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Medical Author:

Roxanne Dryden-Edwards, MD

Roxanne Dryden-Edwards, MD

Dr. Roxanne Dryden-Edwards is an adult, child, and adolescent psychiatrist. She is a former Chair of the Committee on Developmental Disabilities for the American Psychiatric Association, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, and Medical Director of the National Center for Children and Families in Bethesda, Maryland.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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First and foremost, the cocaine abuser must stop using the drug and other drugs that accompany its use. Not many complications of cocaine use can be treated at home. The most common complications are psychiatric in nature.

• Anxiety, mild agitation, loss of appetite, insomnia, irritability, mild panic attacks, mild depression, and mild headaches could probably be treated at home by stopping the use of the drug and observing the user.
• Runny noses, nasal congestion, and brief nosebleeds can be also be cared for at home by stopping the drug, increasing the humidity of the air breathed in with vaporizers and humidifiers, and direct nasal pressure for 10 minutes to stop the nosebleed. Apply a topical antibiotic such as bacitracin or petroleum jelly to help with the drying and crusting. Avoid nose picking.
• The chronic cough or coughing up of black, nonbloody phlegm can be treated again by cessation of cocaine smoking and other drugs such as tobacco or marijuana. Over-the-counter cough medicines containing the ingredient guaifenesin, the active compound in Robitussin, plus increased water drinking may help.
• IV drug users who do not stop using cocaine may lower their exposure to communicable diseases and infection by not reusing or sharing needles. Cleansing the skin properly prior to the injection also decreases risk of infection.

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