What Does Heroin Do to Your Kidneys

Most people who hear about heroin think first about the brain, about addiction, and about overdose. The kidneys rarely come into the conversation, and that is a problem, because the kidneys are quietly affected by heroin in several different ways. They are two small organs, each about the size of a fist, sitting at the back of the belly. Their job is to clean the blood, day and night, without rest. When they are harmed, the damage often grows slowly and without pain, so a person may not notice anything is wrong until the kidneys are already working far below their normal strength. That silence is what makes kidney harm from heroin so dangerous.

This article explains, in plain words, what heroin does to the kidneys: how these organs normally work, how heroin reaches them and strains them, what kind of damage builds up over time, which warning signs to take seriously, and who faces the highest risk. It is general information, not individual medical advice. Heroin is an illegal drug, and its use carries serious risks to the whole body. If you are worried about your health, or about someone else, a qualified health professional is the right person to talk to.

What the Kidneys Do Every Day

The kidneys filter the blood. Every minute, blood flows through them, and tiny filters inside them, called nephrons, pull out waste products and extra water. The waste leaves the body in urine. The useful things, like most of the water and salts the body still needs, are kept and sent back into the blood. There are about a million of these tiny filters in each kidney, and they work together so that the blood stays clean and balanced. When they work well, you never notice them. When they start to fail, the whole body feels it.

The kidneys do much more than make urine. They control how much water the body holds, which affects blood pressure. They keep salts such as sodium and potassium in balance, and those salts matter for the heart and the muscles. They help control the level of acid in the blood. They also make hormones, which are chemical messengers. One of those hormones tells the bone marrow to make red blood cells, the cells that carry oxygen around the body. Another helps keep the bones strong. So when the kidneys are damaged, the effects reach far beyond the kidneys themselves: blood pressure can rise, the body can hold too much fluid, the blood can become too acidic, and a person can become anaemic, which means the blood carries too little oxygen and leaves them tired and weak.

Healthy kidneys can cope with a great deal, and they have spare capacity. A person can lose a large part of kidney function before they feel ill. That spare capacity is useful, but it also hides damage. Blood tests can show that the kidneys are struggling long before a person feels any pain. Doctors measure waste products in the blood, such as creatinine and urea, which rise when the kidneys filter poorly. They also check the urine for protein, because healthy kidneys keep protein in the blood, and protein leaking into the urine is a sign that the filters are damaged. These tests matter because kidney damage found early can sometimes be slowed down, while damage found late is much harder to deal with.

How Heroin Reaches the Kidneys

Heroin is an opioid, a drug that acts on the brain and the body. After it is used, it travels through the blood, and the kidneys must deal with what is left as the body breaks it down. The kidneys filter the breakdown products out of the blood and pass them into the urine. That is normal work for them, but heroin brings extra problems that go beyond this ordinary filtering. Some of the harm comes from the drug itself, some comes from the way it is used, and some comes from what it does to the rest of the body.

One problem is blood flow. Heroin slows breathing and can lower blood pressure, especially in large amounts or in an overdose. When blood pressure drops, less blood reaches the kidneys, and the filters inside them are starved of oxygen. The kidneys are very sensitive to low blood flow. Even a short period without enough blood can injure them, and repeated periods can leave lasting damage. A person who has survived an overdose may wake up to find that their kidneys have been injured during the hours when their breathing was slow and their blood pressure was low. That kind of sudden injury is called acute kidney injury, and it can be serious enough to need hospital care.

Another problem is infection. People who inject heroin face a higher risk of infections, because bacteria can enter the blood through the skin or through shared or unclean equipment. When bacteria get into the blood, they can travel to the kidneys and infect them directly. Infections can also inflame the kidneys from the inside, damaging the filters. Over years, repeated infections and long-lasting inflammation can scar the kidneys. Scar tissue does not filter blood. Once a part of the kidney is scarred, it does not heal back into working tissue, so each infection and each period of inflammation leaves the kidneys a little weaker.

Kidney Damage That Builds Slowly

Kidney damage from heroin is usually slow. It does not arrive in a single day. It builds up over weeks, months and years, as the kidneys are strained again and again. The first stage is often invisible. The filters work a little less well, waste products rise slightly in the blood, and a small amount of protein begins to leak into the urine. The person feels fine, works as normal, and has no reason to suspect anything. If nobody checks the blood or the urine, the damage carries on unnoticed.

