Teen Heroin Addiction Treatment
Teen Heroin Addiction Treatment
Heroin addiction is very serious among the teenage population. Many think they will simply try it once but very quickly this ‘once’ may become a fatal addiction. Unfortunately, according to the facts and figures for 2016 of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), 12,990 Americans died of Heroin overdose in 2015.
Heroin is a highly addictive drug. It is processed from morphine, which is extracted from a resin in the pods of the opium poppy plant. Heroin is white, brown or black, depending on the procedure to make it. Black heroin is called ‘Black tar heroin’. Heroin is either smoked or snorted through the nose. It is also mixed with water and injected into the body. When combined with alcohol or cocaine, it becomes a lethal combination, particularly if overdosed.
Symptoms of Teen Heroin Addiction
- Shortness of breath with minimum effort
- Dry mouth
- Dilated pupils
- Erratic behavior and actions; highs and lows
- Unfocused and disoriented
- Hyper alertness followed by ‘spaced out’ feeling
- Unattached and lethargic
- Difficulty making eye contact
- Lying and deception
- Spending more time sleeping
- Changing friends frequently, losing old friends and distancing from others
- Sudden change in hobbies; lack of care about appearance
- Unclear speech
- Decline in self-esteem
- Poor school performance
- Needle marks on arms – often teens wear full sleeves to hide the marks
- Stealing money to buy drugs, even selling valuables
Health Risks of Heroin
- Damage to lungs
- Cold symptoms without the common cold
- Weight loss
- Accelerated heartbeat causing seizures
- Unfocused mind and wayward thought process
- Neurological disorders
- Restlessness
- Dependence on the drug increases to control the withdrawal symptoms
- Damage to kidney, liver, and stomach
- Constipation
- Overdose leads to coma or death in extreme cases
Heroin Withdrawal Symptoms
Heroin addiction is like a spider’s web. The harder one tries to break away and withdraw, the more trapped and entangled one may become, mainly due to the intensity of the withdrawal symptoms when attempting to detox.
The withdrawal symptoms include: Powerful cravings for heroin; profuse sweating; nausea; cramps and pain in the body and legs; runny nose; insomnia; fever, and excessive emotion, such as desperate crying. These intense symptoms prompt the addicts to use more heroin and go to any extent to obtain it, in order to curb the withdrawal symptoms.
Treatment of Teen Heroin Addiction at Hillcrest
Due to the complexity and intensity of the addiction, the best form of treatment for teen heroin addiction is a professional and highly expert rehabilitation facility such as Hillcrest Adolescent Treatment Center (Hillcrest). At Hillcrest we endeavor to understand, diagnose, treat and heal the individual, as well as cater to the special needs of each teenager. We also understand that heroin addiction is complex on so many levels. As such, the Hillcrest rehabilitation facility provides a peaceful, healing environment with expertly trained staff and addiction specialists, as well as personalized therapeutic treatment programs. Your teenager will have the opportunity to heal physically, mentally, and psychologically at Hillcrest, and sustain this healing for many years to come.
