Such data are critical to planning for future health care needs, targeting prevention programs, counseling the infected, and protecting the uninfected. The lifestyle of individuals who use intravenous drugs makes them vulnerable to infection. People with an addiction repeatedly inject substances with immunosuppressive effects that are frequently in contaminated diluents.

Blood-to-blood contact is one of the most efficient means of transmitting HIV from one individual to another, and the sharing or re-use of drug injection equipment is extremely risky in terms of HIV transmission. HIV from https://ecosoberhouse.com/ injecting drugs is therefore 100% preventable as long as you always use your own sterile works and never share them with anyone. Nearly 30 years of research shows that comprehensive syringe services programs (SSPs) are safe, effective, and cost-saving, do not increase illegal drug use or crime, and play an important role in reducing the transmission of viral hepatitis, HIV and other infections. Below are a summary of CDC resources on infectious disease and injection drug use.

Possible side effects

Even if they are not addicted, some users, out of a classical type of conditioning, will feel the urge to inject the drug immediately after purchasing it (Wikler, 1973; Des Jarlais et al., 1985). All of these conditions can increase the likelihood of injection with used equipment. The more time that passes without treatment, the greater the risk of complications and fatality. Combined with the dangers of the infections themselves, these effects even further increase the risk of death. Intravenous drug use can introduce numerous toxins and pathogens into a person’s veins and body at large, which pave the way for infection.

Understanding IV Drug Use

People with active hepatitis C may have elevated liver function tests (LF Ts), fatigue, and jaundice, and active disease can result in cirrhosis, liver cancer, and ultimately liver failure, all of which can be fatal. The hepatitis C virus can be cleared from the body with medication,  and over time, the liver may be able to regenerate itself. Hepatitis C is a serious health risk for people who inject drugs, many of whom have been exposed to the virus at  some point in their  lives.

• In this respect, injecting drugs is similar to smoking and snorting drugs, though injection drug use is the single fastest route of administration.
• Misusing any drug can cause serious health complications and result in long-term consequences.
• This method accelerates the onset of the drug’s effects, intensifying the experience but also heightening the risks and potential harm.
• Immunizations and treatments are available, but many individuals who use intravenous drugs are hesitant to seek and complete care.

Complications of Injection Drug Use

Also needed are methodological studies of how to obtain better self-reported information and how to determine when a particular subject is not providing valid data. It is critical to understand under what conditions IV drug users are more or less likely to disclose information and to remember past events accurately, particularly those events that may involve complex and variable patterns of behavior such as needle-sharing. Techniques that have been tried in other areas (e.g., varying the setting of the interview or asking the respondent to record sensitive information without being observed by the interviewer) deserve further investigation. The committee recommends that high priority be given to methodological studies to determine ways of improving the quality of self-reports of sexual and drug-use behavior. Most of what is currently known about drug users comes from users who have been involved in treatment programs and users who have come into contact with law enforcement agencies (Ginzburg, 1984). Individuals who make plans for treatment programs need to know how many people will require their services and how to make their programs culturally sensitive to the populations they serve; criminal justice agencies require information about the role of drugs in crime.

There are a number of models to predict drug-use prevalence and drug consumption that attempt to reflect the complex dynamics of drug use. That literature in turn focuses far more on the maintenance of usage patterns than on turnover, an important factor in gauging both the prevalence of complications of iv drug use IV drug use at specific points in time and the likelihood of exposure to HIV. Whether you inject sporadically or chronically, you’re exposing yourself to danger.

What Is Intravenous Drug Use?

These users may or may not be identified on the street as addicts, depending on their means of obtaining the drug and the stage of their drug-use careers. The committee recommends that high priority be given to studies of IV drug users who are not in contact with health care, drug-use treatment, or criminal justice systems. Reaching and serving these hard-to-reach IV drug users will require innovative methods and what is Oxford House additional resources. In short, services, whether education, information, or primary medical or social services, must be brought to IV drug users; it cannot be assumed that IV drug users will seek them out. Sexual behavior and drug use are topics that are often investigated separately by researchers whose careers have focused on one or the other activity.

• 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.
• For those seeking addiction treatment for themselves or a loved one, our calls are confidential and are available for 24/7 help.
• Wrong IV Drug user is at greater risk of death from a life-threatening overdose if he or she misuses an IV and contracting infectious diseases like HIV, which causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), which currently has no cure.
• Users often attempt to conceal these marks, resorting to less visible locations, such as the groin.

Investigating Risk-Associated Drug Behaviors

One critical question pertains to the nature of binge injection drug use (or drug bingeing), because no studies have determined whether it is a unique pattern of use or simply a way of using intensively. In other words, are all PWID at risk of bingeing or is it a pattern of use that can be maintained as a primary pattern? Furthermore, is bingeing more likely with particular drugs, such as stimulants? Regarding binge injection drug use specifically, more studies are needed to identify the particular reasons underlying the association between bingeing and HIV seroconversion. Furthermore, studies exploring the social and psychopathological aspects of binge injection drug use should be conducted.

Individuals who use intravenous drugs are at great risk for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the United States, comprising one-tenth of new cases each year. Other human retroviruses, such as human T-cell lymphotropic virus, types I and II, are also transmitted among persons who inject drugs. Formal interviews of methadone patients from the New York City area were conducted in the fall of 1984 (Friedman et al., 1987b). In a similar study, individuals in methadone treatment and prison detoxification programs were interviewed in 1985 and 1986 (Selwyn et al., 1987). In all of the samples, the majority of respondents reported some form of AIDS risk reduction.

Since IV opioids start to work much faster, they have a stronger effect on your brain’s reward system and can increase your risk of OUD. If an individual has been using IV drugs for years, he or she may seek higher doses due to an increased tolerance of the drug. I’ve taken care of patients who have been in their 20s and have lost feet and hands because of complications from IV drug use. It’s devastating and heartbreaking for the patient and their family, especially at such a young age. Some individuals start to use veins in the toes, fingers, feet, or neck, and may even turn to arterial routes, which is extremely dangerous and carries with it the potential development of pseudoaneurysms.