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Substance abuse carries various dangers that can severely impact a person’s quality of life. Aside from the strained relationships with loved ones, difficulty holding down a career, and becoming dependent on this foreign substance to achieve a semblance of normal, it can also become a gateway to an untold world of diseases you may not have been exposed to otherwise. The transmission of these diseases often circles back to sharing and using dirty needles.
For many people dealing with substance addictions, where and how they get their needles may not be at the top of their priority list. However, knowing what diseases are caused by dirty needles could potentially help dissuade someone from using or encourage them to get the help they need. Here are some of the most common diseases caused by sharing a communal needle.
Dangers of Using Needles in an Unsterile Environment
In the medical profession, doctors only use needles in controlled and sterilized environments. This allows them to intravenously administer the medication, draw blood, and the like without fear of harmful bacteria getting injected into the bloodstream. However, for someone with a drug addiction, the desire to get their next fix overrides the safety precautions used in most needle-focused situations.
If someone uses a needle that hasn’t been sterilized or was used by someone else immediately before when they inject themselves, the potential for contamination rises. Additionally, illegal drugs are often mixed in suboptimal conditions, so the rate of contamination and harmful additives increases as well.
The Most Common Diseases Caused by Sharing Needles
When you’re in an atmosphere where sharing needles is commonplace, it only takes one to spread one of these diseases and cause a host of negative consequences. While you may think it’s only a bacterial infection you have to worry about, the following bloodborne diseases can get transferred via dirty needles:
- HIV and AIDS
- Hepatitis B
- Hepatitis C
- Tetanus
What Are Your Treatment Options?
The unfortunate news is that treating these diseases often doesn’t come with a permanent cure. The medical field is still studying conditions such as Hep B, HIV, and AIDS but they still don’t have a cure. Through leaps in modern medicine, the quality of life has improved immensely for people that contract these diseases, but they are still in for a lifetime of endless medications. The best treatment for dealing with illnesses caused by dirty needles is to get the support you need to get onto the road to recovery.
Turn to Silver Pines Treatment Center for Substance Abuse Treatment Programs in Mahanoy City, PA
Getting the support and treatment you need for drug addiction in Mahanoy City, PA, can become a monumental challenge. You may not know where to go to get access to the necessary resources and support you need to forge a sustained recovery journey, but that’s where Silver Pines Treatment Center can help.
Contact one of our admission specialists at 267.209.7313 to learn about our programs and get started on your personal recovery journey today.