As the damage grows, the kidneys filter more poorly. Waste products that should leave the body stay in the blood instead. Urea and creatinine build up, and the blood becomes more acidic. The body holds on to extra salt and water, which raises blood pressure, and high blood pressure then damages the kidneys further, in a cycle that feeds itself. The kidneys also make less of the hormone that drives red blood cell production, so anaemia develops, and the person feels tired, cold and short of breath when they climb stairs. Bones can weaken too, because the kidneys help the body handle calcium and vitamin D. None of this happens overnight. It is a slow decline, and each step makes the next step more likely.

There is a particular kind of kidney damage that health authorities link with long-term injection drug use. Repeated skin infections and long-lasting inflammation in the body can lead to a condition in which abnormal protein builds up in the kidneys and other organs. This is called amyloidosis. It is not common, but when it happens it can damage the kidneys badly, causing large amounts of protein to leak into the urine and the kidneys to fail over time. It is one more reason why the kidney harm from heroin is not only about the drug itself, but about everything that comes with long-term use: infections, poor nutrition, dehydration and repeated strain on the body.

Swelling, Fluid and the Signs People Notice

One of the earliest signs people notice is swelling. When the kidneys cannot remove extra water and salt, fluid collects in the body. It often shows first in the legs, ankles and feet, which look puffy by the end of the day, and the shoes feel tighter than usual. The face can look swollen in the morning, especially around the eyes. Fingers can feel stiff, and rings can feel tight. The swelling comes from fluid leaking out of the blood vessels into the tissues, because the kidneys are not keeping the balance right. It is not the same as the swelling you get from standing all day. It returns day after day, and it gets worse when fluid keeps building up.

As more fluid builds, the problems grow. The lungs can collect fluid, which makes breathing harder, especially when lying flat. A person may need extra pillows to sleep, or wake up in the night feeling short of breath. The belly can swell too. The heart has to work harder to push blood through a body full of extra fluid, and over time the heart muscle can weaken. That is why swelling should never be ignored. It is not a small side effect. It is a sign that the kidneys are failing to do one of their most basic jobs, and that the rest of the body is paying for it.

Tiredness is another sign that people often blame on something else. When the kidneys fail, waste builds up in the blood, and the body feels poisoned from the inside. People describe it as a heavy, constant tiredness that sleep does not fix. They find it hard to concentrate, they forget things, and they lose interest in food. Their skin can become dry and itchy. Their mouth can taste of metal, and food can taste wrong. These changes come on gradually, so a person may think they are simply getting older, or working too hard, or sleeping badly. In truth, the kidneys may be struggling, and the tiredness is the body asking for help.

Changes in Urine and Waste in the Blood

The urine itself often changes, and those changes are worth paying attention to. Healthy urine is usually pale yellow and clear. When the kidneys are damaged, the urine can become darker, or cloudy, or it can contain blood, which makes it look pink, red or brown. It can become foamy, which happens when protein leaks into it. The amount can change too: a person may pass much less urine than usual, or they may need to pass urine far more often, especially at night. Pain or burning when passing urine can mean an infection, and infections are more common when the kidneys are already weak.

Waste building up in the blood is the deeper problem behind these visible signs. The kidneys normally remove urea, which comes from breaking down protein in food, and creatinine, which comes from the muscles. When the filters fail, these waste products stay in the blood. At first the levels are only slightly high, and the person feels well. As they rise, the person feels sick, loses their appetite, and may feel nauseous. In severe cases, waste in the blood can affect the brain, causing confusion, drowsiness and, in the worst cases, fits or loss of consciousness. That stage is dangerous and needs urgent hospital care. The kidneys also fail to balance potassium, and high potassium in the blood can disturb the heartbeat, which is another reason kidney failure is treated as an emergency.

Blood tests are the only reliable way to know how much waste is building up. A person cannot feel a slightly high creatinine level. They can only feel the later effects, when the damage is already advanced. That is why health professionals check the blood and the urine of people at risk. A simple blood test and a urine test can show that the kidneys are struggling months or years before the person feels seriously ill, and that early warning can change what happens next.

Who Faces the Highest Risk

Not everyone who uses heroin will develop the same kidney damage, but some people face a much higher risk than others. People who use heroin often, over a long time, face the greatest risk, because the strain on the kidneys is repeated again and again. People who inject the drug face extra risk from infections, because each injection is a chance for bacteria to enter the blood. People who have already had an overdose face higher risk too, because the low blood pressure and slow breathing during an overdose can injure the kidneys in a single episode.

