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Cocaine Abuse Effects

There is no "right" way to use cocaine. Unlike alcohol or prescription medication where minimal or appropriate use is fine, when it comes to certain drugs like cocaine, there is nothing casual about it. Using cocaine in any form is considered abuse, and the effects of that abuse are dictated by the method of ingestion, the purity of the coke, other substances in the system, the amount taken and the weight and tolerance of the individual. A rush comes quickly from snorting or injecting it, though an injection provides an almost instant high that lasts for a shorter duration and a snorting peak occurs within a half hour then plateaus and remains for hours.

At Orchid Recovery Center, our staff is trained to handle cocaine detox and the subsequent cravings for the drug that addicts experience. A large part of our cocaine treatment program is designed to help you quell those cravings and learn new habits to combat them in the future.

Cocaine Abuse Effects: Psychological and Nervous System

The euphoric effects of cocaine on the brain and nervous system are manifested as high energy, sociability, higher tolerance for pain, and a low need for food or sleep. Restlessness and irritability, twitching and teeth grinding are common. Later, a feeling of paranoia in addition to hallucinations and chronic depression usually settles in. Psychologically, the result of extended cocaine use can ultimately mean cocaine psychosis, a condition that is similar to paranoid schizophrenia.

Cocaine Abuse Effects: Sinuses

Most who use cocaine snort it and because of this suffer from nosebleeds, sinusitis, hoarse and sore throats, and stuffiness and runny nose. In severe cases of long-term use, cocaine will erode the mucous membrane on either side of the septum and create a hole in the cartilage that divides the nostrils. This can lead to lifelong problems with nose whistling, secretions, crusting and nosebleeds.

Cocaine Abuse Effects: Respiratory System

Though smoking cocaine in freebase or rock form is the most common way to damage the respiratory system with cocaine use, all users will suffer from a depressed respiratory system no matter how they ingest the drug. After long-term use, the end result can be shortness of breath, difficulty swallowing, bronchitis, chest pain, uncontrollable coughing, and even a collapsed lung, respiratory failure and death.

Cocaine Abuse Effects: Cardiovascular System

The sympathetic nervous system, which is controlled by the release of adrenaline, is strongly affected by cocaine use. It is this system that reacts with cocaine and induces rapid heart rate and arrhythmia, high blood pressure, and decreased blood flow to the heart. The combination of these systems when extensive can result in heart attack.

Cocaine Abuse Effects: Headed to the Emergency Room

There are some extreme physical effects of cocaine abuse that can send you to the emergency room. These include seizures, extremely high or low heart rate and blood pressure, loss of consciousness, hyperthermia or dangerously high body temperature, overwhelming headaches, internal bleeding in the brain, and stroke. Most who go to the emergency room because of cocaine abuse do so for anxiety, chest pain, shortness of breath, intense headaches, psychosis or confusion.

If you are ready to stop risking your life with cocaine abuse and want to enter a woman-centered drug treatment dedicated to helping you kick, recover and move on, call Orchid Recovery Center today.

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