Alcohol and heroin are addictive and dangerous substances when used on their own. However, when combined, these two substances can be even more damaging to an individual’s health, wellbeing, and livelihood. To live a happy, healthy life, one should limit or eliminate their consumption of alcohol and never use heroin. One should also never combine these two deadly substances.
Alcohol and Its Effects on the Body
Alcohol is a depressant that affects the human brain and body when consumed. When a person consumes enough alcohol, increasing their blood alcohol level (BAC), they become impaired. Alcohol impairment often affects an individual’s overall coordination, judgment, and emotional wellbeing. From this, alcohol can have multiple negative effects on a person’s life, including their health, social life, finances, occupation, and even their family. Despite these serious risks, just over half of all adults in the United States drink alcohol regularly.
What is Heroin?
Unlike alcohol, heroin is an illegal substance, particularly because of how dangerous it is. Heroin is a depressant, like alcohol, that is derived from opium, a natural substance that can be found in poppy plants in Asia, Mexico, and Colombia. Heroin can be found in a number of forms, ranging from a white or brown powder to a black, tar-like substance.
The Effects of Heroin on the Body
When consumed, heroin affects an individual’s central nervous system. This means the drug affects both a person’s mind and body. The reason many individuals choose to use heroin is for pain relief. Despite the dangers of using heroin, the drug does have an impressive ability to block pain receptors between the brain and different parts of the body, providing significant pain relief.
Aside from pain relief, the immediate effects of consuming heroin often include:
- Euphoria
- Numbing of the limbs
- Flushed skin
- Itching
- Nausea
- Impaired mental functioning
- Unconsciousness
When consumed repeatedly over prolonged periods of time, heroin can cause a number of serious side effects, including:
- Collapsed veins
- Insomnia
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Constipation
- Infections in the heart
- Damaged tissue
- Liver and kidney disease
- Antisocial personality disorder
- Sexual dysfunction
The Dangers of Combining Alcohol and Heroin
Alcohol and heroin are both depressants that affect a person’s central nervous system. They both possess an ability to slow reactions and interactions within the body and its functions. By combining them, a person not only risks the negative side effects each has on their own but also increases the likelihood of several other negative effects.
When mixing alcohol and heroin, a person is likely to experience increased risks for the following:
- Fatigue
- Dizziness
- Impaired coordination
- Loss of consciousness
- Vomiting
- Weak pulse
- Shallow breathing
- Respiratory depression
- Tremors
- A slowed or irregular heartbeat
- Coma
- Death
The combination of alcohol and heroin compounds each other’s effects, worsening them and putting the individual consuming them at greater risk for several negative health effects.
Searching for Treatment for Alcoholism, Heroin Addiction or Both?
Alcohol and heroin both have several serious side effects for their users in the short and long term. While each substance can be risky enough to consume on its own, the combination of the two can be even more dangerous and potentially deadly. Any individual with a polysubstance addiction to substances like alcohol and heroin should seek professional addiction treatment in order to avoid the side effects and live a happier and healthier life.
If you or a loved one is living with an addiction to alcohol, heroin, or both, help is available near you! Contact Knoxville Recovery Center today to learn more about our addiction treatment programs and how they can help you or your loved one enter recovery and achieve lasting sobriety.
