Intraveneous Drug Abuse

iv drug use are still needed on the distribution and variation of behaviors that transmit HIV, the number of IV drug users, and the proportion of users infected with the virus. Such data are critical to planning for future health care needs, targeting prevention programs, counseling the infected, and protecting the uninfected. Injection drug users have unique challenges because of additional social stigma, substantially increased risk for infectious diseases, the health consequences of injection drug use, and the addiction to the injection process itself. Needle fixation is when people become addicted not only to the drug, but also to the ritual of drawing their drug up into a needle, and the act of injecting it. Additional risks from unsafe injection practices result primarily from sharing materials used in injection. Blood-borne pathogens, such as HIV, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C are of particular concern among injection drug users who share supplies, and increase the likelihood of infection.

When injecting drugs directly into the body, the risk of overdose greatly increases. Abusers generally cannot accurately gauge how much of a substance they are injecting into their system, mostly because of the fast action and intensity of the resulting effects. Intravenous drug users are far more likely to accidentally overdose on a substance than are their counterparts who use more conservative methods of administration; overdoses can cause serious problems or even death depending on the substance.

Healing the Damage of Intravenous Drug Use

Any attempt to improve the estimation process will require major efforts in each of these areas. Without such efforts, the basic assumptions underlying HIV seroprevalence estimates and other rates that require a sound denominator will continue to be questioned. The difficulties involved in conducting research on IV drug use, some of which were discussed in the preceding sections, are only part of the challenge researchers face in this area. There are several additional policy-related and methodological issues that must be addressed to permit the development of intervention programs to interrupt the spread of HIV. Finally, opt for a center that gives each patient his or her own, unique treatment plan.

You could attempt to quit, but the risk of relapsing and then overdosing is just too high. There are around 13 million people across the globe who currently inject drugs. People most commonly inject into their forearm, however, users may also choose locations on their legs, neck, hands, feet, and groin.

What Type of IV Drug Rehab Program is Necessary if You Want to Quit?

Injecting the drugs and the lifestyle that may accompany drug use can increase the risk of infection. Introducing potent drugs directly to the bloodstream with the use of a needle is believed to provide a more immediate and intense high because the substances bypass the liver, where they would lose some bioavailability. PWID usually aim to penetrate a vein or artery for injections, but there are rare cases where drugs are inserted into muscular areas, also called subcutaneous injections. Perceived Risk of Contracting HIV-AIDS – Almost one-quarter of Kentucky adults who have used intravenous drugs report that they have a 25% chance or greater risk of contracting HIV-AIDS . Age – The majority of adult Kentuckians who ever used IV drugs are 40 to 49 years of age.

• Because many individuals will also use several areas of their body for injection, this may result in full-body coverage.
• The AIDS epidemic and the role of IV drug use in the transmission of HIV have also focused the nation’s attention on the prevention of drug use and the efficacy of drug treatment programs.
• Little is known about variations in the injection patterns of adolescents, minorities, women, and other IV drug users who do not come into contact with organizations and agencies that serve the drug-using population.
• For those who misuse IV drugs, Staphylococcus aureus is the most common infectious agent that results in septic arthritis.
• Some individuals experiment with it for a period of time and then quit; others are intermittent users, injecting only on weekends (so-called “weekend warriors”) or on isolated occasions (“chippies”) (Zinberg et al., 1977).

If you have symptoms of septic thrombophlebitis, you should seek immediate medical attention. An early diagnosis can increase the chance of effective treatment and minimize the potential for possible medical complications. Use screening tools such as the Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test to identify individuals who abuse substances.

Changes In Injection Behavior

For those who are using prescribed medications, they may be given the drug in tapered dosages over time. This allows their bodies to adjust to having less of the drug at a slow rate. People will generally have intense cravings for their drug of choice as well. Cravings and other symptoms are very difficult to overcome on your own.

However, estimates of the total number of individuals at risk of HIV infection from injecting illicit drugs are subject to considerable error; this problem is treated in detail in the last section of this chapter. Worldwide, 40–60% of individuals who use injection drugs are estimated to be positive for hepatitis B, and 60–70% are positive for hepatitis C virus . Injecting drug use is responsible for approximately 60% of HCV infections in the United States.