Nosebleeds, Sores and Sinus Damage: Cocaine’s Hidden Physical Toll

If looking at the cocaine usage stats in the UK isn’t worrying enough, the lack of awareness of the effects of long-term cocaine use is even more worrying. Yes, we all know cocaine can cause a stuffy nose for a few days after use, but not many are aware that frequent cocaine use can cause gangrene in your bowels. There are many shocking effects like this, but not many outside of the medical world are aware of them.

1. Intestinal ischaemia

Cocaine is a potent vasoconstrictor, meaning it constricts the blood vessels in your body when taken. The issue with long-term use is that this effect can cut off the blood supply to vital organs.

In your bowels, this may cause something called ischaemic colitis, which essentially means dead bowel tissue, due to a lack of blood flow.

This condition is extremely serious and presents with symptoms like severe abdominal pain and bloody diarrhoea, which can lead to needing surgery.

Cocaine-induced intestinal ischaemia has a high fatality rate, too. One study reported a 26% mortality rate, far higher than in non-cocaine cases, with death usually resulting from septic shock.

In very basic terms, cocaine can rot your bowels, which leads to a high chance of death.

2. Rhabdomyolysis and kidney failure

Cocaine abuse can sometimes lead to a condition called rhabdomyolysis, which means a rapid breakdown of muscle tissue. The muscle fibres break apart and release proteins into the bloodstream, which can then clog the kidneys. In fact, rhabdomyolysis is the most common cause of cocaine-related kidney failure.

But kidney failure isn’t the only issue that cocaine-induced muscle breakdown can cause. Medical experts explain that it can occur alongside severe hyperthermia or even seizures caused by the drug. It is a medical emergency that can be fatal if not promptly treated, with studies noting that cocaine-related rhabdomyolysis carries a high mortality rate.

3. Palatal perforation

In extreme cases of heavy cocaine use, snorting the cocaine can eat away at the hard palate, which is the bony roof of the mouth and create a hole connecting the mouth and nasal cavity. This complication leads to something called an oronasal fistula, which means food or liquid can leak from the mouth into the nose.

Those with cocaine-induced palate perforations have reported fluids regurgitating into the nose, which causes difficulty swallowing and, of course, an increased chance of nasal infections.

One study described a 38-year-old who needed surgical reconstruction of her nose and a prosthesis to close the hole.

While this is relatively uncommon, it shows how severe midface tissue destruction from cocaine can be.

4. Nasal septum perforation

If you snort cocaine frequently, you’re running the risk of completely destroying your nasal septum, which is the cartilage dividing the nostrils. This is due to many factors, like adulterants mixed into the cocaine, but also, on a medical level, it’s due to prolonged vasoconstriction and inflammation.

This means that reduced blood flow and repeated irritation from cocaine can lead to tissue death and eventually form holes in the septum.

Worryingly, research shows that around 5% of people who snort cocaine on a regular basis will develop a perforated septum.

This type of damage causes frequent nosebleeds, a loss of smell, painful nasal crusting and in some cases even the visible collapse of the nose’s structure.

5. Sores and skin ulcers

Cocaine use can also lead to painful skin and mucosal sores, including ulcers, which are connected to the adulterants found in street cocaine.

One of the main culprits is levamisole, which is a veterinary drug commonly used to ‘cut’ cocaine.

Levamisole-contaminated cocaine has been repeatedly linked to causing cutaneous vasculopathy and vasculitis, which present as purpuric rashes and necrotic skin lesions. These can become very painful and can develop on the ears, face, upper limbs and lower limbs.

6. Chronic rhinitis

It’s well documented that snorting cocaine produces a persistent, drug-induced rhinitis. This basically means users may develop chronic inflammation of the nasal passages and sinuses.

This inflammation destroys the normal mucosal lining, which leads to long-term sinus infections and congestion.

So, what’s going on under the hood here? Science tells us that cocaine damages the tiny hair-like cilia that clear debris in the nose. This results in reduced mucus transport, causing a higher chance of developing sinus infections that never seem to clear.

People who regularly take cocaine might experience a constant runny nose or even facial pain from sinus pressure.

7. Crack lung

When someone smokes crack cocaine, they run the risk of developing a lung injury dubbed ‘crack lung’. It usually occurs within 48 hours of heavy crack use and can cause symptoms like:

• Severe cough
• Shortness of breath
• Fever
• Respiratory failure (in some cases)

These symptoms are the acute symptoms, meaning they develop fast but also fade fast, too.

Chronic symptoms of smoking crack are a completely different and even more worrying story. Cocaine inhalation is linked to issues like:

• Pulmonary oedema (fluid in the lungs)
• Alveolar haemorrhage (bleeding in the air sacs)
• Pneumonia
• Pneumothorax (collapsed lung)
• Pulmonary hypertension

These types of issues are lesser-known to the general public, but that doesn’t mean they don’t happen. In most cases, these types of problems require emergency medical care, making it essential that you understand the risks if you’re frequently using cocaine.

I’m experiencing some of these issues mentioned – What should I do?

If you’ve experienced or are currently experiencing any of the complications mentioned today, it’s vital to reach out to a medical healthcare professional as soon as possible. Some of the problems mentioned today, especially issues linked to breathing, need urgent medical care, and your next step is to call 999.

If you are experiencing less urgent complications, like chronic sinus infections, now is the time to reconsider your relationship with cocaine. Cocaine is an incredibly addictive drug, and what may once have started as a ‘party enhancer’ may have turned into the beginning of something deadly.

If you’re frequently using cocaine and starting to notice physical or mental health complications, it’s important to seek help. At Primrose Lodge, we provide expert treatment for cocaine addiction or treatment for crack cocaine addiction for anyone at any stage of their addiction issues. It doesn’t matter if you’ve only been using cocaine for a few months or even a few years, our services are open to anyone needing the treatment they deserve.

We provide comprehensive cocaine detox services, along with compassionate therapeutic methods that help treat cocaine addiction or crack cocaine addiction at its root cause. Instead of cutting the leaves off and providing a temporary fix, we aim to challenge the long and wide-reaching roots of cocaine addictions.

If you’re not sure where to begin, start by reaching out to us for a short conversation on the options available to you. There’s no commitment attached to this conversation and we’ll be able to help you determine which route is best for your recovery.