Intravenous drug use can cause many health problems; disease processes flourish with this type of drug self-administration. Continued abuse of intravenous, or IV, drugs--whether street drugs or prescription pharmaceuticals--can damage both the skin at the site of injection as well as internal organs. Infections spread through the sharing of needles. And various contaminants in the drugs, as well as the injected drug itself, can cause serious health problems.
Skin Infections
Surface skin infections are common among intravenous drug users, DermNet NZ reports. Dirty and contaminated needles containing viruses and bacteria contribute to the problem, and the often poor hygiene of a drug abuser also factors in. Countless forms of bacteria on the skin's surface penetrate the epidermis when the IV user attempts to access a vein. This can lead, at the very least, to surface skin infections.
Foreign Substance Contamination
Whether the illicit IV drug user injects street drugs, such as heroin, or dissolved narcotic prescription medications, he risks contaminating his body with foreign substances, or adulterants, Merck reports. For example, the street drug user will probably not receive pure heroin in his drug deal, but rather heroin mixed with other substances such as pseudoephedrine, fentanyl, quinine or any number of other added ingredients. These adulterants can cause health problems on top of those the heroin itself causes. For those addicts who inject dissolved pills, substances used to bind the medicines--such as cornstarch and cellulose--will also enter the bloodstream. Merck states that these foreign substances can block blood vessels and potentially cause problems in the heart.
Skin Tissue and Vein Damage
Death of skin tissue occurs as a result of the poor and untrained insertion techniques employed by the average drug user. Overuse of the same injection spot can damage the skin. The harmful substances used in drug addiction further contribute to this problem, DermNet NZ reports, causing injury not only to the skin, but also to the veins. Veins become damaged with the continued injection of illicit substances.
Damage to Lymphatic System
Damage to the lymphatic system may occur as a result of the numerous injections in the skin and consequent low-grade infections, DermNet NZ reports. This can lead to swollen lymph glands and swelling of parts of the body due to blocked lymphatic vessels.
Tuberculosis and HIV
People who use intravenous drugs long-term can develop the lung disease tuberculosis, the University of Utah's Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library reports. The person injecting drugs alone may not get tuberculosis, or TB, but those who share needles are at risk for a number of viral and bacterial infections. The person who shares needles can contract the TB infection as well as the human immunodeficiency virus that eventually causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and death. The article "AIDS, I.V. Drug Use and Mycobacterial Disease: The Dublin Experience" states that TB, a bacterium, may infect people with HIV infection more easily than those who do not have HIV in their bodies.
Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C is transmitted through the sharing of dirty needles contaminated with the virus, says FamilyDoctor.org. This virus causes the liver to become inflamed, interfering with its normal functioning and causing damage. Many people are not even aware that they have Hepatitis C.
References
- FamilyDoctor.org: Hepatitis C
- DermNet NZ: Skin Infections in IV Drug Users
- "Respiratory Medicine"; AIDS, I.V. Drug Use and Mycobacterial Disease: The Dublin Experience; E. Healy, P. Kelly, F. M. Mulcahy, and L. Clancy; November 1992
- University of Utah, Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library: Pathology of Drug Abuse
- The Merck Manuals Online Medical Library: Injection Drug Use
