected, they are often laced with other drugs or additives, resulting in toxic interactions in the body. 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.

• Although like with muscle-popping, skin-popping results in little or no bleeding at the site of the injection, the risk for bacterial or viral infection is real if injection equipment is shared or drugs are not prepared and injected hygienically.
• Additionally, and quite dangerously, a variety of prescription drugs are also used this way.
• While the symptoms of a fungal infection may vary depending on the type of fungi that caused the infection, common symptoms include a fever and chills.
• Among the most popular in many countries are morphine, heroin, cocaine, amphetamine, and methamphetamine.
• Abscesses are a common complication of intravenous drug use, resulting in an uncomfortable collection of pus under the skin.
• Part of the requirement for an EMS is that they are capable of establishing and maintaining access for medication through a patient’s veins.

All participants reported re-using their own syringes at varying frequency and typically dependent on sterile syringe availability to the individual. Most described cleaning the needle after each use with either tap or bottled water, some noted that there were still visible blood products within the syringe prior to next use. Participants at times attempted to wash hands with soap and water, not the skin overlying potential injection site. Skin hygiene was further limited by limited access to running water and soap by those participants who were homeless. Some participants that visited needle exchanges received alcohol swabs as part of their drug kit although reported use was sporadic, even in those with prior personal experience of SBI. Injection-related SSTI, particularly superficial uncomplicated abscesses, were common among participants.

• After an individual has recovered physically from drug abuse, he or she will proceed with treatment that includes behavioural therapy and rehabilitation sessions to focus on the psychological aspects of addiction.
• Unlike some veins, nerves are not visible from outside the body, although you will definitely know if you’ve hit one while injecting because you’ll experience extreme pain and no blood will enter the syringe when you pull back to register.
• For example, opiates such as heroin can become physically addictive after only a few injections.
• If you proceed to inject without being properly positioned in a vein, you’ll be putting your drugs into the tissue surrounding the vein, under the skin, or some other place.
• People who inject drugs often have one or two favorite places to inject—sites that feel the most comfortable, are easy to access, and where you almost always get a clean hit on your first try.

All IDUs should be asked about the use of other substances, especially alcohol and benzodiazepines. For patients on opioid maintenance therapy, the dose and timing of the last dose should be confirmed with the dispensing centre at the first opportunity. Although chest X-ray is sufficient to demonstrate the pulmonary infection in most cases, CT can be useful to confirm cavitation and the distribution of infection and to exclude pulmonary embolus. In fact, we recommend that you not touch the items inside of the kit for any reason unless you absolutely have to. Also, certain drugs, especially those mixed with heroin, are so toxic and potent that they can absorb through the skin. The buttocks, thighs, and upper arms are the three best sites, respectively, for intramuscular injection.