# Need reasonable physical indicator of drug use



## BWFoster78 (Nov 8, 2012)

One of my characters is using a dangerous stimulant, and I'd like for long term use of it to be recognizable via some kind of physical indicator.  

Something involving the eyes that would take someone getting close and really looking for evidence would be best.

Any thoughts?


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## Steerpike (Nov 8, 2012)

BWFoster78 said:


> One of my characters is using a dangerous stimulant, and I'd like for long term use of it to be recognizable via some kind of physical indicator.
> 
> Something involving the eyes that would take someone getting close and really looking for evidence would be best.
> 
> Any thoughts?



For eyes - redness and pupil dilation.

In general, weight loss, anxiousness, irritability, and kind of change in personality/demeanor that is rapid and sustained over time. Depending on the drug, you could also have hallucinations or mental conditions/effects.

For eyes, I think pupil dilation may be the most telling, and with it an increased sensitivity to light.


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## Ireth (Nov 8, 2012)

How about enlarged pupils?

EDIT: Heh, ninja'd. XD


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## Griffin (Nov 8, 2012)

Stimulants are an increase in alertness, hyperactivity, heart rate and breathing. Also enlarges pupil size.

A physical indicator to consider would be during the withdrawal stage (during the "low" period.) This can include, but not limited to, redness in eyes, increased irritability, and skittishness. 

You could also go for permeant damage to the eyes, such as enlarged pupils. It would cause sensitivity of light. The drug user would wear sunglasses, or something similar, too often and maybe even at night.


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## BWFoster78 (Nov 8, 2012)

I understand the pupil dialation occurs while the person is high.  I'd prefer something a little less obvious though.  Maybe something with blood vessels or some kind of halo around the eyes?  Is there anything like that that could be reasonable explained?

BTW - Thanks for all the extremely fast responses.  Y'all are awesome!


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## Griffin (Nov 8, 2012)

If it is a real life drug, then nothing of that sort. If it is a fantasy drug, ball is in your court. Pupil dilation is a common symptom for _our_ stimulants. For fantasy, it can easily be a cocktail of stimulants and depressants that can cause new symptoms.


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## T.Allen.Smith (Nov 8, 2012)

In addition to purely physical indicators you can also consider psychosomatic ones. Physical manifestations of underlying psychical changes & turmoil may be more interesting over time as dependence and effect worsen for the character. It depends on what you are looking for.

This has real world implications known as stimulant psychosis. 

Twitching eyes, shaking limbs, dry brittle hair, bulging eyes, nervous scratching, bleeding around the mucous membranes of the nose, eyes, & mouth.... You could really do just about anything. If it were me, I'd try to figure out what role I want the addiction or drug use to play, pick a physical or psychical effect that will cause the greatest conflict or most interesting storyline, and run in that direction.


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## BWFoster78 (Nov 8, 2012)

Griffin said:


> If it is a real life drug, then nothing of that sort. If it is a fantasy drug, ball is in your court. Pupil dilation is a common symptom for _our_ stimulants. For fantasy, it can easily be a cocktail of stimulants and depressants that can cause new symptoms.



Totally made up.  I just want the symptom to be reasonable.


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## BWFoster78 (Nov 8, 2012)

T.Allen.Smith said:


> In addition to purely physical indicators you can also consider psychosomatic ones. Physical manifestations of underlying psychical changes & turmoil may be more interesting over time as dependence and effect worsen for the character. It depends on what you are looking for.
> 
> This has real world implications known as stimulant psychosis.
> 
> Twitching eyes, shaking limbs, dry brittle hair, bulging eyes, nervous scratching, bleeding around the mucous membranes of the nose, eyes, & mouth.... You could really do just about anything. If it were me, I'd try to figure out what role I want the addiction or drug use to play, pick a physical or psychical effect that will cause the greatest conflict or most interesting storyline, and run in that direction.



I'm going to deal with the addiction mainly in the sequel to the book I'm writing now.  In the first one, the character is taking the drug as a last resort because he needs it.  However, he doesn't want anyone to know about it and fears being found out.  I thought something to do with a halo around the eye would work perfectly.  He'd fear his boss would notice.

I'm just not sure what that would look like or if it's a reasonable symptom.


