Many issues play a role, including other mental health disorders,  your background, and your environment. Another reason cocaine can lead to substance use disorder is that each time you use it, your body builds a tolerance. That means you have to use more and more of the drug to get high.

Smoking cocaine also increases the risk of developing respiratory problems, such as shortness of breath, coughing, and lung trauma, including bleeding. An overdose of cocaine can lead to seizures, life-threatening heart failure, cerebral hemorrhage, stroke, and respiratory failure. It’s possible to die from an overdose of crack or any other type of cocaine.

Cocaine use can also lead to a variety of long-term physical effects. The 2021 (U.S.) National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) concludes 4.8 million people age 12 and older used cocaine in 2020. In comparison, the same survey results show 52.8 million people age 12 and older used marijuana and 1.1 million people used heroin. Anyone who is concerned about cocaine use should see a doctor or a local support group for beating addiction. There is no specific medication to treat cocaine overdose. The effects generally last between 15 and 30 minutes, but shorter with crack.

Short-Term Health Effects of Cocaine Use

Individuals who stop using the drug will have powerful cravings that can last for years. Depending on the nature of the abuse, some patients who seek help will be advised to attend a residential rehabilitation program, or a structured day program. Binge pattern cocaine use can lead to irritability, anxiety, and restlessness.

They can also add other drugs like amphetamine, fentanyl, heroin, or procaine. Instead of using baking soda as you would with crack, you add ammonia to “free” the cocaine base from its natural form. It’s most often smoked in a pipe in the same way as crack. For this reason, you might hear the terms “crack” and “freebase” used interchangeably. The possibility of accidental overdose is higher when people do not know exactly what drug they are taking or how strong it is.

However, cocaine and its derivative, crack cocaine, are widely used as illegal recreational drugs. Cocaine — aka coke, blow, and snow — is a powerful stimulant made from the leaves of the coca plant. It usually comes in the form of a white, crystalline powder. Drug use disorder, or addiction, is a complicated disease that involves changes to your brain structure.

Long-term use can gradually change the brain’s reward system, increasing the risk of addiction. The most important part of any treatment plan is to give up the drug right away. Many people who are addicted to cocaine go through a phase called withdrawal when they first do this. Withdrawal can 2c drug effects of 2c be difficult, so it may be best to do it with the help of a medical professional. Since it’s an illegal drug, you can never be sure about the quality of cocaine. To make more money, dealers may “cut” the drug with other substances, like flour, baking soda, cornstarch, or talcum powder.

If you snort it, you might have nosebleeds, loss of smell, hoarseness, nasal irritation, runny nose, or trouble swallowing. Smoking crack can damage your lungs and worsen asthma symptoms. If you inject it, you could develop tracks (puncture marks on your arms) and antibiotics and alcohol infections, such as HIV or hepatitis C. The participants who used illegal drugs, such as cocaine, had fewer traditional heart health risk factors, including diabetes. Despite this, they were still twice as likely to die in the years following their heart attack.

Long-term effects of cocaine and crack

Crack is the street name for a type of cocaine that has had the hydrochloride removed, making it possible to smoke. Cocaine is a highly addictive and a naturally occurring anesthetic, or pain blocker. Long-term or frequent use can break down tissue, causing sores. In severe cases, the septum (the cartilage between your nostrils) can develop a hole. Crack is cocaine freebase that’s been processed into a rock. If you use it, are considering using it, or are around anyone who does, read on.

1. If you inject it, you could develop tracks (puncture marks on your arms) and infections, such as HIV or hepatitis C.
2. The drug disulfiram, which is used to treat alcoholism, has shown some promise for cocaine addiction.
3. Long-term use can gradually change the brain’s reward system, increasing the risk of addiction.
4. An ER doctor will test for those conditions and try to treat them first.

This fact suggests, though does not prove, that cocaine may trigger heart attack in some people. Some research indicates that cocaine-related deaths increase in hot weather. The authors suggest that this is due to heat-induced heart rate changes triggering heart rhythm issues.

How Do People Use Cocaine?

Long-term cocaine use can cause auditory and tactile hallucinations, causing you to hear and feel things that aren’t there. People use coke for its intense psychological effects, like euphoria and boosted confidence. But it can also produce some not-so-pleasant psychological and physical effects.

Health Canada

As the medical profession came to realize that cocaine was addictive, safer anesthetics were developed. Injecting it carries the highest risk of bloodborne infections, but you can also contract infections by smoking and snorting coke. Mixing alcohol and cocaine has also been shown to increase cravings for each substance, leading to a higher risk of dependence. When snorted or gummed, coke needs to get through mucus, skin, and other tissues. It bypasses all that when you inject or smoke it, allowing it to enter the bloodstream almost immediately. In early tests, a vaccine helped reduce the risk of relapse in people who use cocaine.

A 2018 study suggests that cocaine may also increase the risk of heart attack in young people who would otherwise be at low risk. The study included 2,097 people under the age of 50 years who had had a heart attack. Cocaine and crack are powerful stimulants and highly addictive. Their effects on your physical and mental health can be serious and sometimes fatal.

The FDA hasn’t approved any medicine to treat cocaine addiction. But there are a few medication options doctors are having some success with. Counseling and other types of therapy are the most common treatments for cocaine use disorder. Sessions with a trained therapist can help you make changes to your behaviors and thought processes.

If you keep using cocaine, your brain’s circuits become more sensitive. This can lead to a negative mood when you don’t take the drug. Your brain may become less responsive to other natural rewards, such as food benzodiazepines detox northern california drug alcohol rehab and relationships. Congestive heart failure is a chronic medical condition that some people develop after a history of cocaine use. In those with this condition, the heart muscle cannot effectively pump blood.

You may need to stay in a rehabilitation center (also known as rehab) for intensive therapy and support. If you do attend rehab, continuing treatment afterward (aftercare) is important to help you avoid relapse. An ER doctor will test for those conditions and try to treat them first. They may also use medication to treat other complications you have. Your chances of getting HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, are higher if you use cocaine.