People who already have a health problem that affects the kidneys are in more danger. Diabetes and high blood pressure are the two most common causes of kidney damage in the general population, and heroin use adds to that damage. Older people face higher risk, because kidney function naturally falls with age, and there is less spare capacity to lose. People who are often dehydrated, who eat poorly, or who live without regular medical care are also more vulnerable, because their kidneys are already under strain and nobody is checking on them. Teenagers are not protected by being young: their kidneys can still be injured, and starting young means more years of damage ahead.

Mixing substances raises the risk further. Alcohol, other drugs and some painkillers can each harm the kidneys on their own, and together they make the damage worse. A person who uses heroin and drinks heavily, for example, is asking the kidneys to cope with two sources of harm at once, while also being more likely to become dehydrated and to miss meals. The risk is not only about one drug. It is about everything that piles up around it: poor sleep, poor food, infections, dehydration and repeated injury, all landing on the same two small organs.

Pain, Tiredness and Daily Life

Kidney damage does not always hurt. That surprises many people, because they expect damaged organs to cause pain. In fact, the kidneys themselves have few pain sensors, and early kidney disease is often painless. When pain does appear, it is usually a dull ache in the lower back, on one or both sides, just below the ribs. It can come from an infection of the kidneys, from a blockage, or from the kidneys swelling. Sharp, severe pain can mean a kidney stone or a serious infection, and that needs medical attention quickly.

The wider effects on daily life are often worse than the pain. Tiredness makes work hard. A person who used to manage a full day finds they cannot get through the afternoon. Concentration fades, so mistakes creep in at work or at home. Sleep becomes broken, partly because of the need to pass urine at night and partly because waste in the blood disturbs rest. Appetite falls, so the person eats less and loses weight, which weakens them further. The skin itches, which disturbs sleep even more. It is a slow narrowing of life: fewer hours of energy, less enjoyment of food, less patience for family, and more days spent feeling unwell.

The emotional cost matters too. Kidney damage is frightening, and the thought of needing regular hospital treatment is frightening as well. People worry about the future, about work, about money, and about being a burden on their family. Some avoid the doctor because they are afraid of what they will hear, or because they feel ashamed about drug use. That delay makes things worse, because kidney damage found late is harder to manage. The damage itself is physical, but the fear and the avoidance around it are part of the harm as well, and they deserve to be talked about honestly.

Dehydration and poor food make all of this worse, and they are common alongside heroin use. When a person drinks too little water, the blood becomes thicker and the kidneys receive less fluid to filter, which strains the filters and raises the level of waste in the blood. When a person eats poorly, the body lacks the protein and vitamins it needs to repair tissue, and the kidneys, like every other organ, heal more slowly. Some people also use painkillers that can harm the kidneys, and those add yet another strain. None of these factors alone would necessarily cause kidney failure, but together, over months and years, they leave the kidneys with no reserve. A healthy kidney can cope with a bad week. A kidney that is already strained by heroin, infection and low blood pressure cannot cope with dehydration and poor food as well, and that is often when the damage moves from slow to serious.

Kidneys, Blood Pressure and the Heart

The kidneys and blood pressure are tied together in both directions, and heroin use strains both ends of that link. When the kidneys cannot remove extra salt and water, the volume of fluid in the blood rises, and blood pressure rises with it. High blood pressure then damages the small blood vessels inside the kidneys, narrowing them and reducing the blood flow to the filters. The damaged kidneys remove even less salt and water, blood pressure rises further, and the cycle continues. This is why kidney damage and high blood pressure so often arrive together, and why each one makes the other worse. A person may not feel high blood pressure at all, which is why it is often called a silent problem, but inside the kidneys it is doing steady harm.

The heart pays for this cycle too. When the body holds extra fluid, the heart must pump a larger volume of blood with every beat. When blood pressure is high, the heart must push against greater resistance. Over months and years, the heart muscle thickens and stiffens under that extra work, and it becomes less able to pump efficiently. Fluid can then back up into the lungs, making breathing harder, and into the legs, adding to the swelling that kidney damage already causes. Doctors call this heart failure, and it is one of the most serious consequences of long-term kidney damage. It does not arrive suddenly. It grows out of the same slow process: too much fluid, too much pressure, and organs that are asked to do more than they can manage.

