Most people know that abusing alcohol and cocaine is bad for your health, but understanding why using these two substances at the same time is so dangerous isn’t always as well known. Cocaine addiction treatment in Tampa can provide support for overcoming cocaine abuse—before recreational cocaine and alcohol use have a fatal outcome.
BoardPrep Recovery is an addiction treatment center that can help. We offer a variety of unique programs designed to target concerns related to substance use, like the combination of cocaine and alcohol. Call 866.796.4720 today to learn more about getting help with substance use at BoardPrep Recovery Center®.
Why Is Mixing Cocaine and Alcohol Dangerous?
Cocaine and alcohol are a popular recreational combination, especially at clubs and parties. Once a person tries the two together, it can easily lead to addiction. However, even one-time use of the two substances can result in death.
Cocaine and alcohol are a lethal combination. Understanding why these two substances are more dangerous when put together requires understanding how they work on the body.
Alcohol is a depressant. Depressants are drugs that impact your central nervous system by slowing down functions like your heart rate and breathing. Cocaine is a stimulant, a type of drug that has the opposite effect. It speeds up your breathing rate and heart rate.
When the two substances are combined, it’s like your nervous system is at the center of a game of tug-of-war. The nervous system becomes confused by the combined impact of a depressant and stimulant acting on it at the same time. This makes it much easier to overdose accidentally, as it’s harder to tell how intoxicated or high you truly are.
Understanding Polysubstance Abuse
The term “poly” means “many,” and so “polysubstance abuse” refers to using multiple substances at the same time. Polysubstance abuse always increases the risk of an adverse drug reaction.
When someone uses two drugs of the same type, like two depressants, it makes the effects more severe, making it easier to overdose. When two different drug types are combined, like cocaine and alcohol, the outcome can be even more dangerous.
Predicting how a confused nervous system will react to polysubstance use is hard. Combining alcohol and cocaine increases the risks of:
- Overdose
- Alcohol poisoning
- Heart attack
- Stroke
- Liver issues
- Increase in impulsive behavior
- Greater levels of intoxication
In addition to the increased health risks accompanying polysubstance misuse, effective treatment must address the more complicated matter of addiction to multiple substances.
How Polysubstance Abuse Treatment Can Help
Dependence on multiple substances is a naturally more complex situation than reliance on just one. Polysubstance abuse treatment begins with detox. However, safely detoxing from both alcohol and cocaine requires medical supervision.
Withdrawal symptoms can put the body into a state of instability, leading to a high risk of serious medical issues. Even after polysubstance detox is complete, a treatment program must consider all aspects of a patient’s health, including the contributing factors to why dependence on alcohol and cocaine has developed.
Get Help for Addiction at BoardPrep Recovery Center®
Don’t think that the “recreational” use of cocaine and alcohol is safe if you only do it occasionally. Mixing alcohol and cocaine even once can result in death. When combining the two substances becomes a regular occurrence, it’s even more likely to eventually lead to stroke, heart failure, and other fatal health outcomes.
BoardPrep Recovery Center® offers polysubstance detox and treatment. We carefully monitor patients throughout detox and create individualized treatment plans to facilitate lasting recovery from substance use disorder.
To learn more about how we can help with polysubstance abuse, call 866.796.4720 today and ask about the program available at BoardPrep Recovery Center®.
