Can cocaine make your nose collapse? The truth is that there are some gruesome images of people who have suffered severe facial damage as a result of prolonged cocaine use. There’s even a special term for the damage done by snorting. It’s called cocaine nose. Keep reading to learn what causes cocaine nose.
What Causes Cocaine Nose?
Cocaine nose is known clinically as septal perforation, occurs when chronic cocaine snorting leads to damage in the nasal cavity. If cocaine abuse persists, cocaine nose can lead to a full collapse of the nasal structure. Common early symptoms of cocaine nose include persistent nosebleeds, sores in the nasal cavity, and nasal infections.
Why is cocaine so bad for your nose? The short answer is that cocaine kills the tissue that lines the inside of the nose. Cocaine causes blood vessels to constrict. When it’s snorted, cocaine causes constriction in the very delicate blood vessels lining the nasal passage.
Over time, the tissue lining the inside of the nose dies from repeated constriction. This results in scarring and loss of cartilage that will eventually cause a full collapse. In addition to causing perforation of the nasal septum and palate, chronic cocaine snorting can also cause gingival lesions and tooth surface erosion.
Many cocaine users ignore common symptoms of cocaine nose because they don’t understand the seriousness of this condition. This is mostly because signs of cocaine nose are nearly impossible to see on the outside of the nose. Other people won’t necessarily see the damage that is being done externally. Additionally, the person looking in the mirror will see a nose that looks perfectly normal from the outside. It is only once septum perforation becomes severe enough that the nose will eventually collapse.
Who Is at Risk for Cocaine Nose?
Anyone who is snorting cocaine is at risk for cocaine nose. There’s been a sharp increase in people losing their noses from cocaine use after snorting cocaine that has been cut with pet deworming drugs and other substances. Of course, your risk level is highest if you struggle with cocaine use disorder (CUD), also called cocaine addiction.
Cocaine use disorder is the continued and compulsive use of cocaine despite serious behavioral, medical, and psychological consequences. CUD is a serious public health problem. According to experts, more than 2.2 million people in the United States currently use cocaine regularly. Out of those, more than 1.5 million meet the diagnostic criteria for a cocaine use disorder as described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-5).
While it’s encouraging that there have been large public awareness movements around drugs like methamphetamine, the estimated number of methamphetamine users in the United States is just 600,000. The lack of conversations and public awareness surrounding modern-day cocaine use can make it difficult to get help and support.
Signs of Cocaine Addiction
Cocaine addiction comes with several signs and symptoms. Cocaine is a drug that can impact a person’s behavior, mood, and physical health. If you’re concerned that you’ve developed cocaine use disorder, it’s important to look at the ways this drug has impacted your everyday life. If you find yourself continuously lying about your whereabouts and activities, engaging in reckless and risky behaviors, or stealing to feed your habit, you may be struggling with cocaine addiction. Of course, the most obvious sign is being unable to reduce or stop your cocaine use when you try. Some physical symptoms of cocaine addiction include:
- Excessive energy. You may feel like you no longer need to sleep
- Rapid heart rate and/or high blood pressure
- High body temperature. You are constantly sweating and running hot. Others may wonder why you’re wearing short sleeves when everyone else is bundled up
- Runny nose, persistent nosebleeds, or excessive mucus coming from your nostrils
- Chronic sinus pain and infection
- Chronically dilated pupils
- Loss of appetite
People with CUD also struggle with up-and-down moods. You could swing from feelings of euphoria and limitless confidence to intense agitation and irritability. Heavy cocaine users are also prone to psychosis, which can include paranoia, suspiciousness, and hallucinations. Researchers believe that cocaine-induced psychosis is caused by heightened dopamine levels in the brain triggered by cocaine’s impact on dopamine uptake. Unfortunately, people caught up in cocaine use disorder are unable to stop cocaine usage when signs of cocaine nose appear. They may continue to snort cocaine even though they are experiencing pain, sores, infection, bleeding, or excessive mucus.
How Is Cocaine Nose Treated?
Cocaine nose is irreversible without cosmetic surgery performed by a skilled specialist. Cocaine-injured tissue carries great risk for infection. After correcting deformities resulting from cocaine usage through surgery, people who resume snorting cocaine are at elevated risk for infections and other complications. In fact, resuming cocaine use can result in a catastrophic collapse that is worse than the first.
Treatment for Cocaine Addiction
Ideally, a person struggling with cocaine addiction will seek help before catastrophic damage is done to the nose. However, people who have already gone through reconstructive surgery for cocaine nose also need support to avoid the risks of severe infection and injury that are present with relapse. People struggling with CUD have several different treatment options when seeking recovery.
In most cases, medically assisted therapy (MAT) is used to help people get through the withdrawal process with a reduced risk for relapse. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is also widely used in substance use treatment. CBT is a research-backed mental health and addiction treatment that helps people struggling with addiction to address distressing emotions and thoughts in healthier ways outside of substance use. A personalized treatment plan for cocaine use disorder can also include acceptance and commitment therapy, dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), group therapy, and other holistic channels for self-growth.
Are you seeking help for cocaine addiction? The CUD specialists at Vogue Recovery Center are here to help you take the first step. We know that living with constant fear of the physical repercussions of cocaine can cause distress. Let us offer a helping hand on your journey to lasting recovery.
Medically Reviewed by Kelsey Jones, MS, LPC
