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What Are The Ill Effects Of Injecting Heroin Into The Body?
Hello
A friend injected heroin into his right arm in the elbow. This was done on the ulnar side, near the ulnar nerve and artery. Being an inexperienced user, he was not coordinated enough to aspirate, and was undeservedly confident in his ability to feel when he was in the vein.
He missed the vein upon injection, and injected a small amount, stopping after experiencing relatively severe pain. Thinking nothing of it, he proceeded to iject successfully into a site lower down on the arm.
The pain in his elbow was relatively bad, however when he woke up the next morning it was very severe. My guess is that he hit a nerve, however the site is slightly swollen, and very slightly red in appearance. The most concerning factor is the extreme pain, and the uncomfortable feeling of needing to try and stretch the arm, with no matter how much it is stretched it still feels like it needs to be stretched more. He has no feelings of fever, headache, or fatigue, however there are complications, like edema, that may be relatively symptomless as far as I know, which is not very far.
My question is this: How would he know if he hit an artery, and what are the potential complications from doing so? How would he know if he hit the nerve, and what are the potential complications from doing so? At what point in time should he go to the ER, considering he is unemployed and has no health insurance, and the ER is an absolute last resort only to be used in case of possibilty of amputation or death.
A friend injected heroin into his right arm in the elbow. This was done on the ulnar side, near the ulnar nerve and artery. Being an inexperienced user, he was not coordinated enough to aspirate, and was undeservedly confident in his ability to feel when he was in the vein.
He missed the vein upon injection, and injected a small amount, stopping after experiencing relatively severe pain. Thinking nothing of it, he proceeded to iject successfully into a site lower down on the arm.
The pain in his elbow was relatively bad, however when he woke up the next morning it was very severe. My guess is that he hit a nerve, however the site is slightly swollen, and very slightly red in appearance. The most concerning factor is the extreme pain, and the uncomfortable feeling of needing to try and stretch the arm, with no matter how much it is stretched it still feels like it needs to be stretched more. He has no feelings of fever, headache, or fatigue, however there are complications, like edema, that may be relatively symptomless as far as I know, which is not very far.
My question is this: How would he know if he hit an artery, and what are the potential complications from doing so? How would he know if he hit the nerve, and what are the potential complications from doing so? At what point in time should he go to the ER, considering he is unemployed and has no health insurance, and the ER is an absolute last resort only to be used in case of possibilty of amputation or death.
