How do drug addicts hide signs of drug use?

For many drug addicts who have not yet entered the stage when it becomes absolutely no difference, it is important that their family, friends and simply those around them do not understand that they are addicted to drugs. They try to hide their addiction and resort to various methods to do this.

However, there are not many such methods. And the signs of drug addiction are still quite bright and obvious to many around.

When an addict hides one symptom and succeeds, others remain that are not so easy to get rid of. It is by these signs that any person who is familiar with drug addiction first-hand will identify a severe drug addiction. In addition, in addition to the obvious external signs, drug addicts change their behavior. And it is impossible to hide or disguise by any means or means.

And no amount of tricks will hide the serious consequences that drugs leave behind. Especially if taken regularly over an extended period of time.

Causes

The reasons for the protrusion of veins in the arms are divided into physiological and pathological. Factors that are not associated with the underlying disease:

• hereditary predisposition (weakness of venous valves);
• thin skin;
• thin physique;
• frequent physical activity;
• incorrect posture during sleep;
• climatic conditions (heat);
• age-related changes in venous tone and valve functionality;
• hormonal changes (pregnancy, menopause);
• the use of certain medications (contraceptives, which lead to hormonal disorders).

Sometimes it is impossible to determine the etiology of the pathological process. But in most cases, in men it is associated with physical stress, and in women – with hormonal changes.

Pathological factors include:

• vascular diseases;
• operations on the mammary glands;
• thrombosis;
• phlebitis;
• arterial hypertension;
• the presence of a tumor that compresses the blood outflow tract;
• purulent-inflammatory damage to soft tissues, joints or skin.

External signs that drug addicts manage to hide

1. Traces all over the body that remain from constant injections into the veins. These marks are especially common among drug addicts in the area of ​​the elbows of the arms, the knees of the legs or thighs, the groin area or armpits. Such visible signs of intravenous drug use force drug-dependent people not to wear short sleeves or shorts, even in the most extreme heat.
2. The pupils of the eyes are narrowed to the point of dots. People who constantly use drugs have eyes that react poorly to light; there is even a term they use for such a pupil - “sunken pupil.” Sometimes drugs can cause the opposite reaction, leaving the pupils permanently dilated.
3. Red eyes. In most drug addicts who use cannabis drugs, capillaries in the whites of the eyeball burst and hemorrhages form, which give the eyes a red color.

These are not all the signs by which you can recognize a drug addict. In fact, there are many more of them. And professional drug addicts always have with them a set of items for taking drugs, because without this they simply cannot imagine their life and items that help hide their addiction. How do drug addicts hide these obvious signs?

Symptoms

The clinical picture depends on the factors that caused the development of the pathological process.

In older people, this is due to age-related changes.

Swollen veins in the arms are mainly accompanied by the following symptoms:

• feeling of fullness;
• soreness;
• numbness;
• burning;
• tingling;
• dry skin, itching and flaking;
• change in skin color in the affected areas;
• stiffness of movements;
• feeling of weakness in the hands.

Signs may appear in varying degrees of severity.

The most effective procedures for rejuvenating hand skin

Some areas of the body, the care of which is often neglected, treacherously reveal a woman’s age. These are, for example, wrinkled hands with protruding veins and age spots. What cosmetic procedures will help rejuvenate the skin of your hands and restore it to a fresh and blooming appearance? Let's figure it out.

The skin of the hands is highly susceptible to adverse factors: weather conditions, household chemicals, hormonal fluctuations. After 25 years, the destruction of the natural lipid layer that protects the skin from dehydration begins, which leads to dryness, flaking, and decreased tone. After 30, the first signs of age-related changes appear: wrinkles and age spots. With the onset of menopause, the situation worsens: as a result of a deficiency of subcutaneous adipose tissue, the skin of the hands becomes covered with a network of fine wrinkles and becomes flabby, veins protrude on the surface, joints become more noticeable, and neoplasms can form.

Modern cosmetology successfully copes with all these problems, but experts recommend taking care of the condition of the skin of your hands in advance and regularly caring for it.

Today in stores you can find cosmetics that not only provide the skin with the necessary hydration and nutrition, but also correct existing aesthetic imperfections. Various masks, creams, and hand baths are also recommended for regular use in preparation for professional cosmetology procedures and after them to maintain the achieved effect. And remember: the sooner you start prevention, the later you will need the help of specialists.

Main hand skin problems and ways to solve them

Problem 1. Dry skin and flaking

The cause of dry hand skin and flaking can be one of many factors - from improper care (or complete lack thereof) to hormonal disorders and skin diseases. First of all, you should pay attention to protecting your skin from aggressive household chemicals (use gloves), adverse environmental factors (keep your hands warm in winter, and apply sunscreen in summer), as well as regularly nourish and moisturize your skin with cosmetics. These can be either store-bought creams and masks, or home remedies based on herbal ingredients.

Problem 2. Wrinkles and sagging skin

With age, the skin and subcutaneous fat layer become thinner, which leads to the formation of wrinkles and a decrease in skin tone and quality. Modern cosmetology allows you to solve these problems in several ways.

