Author: Alex Thompson

Crack Cocaine Symptoms And Warning Signs

A person using crack will become fidgety when they are on the drug, and even when they are off the drug. When they are on the drug their nervous system will be stimulated causing their hands to twitch and even sometimes the grinding of their teeth. Once it has come to light that someone is addicted to Crack, the next step is to get them help. However, when a person’s brain has been reprogrammed to compulsively abuse Crack, it isn’t always easy to convince them to start treatment.

1. Her work spans various health-related topics, including mental health, fitness, nutrition, and wellness.
2. If you use crack repeatedly in a short period, you’ll likely experience exhaustion afterwards.
3. Signs and symptoms of cocaine use include excitability, weight loss, insomnia, irritability and paranoia.
4. Ark Behavioral Health offers 100% confidential substance abuse assessment and treatment placement tailored to your individual needs.
5. It’s made by mixing powder cocaine with baking soda and heating it to create a smokable substance.

This medication will not, however, treat the effects of cocaine overdose. Drug paraphernalia may also indicate a crack cocaine addiction. Paraphernalia includes anything used to smoke, snort, or inject crack. Crack cocaine abuse comes with short-term and long-term side effects. Some physical symptoms of addiction appear right away, while others show up after months or years of drug abuse.

That time was often called the crack epidemic, and it hit places like New York and Los Angeles particularly hard. Crack cocaine addiction treatment may begin with detox, which is the process of removing drugs from your system. The mental withdrawal and cravings that accompany crack detox make it hard to do alone.

Cocaine intoxication is a state where someone is not just high on cocaine but also develops other physical symptoms that make them ill. Her work spans various health-related topics, including mental health, fitness, nutrition, and wellness. Treating a crack addiction may involve detoxification and therapy. Treatment may occur in hospitals, in therapeutic communities, or in clinical settings. Approximately 1.3 million people in the United States over the age of 12 have a cocaine use disorder, which means they use cocaine or crack. Crack is created by combining cocaine with baking soda and water (often with other fillers).

The Alarming Availability Of Crack

It makes blood vessels in the nose constrict, cutting off oxygen flow to the nasal tissues. Other chemicals that dealers add to cocaine can also irritate the lining of the nose. Inhaling cocaine can lead to infections of the nasal and oral cavities.

When someone is addicted to crack, they’re likely to engage in illegal or dangerous activities to keep getting the drug. This could include stealing, violence or dangerous sexual behaviors. People who are addicted to crack may avoid their responsibilities. They may stop attending school or work, paying bills or taking care of their family. Relationships will often suffer because crack is such an addictive and all-consuming drug. At Ark Behavioral Health, we work with you to ensure you receive the best care for your situation.

Listed below are some of the physical, behavioral, and psychological signs of cocaine use. Injecting crack can cause collapsed veins and bacterial infections. The term ‘crack’ refers to the crackling sound the crystal makes when it is being heated to smoke. While some people experience few withdrawal effects from cocaine, others experience debilitating symptoms. If you or someone you know is experiencing a cocaine overdose, call 911 and seek emergency medical treatment.

Cocaine Psychosis

Chronic cocaine use is also hard on the gastrointestinal tract. Because cocaine constricts blood vessels, frequent cocaine or crack use can cut off the supply of oxygen-rich blood to the intestines, causing the bowel to die and rupture. People who use the drug regularly are likely to experience a number of serious health problems. We do not receive any commission or fee that is dependent upon which treatment provider a caller chooses. A person abusing crack can have blood shot eyes, or they may experience swollen eyes. If a person’s eyes are red and their pupils are dilated, along with increased activity, they are most likely abusing crack.

Crack constricts your blood vessels, which raises your blood pressure and causes your breathing and heart rate to increase. Because of the drug’s effect on the central nervous system, crack abuse can lead to a heart attack and other heart problems. A crack addiction can put a person at risk for serious health consequences, including death. Preventing the use of this drug is critical because even a single instance of use can lead to addiction or death in some people. A person may also overdose on crack cocaine, especially if they mix it with alcohol or heroin.

People smoke crack with a crack pipe, which creates a crackling sound, hence its name. BetterHelp can connect you to an addiction and mental health counselor. Some people take cocaine orally by rubbing it on the gums or mixing it in a drink. Others wrap powder cocaine in a small piece of toilet paper or tissue and swallow it.

Crack Addicts

Learn more about our cocaine addiction treatment programs by speaking with a specialist today. People who are addicted to crack often suffer from malnutrition due to a loss of appetite. This can result in severe weight loss and a weak immune system, which makes other health problems more likely to occur. As a result, people need to take more of the drug more frequently in order to achieve the same high and prevent withdrawal symptoms. People who are addicted to crack have a chronic medical condition that requires treatment.

It’s often not as simple as expecting a person to stop using it on their own, or thinking they’ll be better if they stop using it for a few days. Overdose can occur unexpectedly and may even happen the first time someone tries cocaine. Using high doses or mixing cocaine with alcohol or other drugs increases the risk of overdose.

However, when the drug is out of a user’s system, their dopamine will be depleted, which will result in depression. Crack cocaine affects the brain’s reward system by increasing the presence of dopamine, a neurotransmitter (chemical messenger). As the drug wears off, dopamine levels drop quickly, which may make you feel depressed and can cause intense cravings. Use of crack cocaine may result in restlessness, hyperactivity, and extreme talkativeness.

The drug can also cause dangerous spikes in blood pressure that can rupture blood vessels in the brain (hemorrhagic stroke) or tear the aorta (aortic dissection). Much of the internal damage cocaine causes, however, is invisible. In addition to increasing the risk of heart attack, cocaine can trigger irregular heartbeats and cause a thickening of the heart muscle that can lead to heart failure. A cocaine comedown is actually a form of withdrawal that can last for days.

During the crash, a person experiences powerful cravings for more cocaine. A cocaine comedown, or cocaine crash, occurs after a binge or when someone stops using cocaine suddenly. During a crash, a person will feel fatigued, depressed, anxious, irritable and profoundly tired.