Cocaine was an important discovery in anesthesiology in the late nineteenth century, but due to human misuse, it became an addictive substance that killed millions of people either as a result of the fatal cocaine side effects it causes or as a result of suicide due to the depression caused by cocaine addiction.
More than 18 million people use cocaine each year, according to the World Health Organization, and reports indicate that 20% of users develop chronic dependence, and about 25% of global cardiac emergencies in people younger than 45 years old are a result of chronic cocaine side effects in young people.
What is Cocaine?
Cocaine is a stimulant drug made from coca leaves native to South America, it was first used as an anesthetic for the first time in 1880, it has two types of chemical forms where the first form is the hydrochloride salt (an injectable or inhalable powder) that is soluble in water, and the second form is cocaine base that is insoluble in water, doctors can prescribe it for medical uses such as local anesthesia for some eye, ear, and throat surgeries.
The second form is the insoluble cocaine base, and some doctors can prescribe it for medical uses such as local anesthesia for some eye, ear and throat surgeries, but its misuse by people causes a severe addiction accompanied by serious physical and psychological cocaine side effects.
Cocaine is abused by addicts orally, nasally, or by intravenous injection (the fastest acting). Abuse by either method can lead to the absorption of toxic amounts of cocaine, causing heart attacks or strokes, which can lead to sudden death, representing some of the most dangerous cocaine side effects.
Cocaine addiction symptoms: How to recognize an addict?
A cocaine addict can be recognized by many signs that appear on the person and are obvious to their family and people around them, and in general, the individual tries to hide some psychological symptoms, such as hiding the feeling of anxiety and stress, but the physical symptoms are very clear.
Warning signs of cocaine addiction
The signs of cocaine addiction vary from person to person based on several factors, the most important of which are genetic factors, in addition to its effect when mixed with other factors, and vary among many signs, but the most important signs can be divided into:
Physical signs
- Abnormally large and dilated pupils
- Weight loss due to cocaine-induced loss of appetite
- Bleeding or runny nose as a result of repeated cocaine inhalation
- High blood pressure and a fast heartbeat
- Excessive sweating even when you’re not exerting yourself
Psychological and behavioral signs
- Sudden and severe mood swings, such as bouts of anxiety and depression
- Anxiety and stress for no reason
- Hallucinations and extreme paranoia, where the person feels like they are being watched or threatened
- Being impulsive and making rash decisions without thinking about the consequences
- Neglecting personal and professional responsibilities due to the addict’s preoccupation with cocaine use
Cognitive symptoms
- Poor concentration and inability to think clearly
- Memory issues
- Mental distractions and difficulty performing daily tasks
Social symptoms
- Social isolation from friends and family
- Problems at work or school due to distractions
- behave aggressively
- Neglecting personal relationships
- Tendency to risky behaviors, such as spending money excessively and recklessly, or getting into conflicts repeatedly
Psychological symptoms of cocaine use (anxiety, depression, hallucinations)
Cocaine is a strong stimulant to the central nervous system, so cocaine use leads to increased nervous activity and high adrenaline levels in the body, which causes bouts of anxiety, in addition to its long-term use in large quantities causes cognitive disorders and auditory and visual hallucinations, and although cocaine gives the addict a state of euphoria and happiness when using it, but due to the severe and sudden decrease in dopamine after the effect of cocaine ends, the person enters a state of depression and never feels happy until he uses it again.
Cocaine side effects physical and mental health
Cocaine side effects have a wide range of harms and risks to human physical and psychological health, as it affects the work of the heart and intravascular pressure, and severely affects the respiratory and digestive systems, causing pulmonary infections and damage to the mucous membranes in the pulmonary tissue, causing ulcers and loss of appetite, in addition to nausea and vomiting at the level of the digestive system, and its most serious effect is its effect on the central nervous system, as it causes damage to nerve cells, which causes metabolic disorders and leads to the occurrence of neurological seizures.
Cocaine side effects include psychological harms such as anxiety and irritability that appear from the first dose, which causes the patient stress, fear and confusion, and the addict develops what is called psychosis, which is a state of mental distraction and lack of concentration in daily life, and cocaine causes severe addiction, in addition to causing very severe withdrawal symptoms when trying to stop using.
How cocaine affects the brain
Cocaine side effects have an effect on the basal ganglia in the brain, which is an essential part of the brain’s reward circuit, and through this, the long-term effect of cocaine on these ganglia causes impaired ability to enjoy any activity, such as eating, socializing, or even sex.
Cocaine side effects also have an effect on the amygdala, which plays a role in feeling feelings of anxiety and discomfort, so the excessive effect of cocaine on it makes it sensitive to stimulation, which forms a new motivation for the addict to use, which is to escape the discomfort and anxiety resulting from the increased sensitivity of the amygdala.
In addition to the above cocaine side effects, cocaine side effects affect the prefrontal centers in the cerebral cortex, which are responsible for planning, problem solving, and decision-making, so the effect of cocaine on these centers leads to poor impulse control and makes the person prefer using drugs over doing anything else.
The human being naturally loses part of the gray matter annually and its effects do not appear until the individual reaches old age, causing memory disorders and changes in cognitive abilities, but studies have shown that cocaine use causes it to be lost faster, naturally 1.69 milliliters of gray matter is lost annually, but in cocaine addicts the loss is 3.08 milliliters per year, and this poses a great threat to human health due to cocaine side effects.
Cocaine side effects on the respiratory system and heart
Although cocaine side effects’ stimulant effect mainly targets nerve cells, it has a devastating effect on the heart and respiratory system as well, with most deaths in cocaine users resulting from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.
Cocaine side effects directly affect the nervous and cardiovascular systems by blocking the reuptake of noradrenaline and dopamine, which leads to increased beta1-adrenergic receptor activity and increased heart rate and contraction force, thus increasing myocardial oxygen demand, which increases the pressure on the respiratory and circulatory systems, and may lead to cardiac ischemia and myocardial infarction, and its use can cause heart rhythm disorders, such as ventricular fibrillation, which is a common cause of sudden death among addicts. In the long term, it causes enlargement of the heart muscle and hardening of the arteries, which increases the risk of cardiac and cerebral strokes, and may end in death if proper medical intervention and treatment are not provided.
Despite all the dangers to the cardiovascular and central nervous systems, cocaine side effects cause serious damage to the respiratory system, causing damage to the mucous membranes in the nose, pulmonary issues such as pulmonary hemorrhage, chronic bronchitis, damage to the alveoli, and in cases of overdose may cause acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).
Risks of long-term cocaine use
Cocaine side effects lead to long-term psychological effects that may be severe and dangerous, and it has been shown that cocaine abuse significantly affects brain function, as it can cause disorders such as psychosis, auditory and visual hallucinations, in addition to chronic anxiety and severe depression, and with continued use, the mechanism of neural communication within the brain is disrupted, leading to impaired ability to reason and make sound decisions, and cocaine dependence causes changes in brain chemistry that make the person more prone to emotional disorders and unbalanced emotions.
Cocaine side effects include long-term serious physical effects, including poor appetite leading to significant weight loss, as well as cardiovascular disorders, increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Cocaine also affects the respiratory system. Moreover, continued use may lead to skin issues such as dryness and sores caused by excessive scratching, due to the feeling of having objects under the skin, which is one of the symptoms resulting from the sensory hallucinations associated with addiction. These effects can progress, making recovery a challenge that requires comprehensive medical intervention and ongoing care.
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