Mesotherapy is intradermal injections of cosmetic cocktails with various micronutrients. As a result, the epidermis is saturated with vitamins and amino acids, which leads to a significant improvement in skin quality and smooth out wrinkles.

Biorevitalization - injections of hyaluronic acid preparations - fills and smoothes existing wrinkles, stimulates the production of collagen and elastin, increases the level of skin hydration, improves its texture and elasticity.

Problem 3: Pigmentation

Pigment spots on the hands can appear at any age, and there may be several reasons for this. Identification and elimination of the factor that caused pigmentation will entail the disappearance of unpleasant spots. In addition, if you are prone to the formation of age spots, you should pay attention to protecting the skin of your hands from ultraviolet radiation and regularly use sunscreen during the warm season.

Age spots can be eliminated using several cosmetic procedures. The most popular means of combating hyperpigmentation are peelings. Thus, chemical peeling using glycolic or fruit acid helps remove dead skin particles, renew and whiten it.

Problem 4: Protruding veins and joints

The main reason why veins and joints become more visible with age is the depletion of subcutaneous fat. Replenishing its volume allows you to effectively correct this unaesthetic cosmetic defect. For this purpose, subcutaneous injections of fillers are used. Contour plastic surgery is performed using dermal fillers based on hyaluronic or polylactic acid or calcium hydroxyapatite. Depending on the drug used, the effect of the procedures lasts up to one and a half years.

Expert opinion

Zherlova Tatyana Georgievna, dermatologist, cosmetologist

Since the skin of the hands often comes into contact with water, detergents, alcohol-containing antiseptics, and aggressive environmental factors, it constantly needs care and protection.

Preventive cosmetic procedures for girls under 30 years old include superficial peelings and mesotherapy, in particular biorevitalization. These methods allow you to exfoliate the excess stratum corneum in a timely manner, normalize metabolic processes in the skin, prevent dehydration and the appearance of age spots, improve skin color, tone and turgor.

From 30 to 40 years old, procedures such as plasma therapy can be used. It will help remove existing age spots or dilated blood vessels, tighten the skin and even out its color.

After 40, I recommend adding to the above procedures, replenishing the lost volumes of subcutaneous fat with the help of fillers based on hyaluronic acid.

Diagnostic methods

If a vein in the arms is swollen, a person should consult a doctor. For diagnosis, ultrasound with Doppler sonography is performed first. This effective method helps determine the size of blood vessels, their patency, blood flow speed, valve functionality, and the presence of blood clots.

Additionally, other methods can be used:

• venography (with the introduction of contrast);
• MRI;
• clinical blood tests.

Concealing puncture marks

If there are many traces of intravenous injections on a person’s body, then for others this is the most obvious sign of drug addiction, which simply catches the eye. These traces can be seen by any loved one, friend or relative of a drug addict.

And if he compares it with other signs, for example, strange behavior, he will make a clear conclusion about the person’s drug addiction. Of course, when a drug addict begins to be asked questions about the nature of these traces, he has to come up with various, sometimes very ridiculous, options for their origin.

Versions may vary. From a squeezed pimple to scratches from a cat's claws. However, even a person who is far from medicine or drugs will be able to distinguish traces of injections from other skin lesions.

If you look closely at the marks on the skin, you will see the entrance hole of the needle in the form of a small red dot at the injection sites. Very often a small bruise will form around the injection site. For experienced drug addicts, injection points form entire “roads” because they follow each other.

When a drug addict injects many times in a row into the same vein, a “well” can form at that spot. Each new injection expands and deepens it, making it more distinct and noticeable.

If you take a closer look at the “roads” of a drug addict, you can see a certain pattern. This is a clear sign that the person is injecting drugs into a vein. After all, “roads” follow only along the lines of veins.

But stubborn in their desire to hide their drug addiction, people pass off even the most obvious “roads” as ordinary scratches, and explain the appearance of “wells” as burns. Everything depends only on the degree of development of the drug addict’s imagination.

Masking of injection marks occurs by regularly applying various ointments to the injection sites, which serve against the appearance of blood clots. CU such ointments include: troxevasin, hepatrombin and the like. Using these ointments, drug addicts get rid of bruises in a matter of days.

Another way to hide marks from injections is a method in which injections are made only in those areas of the body that are not visible to others. For example: groin area, legs, neck below and under the hair, back of the forearm or armpit.

With injections in the groin, the drug addict can afford to wear T-shirts and shorts in the hot summer, no different from other people. True, any drug addict is immediately betrayed by huge circles under the eyes and painful thinness.

Those drug addicts who do not inject drugs in any way, intramuscularly or intravenously, but only smoke narcotic mixtures or snort drugs, are not much different from other people. And recognizing them as drug addicts is quite difficult. It must be said that those drug addicts who are afraid for their loved ones or do not want anger on their part come to such drug use.

Therapy

It is possible to determine how to remove veins in the arms only after a full diagnosis. Taking into account its results, the doctor prescribes medications, sclerotherapy, physiotherapeutic procedures, useful exercises, and surgery.