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## T.Allen.Smith (Nov 8, 2012)

BWFoster78 said:


> I'm going to deal with the addiction mainly in the sequel to the book I'm writing now.  In the first one, the character is taking the drug as a last resort because he needs it.  However, he doesn't want anyone to know about it and fears being found out.  I thought something to do with a halo around the eye would work perfectly.  He'd fear his boss would notice.
> 
> I'm just not sure what that would look like or if it's a reasonable symptom.



When people discuss Halos & Eyes they're usually referring to seeing rings around a light source which would not be noticeable to another person. A rare condition does exist where a grayish/white or less common purple ring can be seen around a person's iris by an onlooker. From my understanding these can be caused by accumulated fats and can signal elevated cholesterol or they can be caused by mineral deposits.

If your fantasy stimulant were mineral based then perhaps the ring being caused by a growing mineral deposit would be plausible and interesting. The more a person uses, the wider the ring around the iris... Serious addicts would be easy to spot. A beginning or infrequent user would attract less attention & may be able to camouflage their addiction.


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## shangrila (Nov 8, 2012)

It's not exactly what you're looking for, but I can tell you speed makes you talk fast without realising you're doing it. It's not long term but I was surprised when I saw it happening (and, later, did it myself).


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## BWFoster78 (Nov 8, 2012)

T.Allen.Smith said:


> When people discuss Halos & Eyes they're usually referring to seeing rings around a light source which would not be noticeable to another person. A rare condition does exist where a grayish/white or less common purple ring can be seen around a person's iris by an onlooker. From my understanding these can be caused by accumulated fats and can signal elevated cholesterol or they can be caused by mineral deposits.
> 
> If your fantasy stimulant were mineral based then perhaps the ring being caused by a growing mineral deposit would be plausible and interesting. The more a person uses, the wider the ring around the iris... Serious addicts would be easy to spot. A beginning or infrequent user would attract less attention & may be able to camouflage their addiction.



I haven't really given much info about it more than that it is a seed.  I like your mineral build up idea.  Is it plausible for a seed to cause that?


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## FatCat (Nov 8, 2012)

How does one use this drug? Eaten, smoked, injected? Rings around the eyes and pupil dilation are common, sure, but you can also do messed up teeth, mild psychosis, stained lips/tongue/teeth, body sores, muscle twitching, verbal cues (speed talking, inability to maintain a single subject of conversation), and paranoia. 

The big question is what does this drug do, and how does your character take it? I believe I've seen a post of yours stating it was some kind of amphetamine, and if that's true you can always do research on the side effects of meth, cocaine, ect. 

This is fantasy though, so I think you can have some fun with this. Hair loss, color blindness, impotence, cracked flesh, short-term amnesia, maybe even something wild like his nails turning a different color. Drug side-effects are as limitless as the drugs that cause them, and this is your world so make it awesome. Does the character have some special thing (physical/emotional) about him that he holds dear? Use it against him, show the drug destroy him. Make it personal and devastating, this is a fictional story with a fictional drug. 

*This link is graphic and disgusting, so unless you have a strong stomach I wouldn't advise clicking on it, but it's an example of the crazy side-effects that drugs have. Russian heroin, it must break you.*


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## T.Allen.Smith (Nov 8, 2012)

BWFoster78 said:


> I haven't really given much info about it more than that it is a seed.  I like your mineral build up idea.  Is it plausible for a seed to cause that?



I don't see why not. There are certainly minerals in real seeds. Some seeds are prized primarily for their mineral content. Pumpkin seeds for example, are rich in zinc. Sunflower seeds have iron among other minerals. It's certainly plausible that a plant's seeds of your own creation would also contain minerals.


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## Penpilot (Nov 8, 2012)

I think the skies the limit on what symptoms you can give. I mean, as long as he's not farting fire, I think the reader will go along with it. But even then, if the tone of the book allows it, fire fart isn't so out of the question if magic is involved.

But I think all the suggestions given above have been good ones. In my current work, some of my characters take the equivalent of magic steroids, and over time they develop shaking hands.


