What Does Cocaine Addiction Look Like?

How to spot a cocaine addict. Maybe you notice a friend who got a little too talkative at parties, or maybe you even noticed they started having sinus issues a lot or nosebleeds. And why are their pupils so big anyways? Like any chronic condition, addiction can come on gradually. Unfortunately, addiction is the rare chronic condition where the people who have it are able to convince themselves and those around them that they don't need help and that everything's fine.

Learning how to identify cocaine addiction in a friend or a loved one is pretty important. Cocaine addiction comes with many risks including overdose, organ damage, and exposure to fentanyl. Being able to determine if a friend has a cocaine problem can literally save their life. Before we get into this, I need to say something. This video is only for informational purposes.

A medical professional is the only person who can really diagnose a person with cocaine addiction. What I'm doing is just letting you know what some of the major signs of cocaine addiction are. Let's get started. What are the signs of cocaine addiction? Cocaine addiction is like other forms of drug addiction in some ways.

A sudden loss of interest in activities, a change in behavior at home, difficulty at work or in school, all of those are hallmarks of addiction. But cocaine addiction has some unique symptoms of its own. And let's start with paraphernalia. If you notice your loved one has items like spoons, razor blades, and small plastic baggies in their room, desk, or on their person, that's concerning flack. Razor blades are used to chop up cocaine piles into lines.

Cocaine is often distributed in plastic baggies and spoons, especially small coffee spoons are also used to take cocaine. If a person's injected cocaine, look for spoons that have scorch marks on the bottom of them. Finally, crack pipes are a dead giveaway. Crack pipes are often made of glass, sometimes with a globe shaped bowl at one end. And they're often burnt from the lighters too.

So, some people use glass or metal weed pipes to smoke cocaine too. Crack has a distinct plasticky chemical smell when smoked. White residue around a person's a person's nose is also a telltale sign that your loved one is snorting cocaine. That said, let's look at some of the physical signs of cocaine abuse. Physical signs of cocaine addiction.

The biggest tell someone's using cocaine are their eyes. Cocaine dilates the pupils, which is the black part in the center of our eyes. A person who's using cocaine usually has a large pupils, and this causes them to be very light sensitive. So if your loved one is wearing sunglasses indoors, that could be a sign they're using. Another big sign is their nose.

Cocaine is absorbed through the nasal cavity when snorted, which both causes a person's nose to run and occasionally bleed. And if you're noticing your loved one seems to have sinus problems that don't end or has nosebleeds chronically, that could be a sign of a major problem. Cocaine can also cause a person to act erratically. Most people who use cocaine become very talkative. They can also behave in strange ways acting hyper and sometimes aggressively.

Like other stimulants, cocaine is a major appetite suppressor. Someone using cocaine might avoid eating for long periods of time as well. Why recognizing cocaine addiction is so important? Cocaine use is dangerous. By itself, cocaine can cause serious organ damage.

Cocaine use places tremendous strain of the heart, can damage the kidneys, and can even cause brain damage. Plus, fentanyl is often found in stashes of cocaine. So there's a risk of accidentally overdosing if someone unwittingly takes fentanyl. Convincing a person they need help is never easy. You can literally be a life saving force in their life.

Have you ever had an experience with cocaine addiction, either yours or someone else's? Share your story in the comments. When I helped develop The Edge Treatment Center's effective cocaine addiction program, I did so fully knowing the challenges addiction places on both the addicted person and those who love them. My name's Jeremy Artz, and I'm a licensed married and family therapist. The work my team and I do here help people make genuine change moments in their lives.

I've seen people come here with lives ravaged by cocaine addiction and leave here completely changed. Thanks for watching our video and don't forget to like and subscribe. And if you want to learn more about cocaine addiction, how it's treated, and how you can help your loved one live a life free from addiction. Just call us at (844) 590-0413 or reach out through the one of the links below.