We have a crisis on our hands. This crisis is about drug abuse in our society. We all need to stand up to this menace plaguing society by taking the right actions. We cannot afford to keep dragging our feet as the situation keeps getting worse when drastic measures are not taken. Just so you understand how bad this crisis is, you can visit: https://icjia.illinois.gov/
There are major players at the forefront of managing and even solving this crisis. One of them is addiction rehab centers. These health service providers are in a better position to help rehabilitate people that are already addicted to these controlled substances.
Aside from these health service providers, sensitization on drug use and its effects need to be done from time to time. This would help reduce the rate at which people eventually get hooked on these hard drugs. This is because people would be taught how the side effects of using these drugs far outweigh the few gains. But people must also know how to tell if someone is on drugs. This would help in a lot of ways. For instance, the situation can be handled before it degenerates into something more severe.
Well, this article will address this. However, we will be more specific about cocaine use. This is because there are many hard drugs that people can be addicted to, and they all have their peculiarities. We have also decided to focus on cocaine as it is an age-long and commonly abused drug.
How to Tell if Someone Is Addicted to Cocaine
Often, addicts do not get the needed treatment in rehab centers until things get out of hand. In many cases, the treatment ends up being effective and the patients are back to a good state. But even at that, the situation could be a lot better if rehabilitation had commenced earlier.
There are reasons why this is sadly the case. One of the reasons is that people are unable to notice the addict’s downward spiral. This is why people have to be well sensitized not only to avoid becoming addicts but to help those that are hooked as early as possible. To this end, here are some signs that suggest a person is addicted to cocaine:
Weight Loss
This is one of the telltale signs of someone that has this problem. Some sources claim that this happens because drugs affect one’s appetite. They explain that users would not want to eat, and this could be responsible.
Well, this is not the case in light of new studies and documented experiences of addicts. You should even know that addicts are likely to consume more and still end up this way. This is because of how the body’s usual metabolic reactions are altered.
On the other hand, weight gain is one of the signs that usually suggest the effectiveness of addiction rehabilitation. If you would like to know more about this, you can read this article.
Dilated Pupils
The need to face the drug abuse crisis head-on requires that we be very observant. This is because the average addict would not admit they are facing this problem even to loved ones. They withdraw to practice this activity and keep to themselves a lot of the time.
For this reason, it is of utmost importance that we are all observant. Against this backdrop, one of the very notable signs that someone may be battling a cocaine addiction problem is the look of the person’s eye. This is especially when the person has just used the hard drug.
There is even such a thing as cocaine pupils or cocaine eyes. The eyes would be large, and the pupils would be dilated. One of the reasons for this effect is that this drug is a stimulant. As a result, the dilated pupils and large eyes are reactions to the release of brain chemicals and endorphins in enormous amounts.
You may also notice bloodshot in the eye of the person. You should not take these signs for granted if you notice them.
Nose Bleeding
People that are addicted to cocaine use this controlled substance in various ways. One of the ways and a quite common one at that is sniffing or snorting. Many of these addicts use this method because it does not require too much paraphernalia. Sniffing or snorting means that the nasal canal is involved. For this reason, nose bleeding is how this part of the body pays the costly price for cocaine abuse.
The reason the nose can end up bleeding is that long-term use by sniffing or snorting causes inappropriate congestion and discharge in the nasal region. As a result, the extremely sensitive lining of the nasal passage would become irritated. This eventually leads to rupture and bleeding. This can even be frequent, which explains the term epistaxis.
Mood Swings
We cannot stress enough the need to be very observant. Being observant will ensure that we do not take certain signs for granted as they could suggest a loved one is having this problem.
One of the commonly overlooked signs of cocaine abuse is mood swings. When a person that does not have a temperament given to mood swings begins to have dramatic mood swings, you need to start asking questions and taking action. You can never be too careful.
Cocaine can cause mood swings. This is both in the short and long term. The reason is that it is a psychoactive drug. This means that behavioral changes can happen in the short and long term because of the drug’s adverse effect on the user’s brain.
Conclusion
We have walked you through some of the signs that suggest addiction treatment is needed for a cocaine addict. As explained a couple of times here, we all need to be very observant. This is so that we do not miss these signs no matter how mild or minor they may seem. If you eventually realize that there is cause for concern, the right addiction rehab center has to be consulted for treatment.
