What Does Cocaine Do to Your Body? 15 Cocaine Side Effects

We then summarize the current pharmacological and behavioral treatment approaches for CUD, and discuss emerging treatment approaches. This happens when a person mirtazapine oral route precautions uses so much cocaine that it causes a life-threatening reaction or death. Repeated use of cocaine can also lead to cocaine use disorder, also called addiction.

What are the long-term effects of cocaine?

Dr. Tetrault explains that cocaine is sometimes adulterated with other drugs, such as amphetamines or synthetic opioids like fentanyl, which can make it particularly dangerous. A person can overdose the first time they use crack cocaine, or any time thereafter. Drug use disorder, or addiction, is a complicated disease that involves changes to your brain structure. Many issues play a role, including other mental health disorders,  your background, and your environment.

Effects of Smoking or Inhaling Cocaine

As a result, the person experiences an intense rush, followed by a hard crash that can feel depressing and lead to intense cravings for more of the drug. Cocaine and crack are powerful stimulants that give users a euphoric feeling and increased energy, says Dr. Tetrault. Using these substances floods the brain with dopamine, a natural chemical that is part of the brain’s reward system; it stimulates the brain, numbs pain, and helps us feel pleasure. This cycle can lead to cocaine use disorder, in which you have trouble controlling how much and how often you use the drug even when it has negative effects on your life.

Is it dangerous to mix with other drugs?

SAMHSA’s mission is to lead public health and service delivery efforts that promote mental health, prevent substance misuse, and provide treatments and supports to foster recovery while ensuring equitable access and better outcomes. In terms of digestive/liver comorbidity, our findings are consistent with those observed in other studies (Pavarin et al., 2011). Liver decompensation was another frequent reason for clinical attention; however, a study mixing alcohol and percocet in patients coinfected with HIV and HCV was unable to demonstrate an association between cocaine/crack use and evolution of liver fibrosis (Martel-Laferrière et al., 2017). Therefore, it is likely that alcohol abuse in the patients could explain those findings. In summary, in this review, we have highlighted many challenges that exist in the field of CUD therapeutics, outlined evidence-based treatments, and underscored promising novel therapies.

Treatment may occur in hospitals, in therapeutic communities, or in clinical settings. The term ‘crack’ refers to the crackling sound the crystal makes when it is being heated to smoke. In early tests, a adult children of alcoholics vaccine helped reduce the risk of relapse in people who use cocaine. The vaccine activates your immune system to create antibodies that attach to cocaine and stop it from making its way into your brain.

An overdose of cocaine can lead to seizures, life-threatening heart failure, cerebral hemorrhage, stroke, and respiratory failure. In occasional cocaine users, social or physical problems are rare, but scientists insist there is no safe amount of cocaine. In powder form, it usually consists of cocaine hydrochloride diluted with other substances, such as lidocaine, a local anesthetic, sugars (lactose), inositol, and mannitol. After prolonged use, cocaine is highly addictive and with regular use, larger amounts of cocaine are needed to get the same effect.

As a street (illegal) drug, cocaine is usually a fine, white, crystal powder. Street dealers sometimes mix it with cornstarch, talcum powder, or flour to make it look like they have more cocaine. Cocaine is a substance that can significantly impact your mental, emotional, and physical health. Using cocaine can lead to many short- and long-term side effects, some of which we’ll cover in the following slides. If someone in your life has a crack addiction, it’s important to support them and help them find evidence-based treatment that works for them, Dr. Tetrault says. Cocaine’s effects appear almost immediately after a single dose and typically disappear within a few minutes to an hour.

1. If you think someone has overdosed on cocaine, call triple zero (000) for an ambulance.
2. Our results support the use of medical comorbidity rates in patients with SUD who start treatment, although more studies are required to confirm these findings.
3. Many people who use cocaine also use alcohol, and this combination can be particularly dangerous.
4. In addition, this study was carried out in a single unit which limits the generalization of the findings.
5. But it can also produce some not-so-pleasant psychological and physical effects.

Recreational cocaine users have been found to have harder arteries, thicker heart muscle walls, higher blood pressure, and up to a 35 higher risk of a hardened aorta, compared with people who have never used the drug. If you take other drugs to help you cope with the side effects of cocaine, you may become dependent on several drugs at once. The double danger with cocaine use is that on the one hand it makes the brain less sensitive to natural pleasure reinforcers and on the other hand it causes the brain’s circuits to become increasingly sensitive to stress. As a result, when cocaine is absent from the body’s system, a person accustomed to using cocaine becomes increasingly unhappy and experiences extreme mood swings. This buildup of dopamine is central to cocaine’s potential for misuse.

In severe cases, the septum (the cartilage between your nostrils) can develop a hole. This means you need more of a substance to get the same effect you once did. The combo leads to the production of a metabolite called cocaethylene, which is considerably stronger than cocaine or alcohol alone. Once the high wears off, coke can leave you feeling depressed and extremely tired for several days.