Medication

For minor manifestations of pathology, external agents are prescribed that help strengthen venous tone:

Lyoton gel Troxevasin gel Venitan (gel)

In case of severe manifestations, the use of tablets is added to such drugs. They help increase the strength of vessel walls, restore microcirculation and blood outflow. Effective tablets:

Phlebodia 600 Escin Antistax (capsules)

In the presence of thrombophlebitis, the use of anti-inflammatory drugs and antibiotics is additionally prescribed.

Surgical intervention

Surgical treatment methods are used for acute circulatory disorders associated with blockage of blood vessels. In such cases, the patient experiences swelling and redness of the skin, fever, and suppuration.

This method of treatment is used mainly for thrombophlebitis, the consequences of prolonged intravenous injections. Laser therapy is considered effective.

Treatment with folk remedies

Folk remedies are used only in combination with medications. Such therapy cannot be the main one due to lack of effectiveness. For internal and external use, it is recommended to use herbs with a venotonic effect:

• horse chestnut;
• nutmeg;
• verbena.

Plants that help thin the blood:

• Golden mustache;
• willow bark and leaves;
• raspberry leaves;
• sweet clover;
• peony flowers.

Herbs with decongestant action:

• knotweed;
• horsetail;
• dandelion.

Such remedies are effective in the initial stage of development of the pathological process and will help get rid of veins on the arms. Only they are effective in combination with medications.

Masking constricted pupils

The problem of narrow pupils is most often experienced by those drug addicts who use opium drugs. In order to give the pupils a normal appearance, they use a medicine that normally treats stomach diseases. The name of this drug is becarbon.

This medicine has a side effect - when you take it, your pupils dilate. It is this effect that adherents of heroin, opium from poppy straw and crocodile use. In order to dilate the pupils, pink tablets of the drug becarbon are ground into a fine powder and diluted with water. After which the drug solution is instilled into the eyes, a few drops at a time.

Therefore, packaging such a drug in the bag or pocket of a friend or relative should alert his loved ones. After all, this may mean that the person is a drug addict and uses strong opiate drugs. It must be said that the drug becarbon often dilates the pupils unevenly.

One of them turns out to be wider than the other. This is due to the fact that the dosage that goes into both eyes may be different, for example two drops versus three. You can also recognize a drug addict by such pupils.

But the worst thing is that this drug, used in this way and not for its intended purpose, has a very detrimental effect on human vision. Therefore, very soon the drug addict who regularly used it, the sharpness of the picture of the world drops greatly and a cloudy and unclear movie appears before his eyes.

There are other medications that can dilate the pupils in the same way as becarbonate. These include, in particular, atropine and drugs from its group.

Physical exercise

What to do if a vein in your arm becomes inflamed will be determined by your doctor after a full diagnosis. In order to normalize blood circulation, it is recommended to perform therapeutic exercises.

It consists solely of stretching:

• stretch your arms forward, pull your palms up and then down;
• fingers gradually form a fist on each hand, then open them back in the same order;
• fold your hands as before prayer at chest level and in this position raise them up.

Each manipulation should be performed slowly until your hands begin to get tired. During the day, you can make circular movements with your hands and bend your elbow joints.

If varicose veins are observed, then it is forbidden to visit the gym (perform exercises with a barbell, weights, push-ups).

Physiotherapy

In addition to the main treatment, procedures are recommended.

1. Electrophoresis. Special massage using electrical discharges and the introduction of venotonic drugs. Helps increase vascular tone, improves blood flow.
2. Magnetotherapy. Aimed at reducing swelling and inflammation.
3. Compression. They put a special sleeve on the arm and let air under it. Under this effect, tissues are compressed, blood flow and lymph outflow are improved.
4. Hydrotherapy. Consists of contrast baths, hydrogen sulfide and hydrolaser showers.
5. Massage using liquid nitrogen.

Prevention and prognosis

Why the veins in the arms swell can only be determined by a doctor after a full examination. To prevent such pathologies, the following recommendations should be followed:

• avoid overheating the body;
• adjust the daily diet (limit the consumption of foods that retain fluid in the body);
• drink 1.5-2 liters of water per day;
• eat a lot of vegetables and fruits every day;
• to refuse from bad habits;
• avoid frequent physical activity;
• do swimming, yoga.

The pathology generally has a favorable prognosis if you consult a doctor at the first signs of its development. This is influenced by the reason for the appearance of veins on the arms, the age and characteristics of the body of each patient. A specialist will tell you how to get rid of veins on your arms. It is not recommended to self-medicate, especially with folk remedies.

The material was prepared specifically for the website venaprof.ru, edited by clinical pharmacologist K.V. Nedelko.

Masking dilated pupils

Dilated pupils of the eyes occur mainly in those drug addicts who use narcotic stimulants. They also use medications to make their eyes look normal. For example, a group of drugs such as miotics.

These include drugs such as: fosarbine, pilocarpine, carbacholine, aceclidine, physostigmine, phosphakol and other drugs that can narrow the eye pupil. Like the previous masking agent, these drugs greatly damage vision and even often cause cataracts. But those drug addicts who want to hide their addictions do not stop even at complete blindness.