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## BWFoster78 (Nov 9, 2012)

FatCat said:


> How does one use this drug? Eaten, smoked, injected? Rings around the eyes and pupil dilation are common, sure, but you can also do messed up teeth, mild psychosis, stained lips/tongue/teeth, body sores, muscle twitching, verbal cues (speed talking, inability to maintain a single subject of conversation), and paranoia.
> 
> The big question is what does this drug do, and how does your character take it? I believe I've seen a post of yours stating it was some kind of amphetamine, and if that's true you can always do research on the side effects of meth, cocaine, ect.
> 
> ...



The drug is taken by eating a seed.

Don't worry; I'll make him suffer, though much more emotionally than physically.


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## BWFoster78 (Nov 9, 2012)

T.Allen.Smith said:


> I don't see why not. There are certainly minerals in real seeds. Some seeds are prized primarily for their mineral content. Pumpkin seeds for example, are rich in zinc. Sunflower seeds have iron among other minerals. It's certainly plausible that a plant's seeds of your own creation would also contain minerals.



Cool.  A ring around the eye it is then.

Thanks!


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## Caged Maiden (Nov 9, 2012)

Another common thing is darting eyes.  Like when someone's drunk, their eyes dart from side to side.  LSD, cut with speed makes you clench your jaw and your eyes move from side to side, unable to focus in on something for very long.


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## psychotick (Nov 11, 2012)

Hi,

If it's a stimulant then wouldn't you expect something like a flushed face, maybe some tremors, especially if in withdrawl, jerky rapid movements etc. Enlarged pupils are common but also easily missed since they enlarge anyway if you're in a darkened environment. As for rings around the eyes, sickle cell and Wilson's Disease can both cause this.

Cheers, Greg.


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## Jastius (Sep 20, 2013)

if it is a made up drug then you could have the users eyes change colour with the use of it. say develop a colour ring around the iris or flecks of a certain colour like they do in those diseases where people can't metabolize a certain protein.. you could have that the drug is not able to be completely metabolized by  the users and the bits float about and cause the colour changes.


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## Lord Ben (Sep 20, 2013)

Is it a magic seed or just a simple chemical reaction type drug?

Go with something like "When staring into the eyes by (magic?) candle light you can see shimmers of pale dim light within the black of the eye, some suspect this is a sign mournful souls have taken up residence in the head." or something a bit less real world drug type reactions.


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## Ayaka Di'rutia (Sep 21, 2013)

His irises turn black and his pupils turn white, and when he cries, his tears are a sickly yellow-green.  The skin around his eyes darkens.  Maybe more obvious than you were looking for, but it's definitely not an ordinary reaction.


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## MattR (Sep 22, 2013)

As you already know signs given here are only immediate effect of drug use, and not long term exposure.
From what I've seen on patients, drugs that are ingested usually leave stains on teeth, gums, and tongue. They also leave cracked, pale lips. Usually regular use of substances leaves mark on the area of administration. If you want it to be eyes, then it should be administered as ophthalmic drops; or, of course, use the idea of rings around the pupils



T.Allen.Smith said:


> When people discuss Halos & Eyes they're usually referring to seeing rings around a light source which would not be noticeable to another person. A rare condition does exist where a grayish/white or less common purple ring can be seen around a person's iris by an onlooker. From my understanding these can be caused by accumulated fats and can signal elevated cholesterol or they can be caused by mineral deposits.
> 
> If your fantasy stimulant were mineral based then perhaps the ring being caused by a growing mineral deposit would be plausible and interesting. The more a person uses, the wider the ring around the iris... Serious addicts would be easy to spot. A beginning or infrequent user would attract less attention & may be able to camouflage their addiction.



do you mean Wilson's Disease?


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## Snowpoint (Sep 22, 2013)

The most interesting fake drug I've seen in two movies --- Eye Drop Drugs. It looks so simple to use and easy to conceal, it's hard to believe it isn't real or mainstream by now.


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## MattR (Sep 22, 2013)

Snowpoint said:


> The most interesting fake drug I've seen in two movies --- Eye Drop Drugs. It looks so simple to use and easy to conceal, it's hard to believe it isn't real or mainstream by now.



It's because eyes are very sensitive, and the drug would have to be in the same Hp level of the body (hard to achieve if we want it to have any effect). It does seem cool, but medically not realistic


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