Addiction and Recovery Articles

Cocaine Exposed: Its Side Effects

by: farid fm

Cocaine is one of the most favoured or abused substances in the world today. In powder form, cocaine is known as “coke”, “C”, “flake”, “blow”, “toot” and “snow”. Oftentimes mistaken as sugar or baking soda, it has been one of the reasons why cocaine is readily available in the streets. Pushers can easily disguise them into these common household ingredients reaping more profits as benefit.

Cocaine may be of great help when it comes to surgeries posing as local anaesthesia, but it has extensive side effects associated with long-term use.

Crack’s Side Effects

Side effects of using cocaine sometimes require medical attention and sometimes need not be reported to health care professionals. Loss of taste or sense of smell, even sneezing, sniffling, or stuffy nose (when cocaine is used in the nose) are just minimal side effects of cocaine use that doesn’t need medical or physician’s advise.

The usual intake of cocaine is through sniffing. Since nasal passages are the main pathway of cocaine into the body, the septum is highly to suffer from it. The destruction of the nose’s cartilage is at risk. Nasal pain is the common term for this side effect. Other more possible side effects are nose bleed, nasal congestion and runny nose which are relatively minor and can be easily treated.

Seizures or convulsion are often results of cocaine overdose. Accidental overdose may be the result of misuse of prescription medicines.

False or distorted sensory experiences that appear to be real perceptions are called hallucination. These impressions are generated by the brain rather than by any external stimuli. Confusion and hallucination are common side effects of cocaine addiction.

Other side effects are the following:

agitation, excitability, irritability, nervousness, or restlessness
difficulty passing urine or urinary incontinence
dilated (enlarged) pupils
dizziness, lightheadedness, or fainting spells
fast or irregular heartbeat
headache
increased sweating
mood swings or other mental changes
nausea, vomiting
nervous tics or rapid speech
numbness or tingling in the hands, feet, or arms
stomach pain
tremor
troubled breathing (hyperventilation)
unusual muscle weakness

Withdrawal Side Effects

Chronic pain in the chest and coughing sometimes accompanied by severe chest pains are common reports of withdrawal patients. Phlegm coughed out is black in color and does not have blood in it unless the patient has other respiratory problems. This coughing can be treated by over the counter cough syrups or large dose of water intake and other juices.

Violent cases of withdrawal associate muscle spasm. Minor spasms are minor indication of worsening problem in cocaine addicts since people who develop them tend to suffer more physically violent symptoms of drug withdrawal.

Panic attacks are not uncommon to recovering users and addicts. 

Insomnia is also recognized as side effect to those forcibly withdrawn from cocaine addiction though it is different in terms of effect than the regular insomnia.