Re: How can cocaine affect your body?

Hi, John!

Wow! Good question!  

There are many things a drug can do to the body, but it seems that the 
"stimulant" drugs….drugs like cocaine and amphetamine ("speed")…do more 
than their share of  bodily harm!

Mainly, cocaine makes you breathe heavier, harder and forces your heart to 
pump much faster.  Your pupils dilate, your blood pressure goes through the 
roof, and your body temperature rises.  This kind of over-activity can 
cause some serious permanent damage if the drug is taken over a period of 
time….it's not terribly uncommon for a frequent user to suffer heart 
attacks or respiratory failure, partly because of all of this 
wear-and-tear!

Other effects of taking cocaine for a long time include "stimulant 
psychosis", a permanent disorder that closely resembles schizophrenia.  
Paranoia and tactile hallucinations (hallucinations that you feel…..like 
bugs crawling on and/or under your skin).  Other problems that come from 
cocaine use include irritability, restlessness, anxiety, insomnia, 
and--sometimes--seizures.

Health problems from bad circulation and poor nutrition are rather common, 
too.  The latter one is partly because stimulants--like cocaine--are also 
appetite suppressants.  Cocaine users don't eat much, so their nutritional 
intake really suffers.

Lots of people sniff cocaine, and it's a serious irritant!  People who use 
cocaine a lot this way eventually wear down their mucous membranes and end 
up with serious nasal problems!  Smoking it will obviously cause 
respiratory disorders, on top of the stimulant effect that I mentioned 
before, and injecting any drug is a very common way of transmitting 
blood-borne diseases like HIV, and hepatitis.

 As you can see, cocaine can do a lot of damage to a person's body…not just 
by the drug itself, but by the things you may do while under it's 
influence, or the way it is taken into the body.  There's more information 
on this (and other drugs) at this site check it out!

Hope this answered your question!
Come back soon if you find yourself curious about anything else!

Dr. Tom Virden