Heroin Weird Skin Reaction after IV Tar Use? [Pic included] - Please take a look!

[DesertFox991]

Hi all,

So I relapsed after about 20 months clean from everything. Whatever, it happens. Copped some tar and meth and began shooting small amounts of each (I was aware my tolerance likely had reset, or largely so), and for a while I was pleased to find that a few of my veins had come back - most of them are gone again, but I'm used to that life.

So in my right arm, I was hitting (successfully) a few inches up from the crook of the elbow. After maybe 8-10 hits (on a variety of veins in that area, not just one dumping ground), I had a miss in the original spot. Not a horrible one, and it even had a decent register so the vein must have rolled or had been too slim for the shot.

Anyway, it's been a couple of days and my arm is fucking breaking out. I was shooting dope (and everything else) for a long time and have never seen anything like this.

Pic:


As you can probably see, the lump directly before the bottom of my tattoo is where I missed. Like I said, it didn't seem to be that bad of a miss and didn't hurt that much. I've missed plenty of shots over the years and have even dumped a few in my arteries by accident, and this one was nothing.

I've been using clean rigs for 90% of the shots I've had in there, though at one point I did run out and reused a couple I had put in before. They were all my own though. In terms of the cut in this H (I know that cutting agents can be responsible for infections/reactions), it's the first I've copped in this new area of the country (moved out of my home state to go to treatment here) and it seems to be of good quality. I'm cooking it properly and the (primarily black) cut seems to separate from the liquid in the shot really easily.

I'll also post the pic link at the bottom in case the insert doesn't work. Sorry, I'm a BL casual.

Anyway, I'm not experiencing any pain, numbness or tingling. I don't have any of the physical symptoms that are part and parcel of an infection. The area isn't hot to the touch - in fact, until I actually look at my arm I can't tell if there's anything wrong with it. I've googled numerous articles/studies about infections that can come about from IV drug use and nothing has helped, so I thought I could ask around here. Obviously I'm staying away from that area for the foreseeable future. Hope I don't have to go see a doctor - my life would explode if word got out that I was using again...

Thanks y'all!


Quote R

 

[OpiateKiller]

The pictures aren't working but this really isn't something to mess around with, when you say "breaking out" you mean a rash is spreading through out your arm? If the rash seems to be forming upwards towards your shoulder and spreading towards your chest this is imperative you get to an ER immediately as this could be deadly.

Main signs of infection are redness, swelling, hot to the touch, you'll likely develop a fever and feel unwell..

If it's getting worse and not better and it's been a few days that's not a good sign. I'd get checked out ASAP.

 

[DesertFox991]

The pictures aren't working but this really isn't something to mess around with, when you say "breaking out" you mean a rash is spreading through out your arm? If the rash seems to be forming upwards towards your shoulder and spreading towards your chest this is imperative you get to an ER immediately as this could be deadly.

Main signs of infection are redness, swelling, hot to the touch, you'll likely develop a fever and feel unwell..

If it's getting worse and not better and it's been a few days that's not a good sign. I'd get checked out ASAP.

Thanks for the reply. No, the rash seems to be spreading towards my hand actually, so the opposite direction.

I haven't had any signs of infection besides the rash itself. Hoping it gets better.

I edited the original post with a new picture link so maybe it'll work. I'll add it to this comment too.

 

[telepathetic]

Looks like cellulitis. I had it once (shooting up black tar) and had to get IV antibiotics

I hate to laugh react your post (but come on, your shooting up black tar of course there is going to be a weird skin reaction ) and you should go to the ER if that doesn't fade within the hour, or spreads to your entire arm

 

[OpiateKiller]

Thanks for the reply. No, the rash seems to be spreading towards my hand actually, so the opposite direction.

I haven't had any signs of infection besides the rash itself. Hoping it gets better.

I edited the original post with a new picture link so maybe it'll work. I'll add it to this comment too.

Heroin has the capability of triggering an histamine response, almost like an allergic reaction. It's very possible the heroin is causing your skin to react because of this. I wanna say chances are it's nothing, but please keep a close eye on it and don't hesitate to get to a doctor if you think for even a second you need to.

Plenty of people have actually died from it.

Anaphylactoid shock--a common cause of death in heroin addicts? - PubMed

We measured mast-cell tryptase in postmortem blood from 22 heroin addicts dying suddenly after injection. In 32%, the concentration of tryptase was elevated (> or = 10 micrograms/l), and the mean value of tryptase was significantly different from a control group dying from known, nonimmunologic c …

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Do you notice any other allergy signs? like swollen lips was bad for me one time.

Likely you body is just having a reaction to the cut or the drugs, but please proceed with caution

 

[Just a little pinprick]

Looks like cellulitis. I had it once (shooting up black tar) and had to get IV antibiotics

I hate to laugh react your post (but come on, your shooting up black tar of course there is going to be a weird skin reaction ) and you should go to the ER if that doesn't fade within the hour, or spreads to your entire arm

Yeah I had weird reactions from tar and powered dope but they usually clear up within an hour if not keep an eye on the area for tenderness and it feeling warm

 

[DesertFox991]

Looks like cellulitis. I had it once (shooting up black tar) and had to get IV antibiotics

I hate to laugh react your post (but come on, your shooting up black tar of course there is going to be a weird skin reaction ) and you should go to the ER if that doesn't fade within the hour, or spreads to your entire arm

Haha, the only reason I phrased it that way was because I've been doing it for years and have never had this specific reaction!

Thank you all for responding. It's started to look a lot better and has both shrunk in size and it's not quite as vibrant in color, so I think I dodged a bullet this time

 

[MsDiz]

Looks like a bruise to me, did you go through the vein?

 

[Fire&Water]

Krokodil ?