The horrifying rise of coke nose, where lumps of flesh can fall from the face and damage starts after just ONE DAY’S excessive use
THESE graphic photos of eroded noses and blistering sores might seem like the stuff of nightmares - but for some cocaine users they’re an everyday reality.
Known as “coke nose”, it’s the result of extreme cocaine abuse and surgeons warn it’s reaching worryingly high levels in the UK.
Cocaine use has doubled in the UK over the last five years, with close to a million Brits taking the drug last year.
The numbers are particularly high among young people, with 20 per cent of 16-24-year-olds admitting using over the last 12 months.
The Sun is highlighting this worrying trend in our End Of The Line campaign, which highlights the devastating effect even casual use can have.
Here the physical effects are laid bare, as users are left with rotten skin, flattened and collapsed noses and needing lengthy, and painful, reconstructive rhinoplasty surgery.
“The average age is someone in their mid-thirties and the biggest demographic rise that I see is males in the restaurant and financial professions.
“For people with extreme cocaine abuse issues, their nose may collapse and it is a complex problem with regards to reconstruction, often with multiple plastic surgery procedures.
There’s no denying the effects can be devastating. Former user Ian Higginson’s 25-year habit left him with painful sores, and ‘lumps of flesh’ falling out of his nose.
But it doesn't always take this long for damage to occur, with medics warning problems can quickly escalate.
“The skin lining is sucking the nose inwards because of the inflammation and infection from the cocaine use.
“In some patients the entire nose goes inside and just disappears.”
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'Injuries can quickly become devastating'
We previously revealed around two thirds of the UK’s supply is cut with an animal dewormer known as Levamisole, which can cause body parts to rot, and also speed up damage to the nose.
It’s something Mr Faris has first-hand experience of.
“It’s rare, but for certain individuals who we believe are genetically susceptible, it [Levamisole-cut cocaine] can cause drug-induced vasculitis - an inflammation of the blood vessels,” he says.
“For these people, they don’t have to have huge amounts of usage of cocaine cut with Levamisole before they can have quite a devastating injury.”
While there is surgery available to help those suffering from coke nose, it’s by no means a simple procedure.
In many cases a septoplasty and reconstruction of the columella (the bar of skin between the nostrils) are both required.
The first involves delicate cutting inside the nostril as bone and/or cartilage is trimmed and repositioned.
“In the case of reconstructing the columella, skin from the patient’s cheek or forehead may be used to reconstruct a replacement,” consultant surgeon Dr Gerard Lambe says.
“Incisions are made above the lip line and nose tip, to provide a proportioned connector space and the new columella skin is secured in place.”
Am I addicted to cocaine? The signs and symptoms of addiction
Cocaine is highly addictive and what can start out as a one-off can quickly turn into a habit.
Regular use of the drug changes the way the brain releases dopamine - a chemical in the brain that makes you feel happy.
But the high is short-lived so often users will take more to feel the desired effects again.
Over time, the body and brain can become too used to cocaine that it builds up a tolerance, which means you have to take more to feel the same high.
If you recognise any of the following behaviours in yourself, it might mean you've developed an addiction to cocaine:
- You're taking more of the drug to feel the effects
- When you stop or reduce your dosage, you feel agitated, restless and depressed
- You're struggling to cut down or control how much you take, even if you try to
- You spend a lot of time thinking about and trying to get cocaine
- You're disregarding family, friends and work in favour of taking cocaine
- You know the damage it's doing to you, but you can't stop taking it
Despite being experts in the field and well-equipped to deal with most reconstructions, even the surgeons admit trying to repair the damage caused by cocaine isn’t straight forward - and can take years.
“To rebuild a collapsed nose is a complex case of multiple plastic surgery procedures,” Mr Shoaib warns. “There is also a failure rate associated with these procedures too.
“After the operation it takes up to three months to see if it has been a success and then another nine to ten months to wait before you can do the next procedure.
“With every operation there is scarring and the surgeon will have to wait a year for the scarring to settle down before they can perform the next stage.”
As part of our campaign, Jeremy McConnell has revealed his struggles while gripped by cocaine addiction.
We also spoke to Sarah - one of the many women snorting coke in a desperate bid to stay skinny.