According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, over one million people in 2021 reported using heroin. Of those, the majority have a heroin use disorder, and an average of ten thousand people die from heroin-related overdoses annually.
If you are worried about heroin use in yourself or someone else, you might ask: How long does heroin stay in the body?
How Long Does Heroin Stay in the Body When High?
In general, all drugs have what is called a half-life. Heroin has a half-life of around 30 minutes, and that means it takes 30 minutes for half of whatever dose you took to leave your system.
Those who use heroin will only experience a high for an average of 5 minutes, and after that, the effects begin to fade.
Tests for Heroin
There are different tests for things like heroin and they can detect traces since your last dose, but the type of test directly relates to how long after your last dose the heroin can be detected.
- Saliva tests can find heroin for up to 6 hours if injected or 24 hours if smoked
- Urine tests can find heroin up to 60 hours after
- Hair follicle tests can find heroin up to 6 months later
Tests that rely on blood or saliva typically only detect heroin when it’s still circulating in your body, whereas hair follicle tests can indicate previous heroin use even if you don’t have any heroin left.
Regardless of how long heroin stays in your body in terms of half-life or how long it presents on a test, getting treatment for heroin use or addiction should start with detox.
How Long Does Heroin Stay in the Body During Detox?
Detox is the first step in getting treatment for heroin use or heroin addiction. The timeline for how long heroin stays in your body during detox will vary based on things like:
- Any history of opioid addiction
- Your mental health
- Your physical health
- Whether you use other substances with heroin
The longer an individual uses heroin, the larger the doses and the more severe the timeline.
What to Expect from Detox
With the detox timeline, as the remaining heroin and the residual toxins are left behind or flushed from your system, you’ll go through three key phases:
- Phase 1: This is when you first go without heroin, and your symptoms start to manifest with shaking, abdominal pain, muscle spasms, and sweating, typically within the first 6 hours of your last dose
- Phase 2: This is when your symptoms peak with things like intense cravings, agitation, muscle pain, sweating, vomiting, and others, usually around day three
- Phase 3: The third phase is when your symptoms begin to subside, and you might still experience things like sweating, shaking nausea, and muscle spasms, but this happens between days seven and ten
The heroin that’s left in your body gets metabolized within a few days, and once all the residual compounds are removed, you will notice your symptoms diminish.
However, it’s important that no matter how long the heroin stays in your body, you have the right treatment.
Finding Heroin Treatment with Multi-Concept Recovery
Heroin addiction requires professional treatment, with support through medication-assisted detox treatment. With so many risks of complications during detox, you can start an inpatient program with Multi-Concept Recovery that provides 24/7 supervision and medication.
Once you have completed your detox timeline, our team can help you continue your recovery plan with evidence-based therapy. We provide individual treatment plans for people who are struggling with addiction to heroin or other substances, as well as mental health disorders. We go beyond conventional treatment by providing evidence-based practices such as relapse prevention therapy, motivational interviewing, CBT, and DBT.
Our team works hard to empower those going through heroin recovery through our unique modality, the Emotional Intelligence and Mindfulness Program, as an alternative to traditional treatments. If heroin recovery or any other recovery has proved less than fruitful in the past, let Multi Concept Recovery help.
FAQs
Does mental health affect how long heroin stays in the body?
According to the Department of Justice, there are multiple mental health disorders that often co-occur with heroin addiction. These can include manic depression, bipolar disorder, PTSD, personality disorders, and schizophrenia.
Having a mental health disorder does not, on its own, increase or decrease how long heroin stays in the body. However, if you have symptoms of a mental health disorder and they go untreated, they can cause neurological changes that increase the likelihood of continued substance abuse.
Continued substance abuse can lead to worsening symptoms in a self-fueling cycle, and this can result in a heavy buildup of heroin. The more you have in your system at any given time, the longer the half-life and the detox timeline.
How long does heroin stay in the body on tests?
Heroin will show up on blood, saliva, or urine tests for several hours or days, but previous heroin use will show up on hair follicle tests for several months even if you haven’t been using it.
How long is a heroin detox?
The timeline is an average of seven to ten days but this is based on your individual circumstances and during that time your symptoms will fluctuate, usually building until they reach their peak and then diminishing.
Can I detox alone?
It is not recommended, as heroin comes with severe withdrawal symptoms that are best managed through professional support, medication, and ongoing therapy. More importantly, long-term sobriety and recovery require that you get support in other ways, particularly building your emotional intelligence, cultivating relapse prevention skills, identifying personal triggers, and building applicable coping skills.
When you go through a professional detox program and receive continued support through an outpatient program, you get access to all of these additional skills that can help you cope with unexpected stress, difficult emotions, past relationships, trauma, and more without turning back to heroin.
Can I get help for heroin addiction if I have relapsed?
Absolutely! How long does heroin stay in the body after a relapse? Our team can help you find out by going through an assessment and reviewing the treatment approach that works best for you and your needs at any given time. We want each client to make an educated decision about the outpatient environment that is most supportive of heroin recovery before or after relapse.
If you have tried any form of treatment before but are currently dealing with a relapse, we can offer continued support through a new detox program and a comprehensive, holistic care plan that offers a wide range of evidence-based therapies.
