The Nature of Heroin
Heroin is a world-known opium-based drug made from morphine, an organic substance taken from numerous opium poppy plants cultivated in Asia and South America. Heroin is usually a brown or white powder or a dark sticky substance. It is often referred to as black tar heroin. The other names for heroin are smack, horse, hell dust, and Big H.
Heroin users sniff, smoke, or inject this drug. Others combine heroin with cocaine or methamphetamine, a practice called speedballing.
Effects of Heroin
Heroin affects the brain and the central nervous system drastically.
The drug reacts to the opioid receptors on cells located in vast areas of the nervous system. Hence, feelings of pleasure and pain are confused and often interchanged. So are the user’s sleeping patterns, breathing, and heart rate.
Short-Term Effects
A sudden feeling of euphoria and heightened pleasure is often reported by long-term heroin users.
The following are the other effects of heroin use. A s=user may experience all or a number of them.
·        hot flushing of the skin
·        added weight on limbs
·        itching
·        blurred vision and hallucination
·        vomiting and nausea
·        dry mouth
·        sudden reversal of consciousness and semi-consciousness
Long-Term Effects
A significant number of heroin users reported to have contracted hepatitis C and HIV. This is usually attributed to the sharing of needles and injection equipment when injecting heroin.
Prolonged heroin use increases the proneness of having the following:
·        insomnia
·        stomach cramps and constipation
·        kidney and liver diseases
·        respiratory infections such as pneumonia
·        damaged veins
·        blockage of heart arteries and valves
·        abscesses
·        sporadic menstruation
·        erectile dysfunction
·        psychological disorders like antisocial personality disorder and depression
Treatment
1. Naloxone is a drug used in opioid addiction treatment. It works by attaching to receptors and filtering the results of heroin and other drugs. More than one dose may be needed to assist an individual to keep on breathing. This stresses the importance to bring person to an emergency department or a doctor to receive additional support.
The increasing number of opioid overdoses that ended in significant deaths has led to an upsurge in government efforts to make naloxone accessible to at-risk individuals and their relatives, as well as first responders in the community. Some states have successfully passed laws that permit pharmacists to distribute non-prescribed naloxone.
2. Suboxone, a preparation of buprenorphine, is a semisynthetic opioid drug chiefly used to treat opioid addiction to other opioids, such as heroin and hydrocodone.
Individuals who prefer this drug treatment should keep in mind how long does suboxone stay in your system as it may cause liver and kidney problems and may trigger obesity.
Suboxone was developed as an alternative to methadone, the go-to medication for heroin addiction treatment.
Conclusion
Heroin has a place in the cache of world-known drugs. Its effects are proven to be detrimental not just o the user but also to the people that surrounds him. Being familiar with the nature, effects, and treatment creates collective consciousness to the entire community to offer help to the people who suffer from heroin addiction.

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