Hydrocodone is available as tablets, capsules, and liquid. The drug can be swallowed, snorted, or injected. Hydros, Fluff, Watsons, and 357s are common slang or street names for hydrocodone.
Hydrocodone works by changing the way the nervous system and brain respond to pain. The National Institute on Drug Abuse explains that opioids activate opioid receptors located on cells throughout the spinal cord, brain, and organs of the body, particularly those responsible for feelings of pleasure and pain. The receptors with the attached opioids block the brain’s pain signals and release a considerable amount of dopamine, causing pain relief and feelings of intense euphoria, happiness, and calmness. Hydrocodone does not heal the source of pain; it changes how the user perceives the pain.