Find Facts and Resources Regarding the Safety of Injecting Drugs
Some people find that taking illicit drugs as they always have won’t produce the same type of high. To intensify the high, some choose to inject drugs intravenously for a more immediate and visceral experience. Shooting up drugs might satisfy your addiction, but it comes with serious dangers.
IV substance use is often accompanied by visible effects like abscesses, ulcers, track marks, and even collapsed veins. Additionally, it often is linked to invisible diseases like HIV, hepatitis B and C, endocarditis, and bacterial and fungal infections. A doctor can help administer blood tests to screen you for these.
Purpose Healing Center offers comprehensive help for anyone struggling with injection drug use in Arizona. We’ll help you find your way here and access the resources needed to cover the cost of care.
Keep reading to learn more about the hidden risks of injecting drugs and the resources you can access in the local area.
What are the Risks of Shooting Up Drugs?
There are more people shooting up drugs than ever before. 3.5 million people in the United States are estimated to inject drugs intravenously, making this a rapidly growing public health crisis. The problem is that many people still don’t know where to turn first for help.
Injection drug use is extremely dangerous and is associated with a much higher risk of infections. In fact, repeated injections come with the risk of permanent damage to your health. Some may not be apparent at first glance, but can be determined with blood tests.
Be aware of the potential risks associated with intravenous drug use, starting with the issues you can see and working your way through potential exposure to others with a medical team.
Can You See Immediate Health Complications from Injecting Substances?
Sometimes, the health problems associated with IV substance use are readily apparent. Even if you use clean needles, you could deal with issues like vein collapse, abscesses, and ulcers around the injection site. If you share needles, you can spread more bacteria that lead to worsening complications like these.
You may also develop telltale signs of drug use, like track marks. These make it much harder to hide the drug use from loved ones who are desperate to know what is going on with you and how they can help.
Overdose is also more common among IV drugs compared to other drugs. When used intravenously, it enters the bloodstream quickly, producing a more intense high with a smaller dose. Taking the same dose that you’ve experienced orally can have fatal consequences.
Have You Had Blood Tests for Hidden Infectious Diseases?
Even if you are extremely particular about your injection equipment, you might still slip sometimes. IV drug use is particularly dangerous because infectious diseases may not have visible symptoms. You should be aware of all the infections that could lurk beneath the surface:
- Hepatitis C
- Hepatitis B
- Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
- Tetanus infections
- Cellulitis
- Septic arthritis
- Endocarditis
- Bacterial and fungal infections
- Abcesses
You may not readily recognize the symptoms of some of these conditions. In fact, some of them may not surface until the disease has progressed to a more serious level. Muscle aches and scar tissue might be your only complaints in the early days of an infection.
Research shows that deaths related to IV drug use and some of these conditions are on the rise. Over the next ten years, about 7,260,000 years of life lost are expected due to IV-related endocarditis. This staggering figure should give drug users pause.
Don’t take chances with your health. When you have used injection drugs, seek medical attention to rule out infectious diseases and get treatment for them before it’s too late.
Local Resources for Injection Drug Users in the Phoenix Valley
The good news is that you can avoid the health complications of street drugs and IV drug use with the help of many of the resources available in Phoenix.
Harm reduction measures such as Needle and Syringe Exchange Programs and addiction treatment are important public health strategies to reduce injection drug use complications. Needle exchange programs provide sterile needles and syringes to people who inject drugs.
Here are some services for people who inject drugs, helping them find success in early recovery.
Safe Outdoor Space for Harm Reduction from Street Drugs
Injecting drug users often struggle with homelessness. Unfortunately, this means that they may feel even more separate from the potential of help and healing from substances. If you need a safe place where you can rest and access help, the Safe Outdoor Space (SOS) might be a great resource.
The Phoenix SOS lot is a structured campground with addiction treatment. Purpose Healing Center is active among the unsheltered in this area, helping them access detox and offering support as needed. We offer transportation to our dedicated medical detox and help you find the next steps for sobriety.
AHCCCS to Cover Treatment and Health Complications from Drug Injection
Struggling with drug abuse often costs clients their financial stability. If paying for prescription drugs has robbed you of your livelihood, savings, and home, you may qualify for Arizona’s Medicaid program. Unsheltered individuals are often eligible for AHCCCS, which helps cover the cost of treatment.
AHCCCS might also be able to help you afford treatment for serious infections and health complications like a tetanus infection, HIV infection, hepatitis B or C, and abscesses around the injection site. A full medical workup is a necessity covered by your insurance.
Purpose Healing Center can provide resources to access your Medicaid benefits through AHCCCS so that they can cover the cost of your addiction treatment. This guide can help you see which resources you qualify for and take the first steps.
How Can Drug Users Get Help for Injection Drug Use at Purpose?
With all of the risks of shooting up laid out clearly, you may realize that the risk of bacterial and fungal infections, blood clots, and even viral hepatitis isn’t worth it. The problem is that injection drug use is extremely addictive and notoriously difficult to quit cold turkey without support.
Purpose Healing Center provides a safe space for clients to stop using illicit drugs once and for all. We offer a true medical detox in a dedicated setting, ensuring you have access to medical help around the clock. Our team of doctors and nurses can treat abscesses and mitigate painful withdrawal symptoms.
To make treatment for drug injection more accessible, Purpose Healing Center takes nearly all forms of AHCCCS insurance (Medicaid).
We also pick up clients in the Phoenix Valley, making it easier to decide to get help for IV drug use. If you have a physical infirmity or lack transportation, you can still seek care today. We can help clients who need to fly in for treatment as well as Phoenix residents.
Getting Past Challenges and Stigma to Find Support
At Purpose, we recognize that injection drug users face unique challenges due to social stigma and increased risk for infectious diseases. And that people who inject drugs may experience erratic behavior due to sleep deprivation and dehydration from their drug use.
Our medical detox facilities are designed to help provide wound care, hydration, and comprehensive support for getting (and staying) clean and sober.
Access Treatment for Injection Drug Use at Purpose Today
Are prescription opioids, street drugs, and other substances holding you back from living the life you want? Purpose Healing Center can mitigate health risks and exposure to infectious diseases, coming alongside you in your recovery.
Our enrollment team is here to answer your questions with a quick, confidential call. Let us verify your insurance benefits and walk you through the process to reserve a bed in our medical detox. We’ll pick you up, assess your health problems, and help you get through withdrawal with support groups.
Don’t wait another day to get help for drug injections and other infections!
References
- Bradley, H., Hall, E. W., Asher, A., Furukawa, N. W., Jones, C. M., Shealey, J., Buchacz, K., Handanagic, S., Crepaz, N., & Rosenberg, E. S. (2023). Estimated Number of People Who Inject Drugs in the United States. Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, 76(1), 96–102.
- Lavender, T. W., & McCarron, B. (2013). Acute infections in intravenous drug users. Clinical medicine (London, England), 13(5), 511–513.
- Marks, L. R., Nolan, N. S., Liang, S. Y., Durkin, M. J., & Weimer, M. B. (2022). Infectious Complications of Injection Drug Use. The Medical clinics of North America, 106(1), 187–200.
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