The signs of heroin use just like of other drugs can be specific and non specific. In the specific category, one cannot deduce the drug of use just from looking at the signs. This is because all the signs resemble all signs that may be caused by other drugs. The specific category includes all those signs that are only experienced in the use of heroin.
Signs of heroin abuse
Some of the non specific signs of heroin use include euphoria. The user feels a surge of euphoria especially if administered through an injection. Dry mouth and skin flushing is also a sign. The pupils become constricted and the person breaths heavily. A sure sign is that you may be talking to the addict in question and they are nodding off this is a sign that they got a good dose.
When I was using heroin if I did not get a nod the dope was no good and I would be pissed off.
In case of a heroin overdose, the person may show signs of altered wakefulness with loss of memory. Since heroin is an opiate, the user may experience signs of opiate use such as itching, nausea, vomiting and constipation that may necessitate the use of laxatives.
Specific signs can include the finding and identification of paraphernalia such as dirty spoons and lighters, syringes, belts or rubber tubing and other specific remnants like tin foil and small squares of paper.
There is plenty of heroin addiction help out there for those who want it
People who are trying to get off of heroin should consider going to drug rehab. The whole point of going to treatment is to get a clean break from your old life of using drugs and also to learn a new way to live. If you don't start following some new path in your life then you will quickly revert back to your old ways and be right back stuck in a cycle of addiction.
Drug rehab is expensive and it is by no means a magic bullet. Simply going to treatment does not insure that anyone is going to stay clean and sober in the least. The whole key is action and if someone does not take a massive amount of action when they leave treatment then they are pretty much destined to fail.
You have to put in a ridiculous amount of effort up front in order to make a solid start in recovery. Those who only make a partial effort will end up relapsing very quickly.
The key to success with drug rehab is in taking action. Most people get this wrong and think that the whole key is in their thought process, or their level of willingness, or in the amount of faith that they have. None of those details really makes a difference when it comes time to actually work a program of recovery and try to stay sober every day.
The real question becomes: "What are you going to do for your recovery today? What action or actions are you going to take today that will help you to stay clean both today and tomorrow?"
If you don't have a solid and confident answer for those questions then you are not on the right path in recovery. The point of any rehab center should be to challenge you with those questions and to teach you how to ask them of yourself every single day. If you are not taking massive action in pursuit of recovery then you are headed for relapse.
Most people do not sense the urgency or intensity that is necessary to stay clean and sober. The approach recovery with too little enthusiasm and think that a modest effort can produce decent results. This is not the case and a modest effort will get you nowhere in recovery.
You have to put in a massive effort in order to cross the threshold of what will keep you clean and sober. Anything less than this and you will fail in recovery. You have to take massive action.
I would suggest that you seek help right away because if you continue to use heroin there is no telling what will happen but I can tell you this that it has been my experience that things will get worse because addiction is a progressive, uncureable, and fatal disease.
Good luck
