Heroin Causing eczema?

[Dropit]

Hi all.

I use heroin (ROA: insufflation, not IV), and it always causes outbreaks of eczema on my hands and around the eyes ("racoon eyes").
I am asthmatic and had eczema up to about 14 years of age, at which point it completely disappeared (I am now 20).

It only comes with heroin use, and disappears when I stop. I am curious what the cause is, and if possible, what a fix may be?
I have tried moisturising, hydrocortisone, and a lot of organic creams, none of which really help.

Other people I know use this batch and do not experience it, so obviously it's something to do with my body especially.
I do try to look after my immune system and overall health by using multivitamins, fish oils, and probiotics daily. Could it be inevitable? Does anyone else have experience with this?

Yes, I know not using heroin is a fix haha.

Thanks!

 

[PriestTheyCalledHim]

Maybe you are slightly allergic to opiates? I know people who when they take any opiate they get hives.

Or you are allergic to whatever the dope is cut with.

See a dermatologist and be honest about how you use dope and any other drugs. Good luck, and stay safe.

 

[spacejunk]

Sounds more like a histamine reaction to me than eczema. How long does the irritation stay on your skin?

 

[Dropit]

Maybe you are slightly allergic to opiates? I know people who when they take any opiate they get hives.

Or you are allergic to whatever the dope is cut with.

See a dermatologist and be honest about how you use dope and any other drugs. Good luck, and stay safe.

I was also thinking perhaps I am allergic to opiates. I don't experience anything other than the eczema. However, I notice the skin with the eczema becomes a bit swollen (really just at the finger tips and my eyelids). I think this is just part of eczema, but I'm not entirely sure.

Would it be detrimental to my health if I were slightly allergic?
I know heroin use is not particularly healthy in itself, but I still care and try to maintain my health as best as I can.

That wouldn't be a bad idea. Thank you.

EDIT: I also get noticeably pale from using for maybe a week. I get the same level of sun, I eat, etc. Could this be another symptom of allergy, or is this normal? I have heard of users becoming pale, but I suspected this is more of an environmental cause (lack of sun exposure and overall bodily care) rather than intrinsically a property of heroin use.

Sounds more like a histamine reaction to me than eczema. How long does the irritation stay on your skin?

It seems to clear up mostly with a good week of no use. I have tried low dose antihistamine for it, only because I have only a drowsy one at the moment (2mg of Periactin), which didn't help. Perhaps it's not enough. Perhaps I might benefit from a non-drowsy antihistamine?

 

[SS373dOH]

It's probably cut with dph, or something along that line. Do you get this when you use other opiates?
That way you.can decipher if its the cut, or the actual opiate.



-hs

 

[Dropit]

It's probably cut with dph, or something along that line. Do you get this when you use other opiates?
That way you.can decipher if its the cut, or the actual opiate.



-hs

Honestly, it's hard to say. I haven't had a decent supply of other opiates in a long time, so it's tough to answer. I didn't experience it to this extent until I became a more habitual user. I always seemed to get it around the eyes from Heroin and Oxycodone in my earlier days, but it was never as bad as it is now. Although, I never used as much as I did now.

 

[spacejunk]

Are you sure the skin condition you are referring to is eczema?
I have never really heard of people suffering eczema around their hands or eyes.

But to address your question about relative safety of using heroin if you are allergic to it - i don't think anyone here can confidently reassure you that it is safe to use smack if you are having an allergic reaction to it (assuming that this is even what is causing the skin irritation). You might not be at more risk than people that don't have allergenic responses - but it isn't really possible to know either way, without the skin condition itself - and its cause(s) - being diagnosed by a medical professional.

If - as you suspect - you are having allergic reactions to heroin, i think you need to be very careful with how you use the stuff, in case it causes other reactions in you that are more dangerous.

Have you ever experienced a histamine reaction from opiates?
It tends to make your skin incredibly itchy, and can resemble eczema very closely - but they are two different skin conditions, and i think you need to be fairly positive you have had your skin condition correctly diagnosed before you draw further assumptions/conclusions from it, especially in how it relates to your drug use.

 

[Dropit]

Are you sure the skin condition you are referring to is eczema?
I have never really heard of people suffering eczema around their hands or eyes.

But to address your question about relative safety of using heroin if you are allergic to it - i don't think anyone here can confidently reassure you that it is safe to use smack if you are having an allergic reaction to it (assuming that this is even what is causing the skin irritation). You might not be at more risk than people that don't have allergenic responses - but it isn't really possible to know either way, without the skin condition itself - and its cause(s) - being diagnosed by a medical professional.

If - as you suspect - you are having allergic reactions to heroin, i think you need to be very careful with how you use the stuff, in case it causes other reactions in you that are more dangerous.

Have you ever experienced a histamine reaction from opiates?
It tends to make your skin incredibly itchy, and can resemble eczema very closely - but they are two different skin conditions, and i think you need to be fairly positive you have had your skin condition correctly diagnosed before you draw further assumptions/conclusions from it, especially in how it relates to your drug use.

Hi, thanks for the response!

Well, I am not completely certain, as I know little about skin conditions in general. A diagnostician (for unrelated reasons) noticed my "eczema" and gave me hydrocortisone cream to use for it. She referred to it as eczema, though perhaps the diagnosis is more suited for a dermatologist to decide.

I had a look at some rashes caused by a histamine reaction on Google. They seem very lumpy, and appear to me very similar to mosquito bites.
This isn't what mine looks like. The patches I have are very dry, red, and itchy. They are not overly lumpy. The tips of my fingers and around my eyes swell slightly yet noticeably as a consequence. The skin begins to flake when I stop using heroin, especially so around the eyes.

I do get very itchy with consumption of opiates at higher doses, all over my body, but no more so than my fellow peers, and the rashes do not appear anywhere else but the areas specified.

I have been using heroin for over a year, experienced doses that make me nod quite hard, and I have never experienced any severe, observable reaction. Presumably, this would clear me from allergic reaction, but I'm not a medical professional.

 

[Tinapm]

This happens to me too sometimes. I get itchy hives almost like mosquito bite like bumps all over random parts of my body and I've found sometimes its because your allergic to the cut in it

 

[withlove]

this happens to me with certain opiates. its not cuz its cut with anything, i only take my scripts.
its because of the itchies, it sets off my eczema. get a cortisone cream and use it regularly, i find that helps and whatever you do try not to scratch.

 

[HeadphonesandLSD]

I can answer this one since I suffer with the same problem and it's caused by all opioids. For reasons I don't pretend to understand opioids boost your immune system. Eczema is caused by the bodies immune system attacking itself, at least this is what my old GP told me and my father. So if you're prone to it or suffer from it anyway the opioids will make it worse. Some opioids are worse for this than others. For me kratom, bupe, methadone and a couple of others will really put it into overdrive. Oxycodone and morphine cause it but not as badly.

So far I've not discovered a way around it other than abstaining.

 

[HeadphonesandLSD]

Are you sure the skin condition you are referring to is eczema?
I have never really heard of people suffering eczema around their hands or eyes.

If the OP is like me it's mainly a problem on his scalp. As you age it spreads to other areas. I have it in my eyebrows and below my eyes as well. It also gets into my beard very badly if I allow it to grow out for a few weeks. When I shave I'll have patches of red/dead skin all throughout my face for a few days until it clears. The eyebrows stay covered in the stuff all of the time. When I shower I'll have patches of red all around them. Under my eyes is the worse. The skin there stays dry all of the time.

It's worse in the winter due to the air being dryer and the fact that I don't get as much sunlight. If I make a habit out of laying in the sun for an hour or so everyday it will mostly clear in places where I don't have hair.