Two of the most popular and most abused opioid drugs are none other than fentanyl and heroin.
These drugs work by binding the opioid receptors in the brain that receives pain messages. This is why fentanyl and heroin are prescribed after surgery or after a painful trauma or injury.
Both of these opioids are very helpful, but they’re also highly potent to the point that a single dose of fentanyl and heroin can be lethal.
It’s true that both fentanyl and heroin are dangerous to some extent, but they also have considerable differences if you do your research.
Here at Skyward Treatment, we aim to educate our readers and our prospective patients on all things addiction and recovery. In this blog post, we will look at understanding the difference between fentanyl and heroin.
What is Heroin?
Heroin is one of the semi-synthetic drugs made from morphine – the latter comes from the seed pod of opium poppy plants.
Most people don’t understand that heroin is illegally made, and there’s no legal way to purchase it. This is what makes it so “sought-after” in the black market, and this is why most people are getting addicted to it.
It also comes in either a white or brown powder. Sometimes, it comes as a black substance called the “black tar.” To get high, you can dissolve, inject, smoke, or snort heroin. The former and the latter are the most popular ways to consume them.
Although heroin is not as fast-acting as fentanyl, it also has the potential to give its users an overdose due to respiratory failure.
What is Fentanyl?
When it comes to fentanyl, we must understand that this is an artificial synthetic substance.
This is a drug that can be prescribed for medical use, and there are ways to legally obtain it once you have a prescription from a doctor or your physician.
This is how most people get their hands on fentanyl, and this is the first step toward getting addicted to this particular type of opioid.
Back in the day, fentanyl was created to mimic naturally occurring opioids.
Still, it was also developed to be much more potent as it’s 30 to 50 times more potent than heroin and 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine.
A single dose of fentanyl can kill you, so you have to be aware of how you’re going to use this drug because it can prove to be fatal.
The Effects of Fentanyl and Heroin
Even though fentanyl and heroin are pretty different, they share the same life-threatening side effects, such as the following:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Insomnia
- Death
- Coma
- Sedation
- Confusion
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Flushed Skin
If you or someone you love is going through a fentanyl or heroin addiction, Skyward Treatment is here to help you out.
We offer a Heroin Addiction Treatment and Fentanyl Addiction Treatment at our rehabilitation facility in Sugar Land, Texas. We also provide these services to those in the Greater Houston Area and around the country.
For more information, give us a call today at Skyward Treatment.