Heroin Addiction Treatment
April 12, 2008
The treatment for any addiction requires much therapy and outpatient support once a patient leaves a drug rehab center. A few drugs, such as heroin and alcohol, require a patient to check into a hospital before heading to a rehab center.
Withdrawal symptoms from heroin are so severe that they can lead to the death of the patient.Quitting cold turkey is usually the first step a person takes in stopping their use of heroin, but because the body has become accustomed to having the narcotic present in the bloodstream, the body can undergo symptoms similar and in some cases more severe than acute alcohol withdrawal. Severe diarrhea, one of the symptoms of heroin withdrawal, can cause dehydration.
After a few days are spent in a hospital or a detox center, the patient will be sent to a rehabilitation center where the process of recovering from a heroin addiction can begin. The success rates of rehab facilities in assisting people recovering from heroin addiction are low, but this is due to the highly addictive nature of the drug, rather than the fault of rehab programs. If a center claims an unusually high success rate, it is a warning sign that the programs that the center offers should be avoided.
The treatment for a heroin addiction differs only slightly from the addiction treatment for other drugs. Because the relapse rate is high and the drug is highly addictive, a successful treatment plan must include a detox program and a strong outpatient support network. With both these things in place, the rates of a relapse for the heroin addict are still high, but his or her chances of not injecting the drug into their arms and other parts of his or her body are higher.
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