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Cocaine & Teen Addiction
Short and Long Term Effects of Cocaine Addiction
Although you might have heard about the dangers of cocaine addiction, you might not know exactly what those dangers are. Cocaine has a variety of both short and long term effects that can become a threat depending on how much and how often you use cocaine.
Short term Effects of an Addiction to Cocaine
Cocaine has a variety of both desirable and undesirable short and long term effects. According the National Institute on Drug Abuse, these effects are:
- Constricted blood vessels
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Rapid heart rate
- Raised body temperature
- Raised blood pressure
- Euphoria
- Energetic feeling
- Muscle twitches and tremors
- Impotence
- Anxiety and paranoia
- Increased alertness
- Decreased appetite
- Decreased sleeping or insomnia
- Cardiac irrhythmia
All of these short term side effects are normally temporary lasting only while you are on the drug or immediately after coming down. Unfortunately, many of these lead to risk taking behaviors such as driving or attempting to do too much while on the drug which can lead to accidents and other complications.
Long Term Effects of an Addiction to Cocaine
The long term effects of a cocaine addiction last much longer and act as a sign of the permanent damage that the drug can do. According to the University of Maryland, the major long term effects of cocaine use are:
- Convulsions
- Seizures
- Heart disease often leading to a heart attack or heart failure
- Lung damage and respiratory disease, in some cases respiratory failure
- Permanent damage to the cartilage in the nose from snorting cocaine
- Sexual dysfunction
- Reproductive damage and infertility
- Sudden death
These long term side effects are extremely dangerous and often experienced by heavy cocaine users. Some of them such as heart disease become a permanent part of a recovered cocaine addict's life. All of these effects are reasons to seek cocaine addiction treatment as soon as possible, before it is too late.