There is also the question of salts in the blood. The kidneys keep potassium at a safe level, and when they fail, potassium can rise. High potassium disturbs the rhythm of the heart, and in severe cases it can cause the heart to beat dangerously slowly or irregularly. The kidneys also control the acid balance of the blood, and when acid builds up, it weakens bones and muscles and makes the person feel ill in a general, hard-to-describe way. These are not separate problems from kidney damage. They are what kidney damage looks like when it spreads through the body. The kidneys sit at the centre of the body’s balance, and when they fail, the balance fails everywhere, including in the heart that depends on steady blood volume, steady pressure and steady salts to beat properly.

What Happens When Damage Becomes Serious

When the kidneys fail badly, they can no longer keep the blood clean enough for the body to work. This stage is called kidney failure. The person feels very ill: they are tired all the time, they feel sick, they have little appetite, their legs and face are swollen, and they struggle to breathe. Their blood pressure is often high, and their blood tests show waste products far above normal. At this stage, the kidneys cannot recover on their own, and the person needs hospital treatment to stay alive.

The most common treatment is dialysis, a process in which a machine filters the blood outside the body, doing the work the kidneys can no longer do. It usually means several sessions a week, each lasting hours, in a hospital or a dialysis centre. It keeps a person alive, but it takes over their life: the travel, the hours attached to a machine, the strict limits on fluid and food, and the tiredness after each session. A kidney transplant, receiving a kidney from a donor, is the other option, but it needs a suitable donor, a major operation, and medicines for life to stop the body rejecting the new kidney. Neither option is easy, and both are far harder than the early steps that might have slowed the damage down.

This is why the quiet nature of kidney damage matters so much. The kidneys do not shout when they are hurt. They whisper, through a blood test, through a little protein in the urine, through swelling that comes back every day, through tiredness that sleep does not fix. Hearing those whispers early is the difference between managing the damage and facing failure. Stopping heroin, getting medical care, treating infections, controlling blood pressure and staying hydrated will not undo scarred kidney tissue, but they can slow the decline and give the remaining kidney function the best chance to keep working. The kidneys cannot be replaced easily, and they deserve to be protected before they reach the point of no return.

My Take:

I will be honest with you. The kidneys are the part of heroin harm that I think about most, because they are the part nobody warns you about. Everyone who uses heroin has heard that it can kill through overdose. Far fewer people have heard that it can quietly destroy the kidneys over years, and then leave a person tied to a dialysis machine three times a week for the rest of their life. That is not a small side effect. That is a life changed completely, and it happens without drama, without a single moment you can point to and say, that is when it went wrong. It happens in small steps, and that is exactly why it is so dangerous.

What troubles me most is the silence of it. A damaged liver often hurts. A damaged lung makes you cough. A damaged kidney often says nothing at all until it is badly hurt. I think that is cruel, because it takes away the warning that would make a person act. By the time the swelling appears, by the time the tiredness will not lift, by the time the urine changes colour, the damage has already been building for months or years. I do not think people are foolish for missing it. I think the body hides this particular harm very well, and that is why a blood test matters so much more than waiting to feel ill.

The swelling is the sign I would ask everyone to take seriously. Swollen ankles and puffy eyes in the morning are easy to explain away. You stood too long, you ate too much salt, you slept badly. All of those things can cause a little swelling for a day. But swelling that comes back every day, that makes your shoes tight by evening, that leaves a dent in your skin when you press it, is not normal tiredness. It is the kidneys telling you they cannot handle the fluid. I would rather a person went to a doctor for swelling that turned out to be nothing than stayed at home with swelling that turned out to be kidney damage. The cost of checking is a blood test. The cost of waiting can be dialysis.

I also think about the tiredness, because it is the symptom that gets blamed on everything except the kidneys. A person who uses heroin is often tired for many reasons: poor sleep, poor food, the drug itself. So when kidney tiredness arrives, it blends in with all the rest, and nobody notices that something new has gone wrong. The tiredness of kidney failure is different, though. It is heavy and constant. Sleep does not fix it. A day off does not fix it. Food tastes wrong, the skin itches, the mind feels foggy, and the person slowly stops enjoying anything. If you know someone whose tiredness keeps deepening month after month, and whose appetite keeps falling, I would not accept that as normal. I would ask them to get their blood and urine checked.

The infection side of this worries me as well, because it is so preventable and yet so common. Every injection carries a risk of bacteria entering the blood, and once bacteria are in the blood, the kidneys are in the line of fire. Infections of the kidneys are painful and serious, and repeated infections leave scars that never heal. I am not writing this to lecture anyone about how they use drugs. I am writing it because the link between injection, infection and kidney scarring is one of the clearest links in all of this, and it is the one that people hear about least. Clean equipment, clean skin and medical care for any infection matter, and they matter most for the kidneys, which cannot repair scarred tissue.

