Although it is an addictive substance, heroin has an especially short half-life, making it difficult to detect in blood and saliva tests. It is detectable for 5 to 24 hours in the blood, depending on use frequency. If you are interested in learning more about how long heroin stays in your system, go ahead and read further.
How Long Does Heroin Stay in Your Saliva?
After intravenous injection, the content of heroin in saliva rapidly decreases. It is only detectable for about an hour, depending on the dose and frequency of use. On the other hand, heroin that has been inhaled can be found in saliva for up to 24 hours. If you know a teenager that is doing heroin, look into our Los Angeles adolescent opiate addiction treatment to help save their life.
How Long Does Heroin Stay in Urine?
How Long Does Heroin Stay in Hair?
How Long Does Heroin Stay in Blood?
Factors that Affect How Long Heroin Stays in the System
- Height and weight
- Age
- Genetics
- Body fat content
- Dosage
- Drug quality
- Metabolism rate
- State of the liver and kidneys
- Hydration
- Whether the heroin is water-soluble — mostly pills and powders — or not. Non-water-soluble heroin can remain in muscle tissue for up to 30 days.
- How much heroin has been consumed in a specific period.
- An individual’s metabolism, size, and weight.
- Chemical intake to detoxify the body. This speeds up the heroin’s metabolic breakdown.
- Learn about our Adolescent Intensive Outpatient in Los Angeles
Effects of Heroin
Once in the brain, heroin is converted to morphine and quickly binds itself to the opioid receptors. These receptors are located all throughout the brain, in the spinal cord, and in the digestive tract. Heroin users often describe feeling a wave of euphoric sensations or a “rush.” The amount of heroin taken and how quickly it enters the brain determines the intensity of the rush. If your or a teenager you know is using heroin or has a drug problem, contact us about our Evidence-Based Los Angeles Teen Addiction Treatment Programs. Up to 100% of the costs might be covered by insurance.
Symptoms of Overdose
How to Get Heroin Out of Your System
Getting Help for Heroin Abuse and Addiction
Whether a person is an inpatient or outpatient, heroin therapy is incomplete without behavioral and cognitive therapies. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Contingency Management (CM) Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) are two examples of mental health interventions that teach people how to navigate the outside world and reintegrate into society.