Effects of Cocaine on the Body Effects of Cocaine on the Body Cocaine produces anesthetic effects by interfering with the transmission of information from one nerve cell to another. Although used as a local anesthetic in eye surgery, it was soon found to damage the cornea and had other unwanted side effects. It increases the respiration rate and body temperature, and also induces vomiting. At high dosages, tremors and convulsions may result.
Cocaine causes profound loss of appetite, leading to severe weight loss and nutritional imbalance.
It also causes sleep loss. Because of increased demands on the heart during cocaine use, people with heart problems, such as hypertension or cardiovascular disease, are more prone to fatal reactions. If cocaine is taken through the veins, unsterile syringes can cause infections and disease. Chronic and compulsive cocaine use leads to depression, anxiety, irritability, and other psychological complaints along with those previously mentioned. Despite the fact that continued use may not reduce the undesirable effects of withdrawal, as long as the drug is available, users find it very difficult to do without cocaine.