Snorting Cocaine Short- & Long-Term Effects

A single session of cocaine use can cause nasal blockages, runny nose and loss of sensation in the nasal cavities. Any time you’re putting something of unknown origin into your airways, you also run the risk of a potential lung infection, for which you’d need to seek medical treatment. Cocaine can be processed into freebase so that it can be smoked by converting the powder form to cocaine sulfate. The rock form of cocaine that can be smoked is commonly referred to as “crack cocaine.” This form is processed using baking soda and heat until a rock is formed that can then be smoked. When cocaine is snorted, it must travel from the nose to the heart through the blood vessels before then being pumped to the lungs where it becomes oxygenated.

Snorting cocaine causes the drug to reach the bloodstream through a person’s nasal tissues. People who regularly use cocaine intranasally are likely to experience physical effects and health risks unique to this method. Most people know that long-term cocaine use can have lasting effects on the brain, but what about in the short term? Crack and cocaine are essentially the same drugs in different forms. While they sound like different substances, they create the same stimulating effects on the body.

Smoking Cocaine Can Also Have Several Unpleasant Side Effects, Such As:

If one of our articles is marked with a ‘reviewed for accuracy and expertise’ badge, it indicates that one or more members of our team of doctors and clinicians have reviewed the article further to ensure accuracy. This is part of our ongoing commitment to ensure FHE Health is trusted as a leader in mental health and addiction care. Injecting coke can cause skin bruising and scarring and lead to collapsed veins. Snorting can damage your mucous membranes, causing inflammation and sores in and around your nostrils. There are quite a few known interactions between cocaine and other substances, including over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription medications and other drugs.

On the flip side, it is also possible to experience anxiety, agitation, restlessness, mood swings, and paranoia. Also, when cocaine is taken over a long period of time, the user can experience these opposite effects an overview of outpatient and inpatient detoxification pmc during a cocaine high, including sadness and isolation from other people. While no medication is FDA-approved to treat cocaine addiction, there are other forms of treatment that can help those who are struggling.

1. Typically, though, if you only use cocaine one time, you won’t have to worry about your nose healing after coke.
2. Individuals can also develop large holes in their hard palate — the roof of their mouth.
3. They may also experience frequent sinus infections and a diminished sense of smell.
4. The combination of bleeding out the nose and regular sinus problems is a sign that someone might be snorting cocaine.

The substance then travels back to the heart before being pumped out to the rest of the organs in the body as well as the brain. People typically snort cocaine by snorting individual lines or smaller bumps of powdered cocaine. The person sniffs the substance up into the nose through one nostril and then often alternates nostrils. It’s most commonly snorted, but what happens when you try to smoke it? Smoking anything requires combustion to produce the smoke that is then inhaled.

Regardless of the route of administration, cocaine use poses substantial short and long-term risks to the body and can be especially damaging to the circulatory system. While cocaine has the potential to cause numerous detrimental effects on its own, its risks are heightened when it is laced with other substances. Cocaine addiction treatment will be similar regardless of the method of ingestion.

Why Is Snorting Cocaine Dangerous?

For those struggling with cocaine addiction or cocaine users, seeking treatment is crucial. Detoxification (detox) programs can help individuals safely withdraw from cocaine and manage withdrawal symptoms, while rehabilitation programs offer therapy and support to address the underlying issues driving substance abuse. Additionally, medications, medical advice, and behavioral health therapies tailored to cocaine addiction can aid in long-term recovery and reduce the risk of relapse. “Snorting cocaine even one time can result in an overdose.” Snorting cocaine can be dangerous for a number of reasons. This increase in dopamine activity can reinforce a compulsion for continued use—enticing users to take more of the drug to continue feeling its effects.

Snorting cocaine is easy and doesn’t require much paraphernalia, as many snort cocaine with rolled up dollar bills or a straw. Snorting cocaine requires the drug to travel from the blood vessels in the nose to the heart, which then sends the substance into the lungs to be turned into oxygen. The blood carrying the corrupted oxygen then returns to the heart where it is sent to the body’s other organs. For one, it means that even if you’re not seeing the impact of habitual abuse now, it’s almost a sure thing in the future.

If you or a loved one are seeking help for addiction, our network of addiction facilities are ready to welcome you.

However, their physical consistency and the way a person takes them are different. The difference between these two forms primarily affects how cocaine enters the body. But when it is snorted, it will take longer for crack to reach your bloodstream than when it’s smoked. But crack can also be converted back to powder cocaine by treating it with an acidic solution like lemon juice. One of the most common methods of consuming cocaine is through snorting.

With no blood supply, the septal lining eventually dies, as does the underlying cartilage. As cocaine courses through your veins, it can send your cardiovascular system into a dangerous overdrive. Excitement and energy can give way to labored breathing, sweating, abnormal heart rhythms and chest pain.

For other serial cocaine abusers, this may only be possible by way of a structured rehab program. If you or a loved one need to get clean, contact FHE Health today and learn about your options for recovery. If you’re worried about your cocaine use and want help, you have options. Consider talking to your primary healthcare provider if you’re comfortable doing so. Patient confidentiality laws prevent them from sharing this information with law enforcement. During and after formal addiction treatment, recovery groups and 12-Step programs like Narcotics Anonymous and Cocaine Anonymous can provide continued support for those learning to live in recovery.

Cocaine Nose Bleed

The National Institute on Drug Abuse asserts that people who snort cocaine on a chronic basis may also experience hoarseness and have trouble swallowing. When a person drinks and sniffs cocaine, it creates a toxic byproduct called cocaethylene, which is toxic to the heart and liver. Combining and snorting cocaine and heroin, a drug mix known as a speedball, is also extremely dangerous and increases 52 ways to identify a covert narcissist the risk of cocaine overdose and death. Snorting cocaine (and other drugs) has proven to be an effective way to experience a quick onset of the effects. The nasal passages are lined with blood vessels and are home to mucous membranes that aid in the absorption of cocaine into the bloodstream. This is also why opioid pain medications and other drugs may be crushed up and taken in the same manner.

Both dependence and tolerance are signs of cocaine use disorder (cocaine addiction), which is defined by a continued pattern of use despite harmful consequences to your relationships, daily responsibilities, and overall life. When cocaine reaches a person’s brain, the drug binds to the dopamine transporter and blocks the transporter’s usual task of removing the pleasure-inducing chemical known as dopamine from the brain’s synapse and dopamine receptors. As the blocking continues, dopamine builds up in the synapse and heightens the short-term positive effects that come from excess dopamine in the brain. With effects ranging from intense happiness to a significant decrease in appetite, cocaine is a powerful substance that can be extremely addictive.

Fortunately, many of these symptoms can be reduced or managed with an appropriate detox protocol that is designed for each individual, according to their specific treatment needs. After detoxing from cocaine, ongoing substance abuse therapy is recommended to ensure long-term success in recovery. When cocaine is smoked, it goes directly into the lungs to be oxygenated rather than having to travel through the blood vessels to the heart first.

Over time, the consequences of cocaine have the potential to go from problematic — loss of smell and frequent nosebleeds — to downright grisly. Repeated inflammation is suspected of leading to immune system suppression in that area. Ingesting a toxic amount of alcohol and the adolescent brain national institute on alcohol abuse and alcoholism niaaa cocaine can cause sudden death.2 Snorting cocaine even one time can result in an overdose. Users with preexisting health issues and those who mix cocaine with other drugs (e.g. with heroin as a “speedball” or with alcohol) are especially at risk for overdose.