Heroin Eyes Unmasked: The Shocking Reality Behind the Gaze

Why do paramedics shine lights into the eyes of potential heroin overdose victims? They’re searching for opioid intoxication, also known as heroin eyes. 

Heroin intoxication causes pinpoint pupils.[1] Miosis, as experts call it, isn’t overtly harmful to your health.[2] However, continued heroin use can have a significant impact on your eye health.[3] In some cases, injecting drugs can lead to blindness.[4] 

What Are Heroin Eyes?

Heroin eyes is a slang term for pinpoint pupils caused by opioid abuse. Someone with heroin eyes has pupils that are much smaller than they should be. It’s a noticeable sign of drug abuse. 

Opioids work directly on the portion of your brain that controls eye movements. As a heroin dose begins to work, this part of the brain is excited and tenses up muscles that control your pupil size. The result is a pinpoint pupil.[1]

Researchers say the impact on pupil size can vary.[1] A medical team can’t look at your pupils and determine how much heroin you’ve used. However, if your pupils are tiny with no known cause, they might suspect you’ve used heroin or another opioid. 

Researchers once thought that heroin eyes wouldn’t go away with drug tolerance. Now, they know this isn’t true.[2] People who use heroin regularly become accustomed to the drug, and their pupils may not react as dramatically as they did during the first dose. 

Just because someone has normal pupils doesn’t mean they’re sober. It could mean that they have a long-standing problem and need help. 

What Do Heroin Eyes Look Like?

Pupils are the black part in the center of the eye. Someone who uses heroin has changes in pupil size, but other changes may appear too.

Heroin eyes could involve the following symptoms:[1,5]

• Small pupils: The pupils could be missing altogether, or they could seem much smaller than the light in the room indicates they should be. 
• Darkness: The person may have dark circles around the eyes, caused by a lack of oxygen due to drug use. 
• Bloodshot: Some people develop redness within the veins of the eyes. This symptom is most prominent in people who also have infections. 

Heroin eyes don’t hurt, so the person may not talk about any eye-related symptoms. However, pinpoint pupils are almost impossible to cover completely, so they’re a reliable indicator of drug use. 

Can Heroin Cause Eye Infections?

Researchers say that injecting drugs like heroin can lead to eye infections. Sometimes, these issues cause blindness.[4] 

Every dose injected via needle enters your bloodstream and travels throughout your body. Contaminated needles or drug doses can mean plunging infectious elements into your body, and they can travel to your eyes. 

Organisms like aspergillus, staphylococcus and pseudomonas have all been found in the eyes of people who injected drugs with needles.[1] 

Researchers say hospital stays for a rare form of eye infection rose 400% between 2003 and 2016 among people with a history of IV drug use.[3] They say this alarming increase is a direct and overlooked consequence of heroin and opioid abuse within the United States. 

Finding Treatment for Heroin Addiction

It’s difficult to quit heroin without help. The substance changes brain chemistry in profound ways. Medication for Addiction Treatment (MAT) programs can help.[6] 

MAT teams use medications like Suboxone to ease chemical imbalances caused by drugs.[7] With these solutions in your system, you won’t endure uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms or deep drug cravings. You’ll feel like yourself, so you can focus on rebuilding a life in sobriety. 

While MAT is effective, it’s been difficult for people in rural areas to get the help they need. And some people are too embarrassed to go to a clinic for their medications.

Bicycle Health uses telemedicine to bring MAT to you. Visit with a trained professional in a video appointment, and pick up your medications at a local pharmacy. Contact us to find out how this treatment model can change your life.