Overdose is the other kidney danger that people do not connect. When someone overdoses, the attention is on breathing and on saving their life, and rightly so. But while their breathing is slow and their blood pressure is low, their kidneys are being starved of blood. A person who survives an overdose may leave hospital thinking the danger has passed, not knowing that their kidneys were injured during those hours. If you or someone you know has survived an overdose, I would ask for kidney blood tests afterwards, not as an extra, but as part of recovery. It is a simple check, and it can catch an injury while there is still time to look after the kidneys that remain.

I want to be plain about what kidney failure actually means, because I think people imagine it as an illness you take medicine for and then recover. For many people it is not like that. Dialysis is life-saving, and I am grateful it exists, but it is not a cure. It is hours attached to a machine, several times a week, every week, with strict limits on how much you can drink and what you can eat, and tiredness after every session. Work becomes hard. Travel becomes hard. Family life bends around the dialysis schedule. A transplant can change that, but a transplant needs a donor and a major operation, and many people wait years. When I weigh heroin against that future, the answer is clear to me. No high is worth a life spent tied to a machine.

There is something else I want to say, and it is about shame. I know that many people who use heroin avoid doctors because they are afraid of being judged, or because they are afraid of what the doctor will find. I understand that fear, and I do not think it is foolish. But a doctor who sees kidney damage is not there to punish you. They are there to slow the damage down, to treat the infections, to control the blood pressure, to help with stopping. The earlier you go, the more they can do. Every month of delay is a month of damage that could have been slowed. If shame is keeping you away from the doctor, I would ask you to weigh the shame against the dialysis machine, and to choose the doctor.

Families have a part to play here too, and I say that with care. If someone you love uses heroin and their ankles are swollen every evening, or they are tired in a way that sleep does not fix, or their urine looks dark or foamy, do not accept that as normal. Say something. Offer to go with them to get checked. People who use drugs are often very good at hiding how ill they feel, and they may need someone else to notice what they have stopped noticing in themselves. You cannot force an adult to see a doctor, but you can make it easier: offer to come along, offer to sit in the waiting room, offer to help with the cost if you can. That kind of help matters more than a lecture ever will.

I am also honest that stopping heroin will not repair kidneys that are already scarred. Scar tissue does not turn back into working kidney. I will not pretend otherwise, because false hope helps no one. But stopping does matter, and it matters a great deal, because it stops the damage from getting worse as fast. The kidneys that are still working get a chance to keep working. Infections stop arriving. Blood pressure has a chance to settle. Dehydration stops straining the filters. A person who stops using heroin and gets medical care may keep enough kidney function to live without dialysis for years longer than a person who carries on. That is not a cure, but it is a real and meaningful difference, and it is worth fighting for.

Finally, I would say this to anyone who has never used heroin: the kidneys are one more reason not to start. People talk about overdose and addiction, and those are reason enough. But the kidney story is the quiet one, the one that unfolds over years and ends in a hospital chair. You do not choose that ending when you first use heroin. You choose it slowly, without noticing, one strained kidney at a time. Walk away before the damage starts, and you keep something precious: two small organs that clean your blood without complaint, that you will only miss when they are gone. Protect them now, while they are still working, because once they are gone, no medicine can bring them back.

One more thing I want to say is about the blood tests themselves, because I think people imagine them as something complicated or frightening. They are not. A kidney check is usually a simple blood test and a urine test, done in a clinic, with results that show how well the kidneys are filtering. It takes minutes, it does not hurt much, and it can tell a doctor things the person cannot feel at all. I would compare it to checking the oil in a car: you do not wait for the engine to seize before you look. You check early, because early is when a small problem is still small. If you use heroin, or you used to, I would ask for that check. It is a small step, and it can change the whole story.

I also think about the people who have already been told their kidneys are damaged, and who feel that the news means it is too late. It is not too late to act. Kidney damage that is found can be slowed, and the steps that slow it are real: stopping heroin, treating infections quickly, keeping blood pressure down, eating regularly, drinking enough water, and keeping every medical appointment. None of those steps is glamorous. None of them makes a good story. But together they can add years of kidney function, and years of life without dialysis. A person whose kidneys are damaged still has kidneys worth protecting, and every month of protection matters. Do not give up on the kidneys you have left because some of the damage cannot be undone.

