Horrific Photos: Drug-users eaten alive by flesh-eating illness caused by homemade heroin substitute.

Krokodil is a street version of desomorphine, an opiate that’s 3 times more powerful and 10 times cheaper than heroin, and has become an epidemic in Russia. It’s so named because regular users develop gangrenous, scaly skin resembling that of a crocodile. Krokodil is made with such toxic chemicals that it rots the flesh and bones of its users.

the Krokodil is homemade, it is created by mixing codeine with gasoline or oil, filtering it and then injecting the rancid concoction into the users body.

Continual use of Krokodil causes blood vessels to burst, leaving skin green and scaly among addicts eventually causing gangrene and their flesh to begin to rot.

Rabid use in Russia has caused up to 2.5 million people to register and seek treatment as addicts and the average life span for a user is only two to three years.

'When drug users do it repeatedly, the skin sloughs. It causes hardening of their skin. It will cause necrosis,'

The photos you are about to see will turn your stomach! so if you cant bear to see, please dont...

Warning EXTREMELY GRAPHIC photos after the cut