Money is a part of this that I think about too, because kidney failure is expensive in every sense. Dialysis costs a health service a great deal, and it costs the person their time, their freedom and often their job. A person on dialysis plans their week around the machine, and work, travel and family life all bend around it. That is a heavy price for a harm that began quietly, with no pain and no warning. When I think about the cost of a blood test against the cost of dialysis, the choice seems obvious to me. Checking early is not only kinder to the body. It is kinder to the person’s whole life, to their family, and to their future.

I want to end my take with the people who love someone who uses heroin, because they often feel helpless, and I do not think they are. You cannot make another adult stop using drugs, and you cannot make them see a doctor. But you can notice the swelling, the tiredness, the changes in appetite, and you can say what you see, gently and without blame. You can offer to come to the appointment. You can help them keep track of medicines and test dates. You can remind them that a blood test is a small thing and dialysis is a large thing, and that the time to choose is now. That kind of steady, practical love does not always work, but it works more often than lectures and arguments do, and it costs nothing to offer.

And I would add one final thought for anyone reading this because they are worried about themselves. You do not need to have all the answers today. You do not need to fix everything at once. The first step is a small one: a blood test, a conversation with a doctor, an honest look at the swelling or the tiredness you have been explaining away. Small steps are how kidney damage is found early, and early is when the most can still be done. Your kidneys have worked for you silently for your whole life, without asking for anything. A single check-up is a small thing to give back, and it may be the most important appointment you make this year.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is kidney pain and discomfort from Heroin dangerous?

Yes, it can be. Kidney pain or a dull ache in the lower back can be a sign of a kidney infection, swelling, or damage, and infections and damage can become serious if they are ignored. Not all kidney damage causes pain, so the absence of pain does not mean the kidneys are healthy. Anyone with ongoing kidney pain, fever, or changes in their urine should speak to a qualified health professional promptly, and anyone with severe pain, vomiting, or very little urine needs urgent medical care.

Does waste in the blood from Heroin go away after stopping?

Some of it can improve after stopping, because the kidneys are no longer being strained by the drug, by infections, or by periods of low blood pressure. Waste levels in the blood may fall as the remaining kidney function recovers from the immediate strain. But scarred kidney tissue does not heal, so damage that has already become permanent will not go away simply because the drug is stopped. A doctor can check blood and urine tests over time to see how the kidneys are doing, and can advise on the steps that may slow further damage.

What should I do if Heroin is causing kidneys that filter poorly?

The safest step is to stop using heroin and speak to a doctor or a local health service as soon as you can. A doctor can arrange blood and urine tests to check how well the kidneys are filtering, look for infection, and check blood pressure. They can also talk about support for stopping heroin. Do not try to treat kidney problems yourself, and do not ignore swelling, dark or foamy urine, or tiredness that will not lift, because those signs need to be checked.

How soon can kidney pain and discomfort appear after using Heroin?

It varies a great deal from person to person. A kidney infection or a sudden kidney injury after an overdose can cause pain within days. Slow damage, on the other hand, often causes no pain at all for months or years, and the first signs may be swelling, tiredness, or changes in the urine rather than pain. Because the timing is so different for different people, pain alone is not a reliable guide, and blood and urine tests are the better way to know how the kidneys are doing.

Who is most at risk of long-term kidney damage from Heroin?

People who use heroin often and over a long time face the highest risk, and people who inject it face extra risk from infections. People who have survived an overdose, who already have diabetes or high blood pressure, who are older, or who mix heroin with alcohol or other drugs also face higher risk. Teenagers are not protected by being young, and people who rarely see a doctor are more vulnerable because damage can grow unnoticed. Anyone in these groups who uses heroin should talk to a health professional about kidney checks.

Can Heroin really cause urine that changes colour?

Yes. Heroin use can lead to kidney damage and kidney infections, and both can change the urine. It may become darker, cloudy, or foamy, or it may contain blood, which makes it look pink, red or brown. The amount of urine can also change. These changes do not prove the cause on their own, because other health problems can change urine too, but they are a sign that the kidneys need to be checked by a health professional rather than ignored.

Sources

• National Institute on Drug Abuse — https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/heroin
• U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration — https://www.dea.gov/drug-information
• Mayo Clinic, Drug addiction — https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/drug-addiction/symptoms-causes/syc-20365112
• World Health Organization, Substance abuse — https://www.who.int/health-topics/substance-abuse
• NHS, Drug addiction: getting help — https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/addiction-support/drug-addiction-getting-help/

This article is general information only. It is not medical advice. If you are worried about your health or about someone else, speak to a qualified health professional.