Cocaine users are at risk of their faces rotting away as ruthless gangs are 'cutting' drugs with de-worming chemicals for farm animals.
A shocking report claims there is a four in five chance the UK's supply has been 'cut' with levamisole, which causes human flesh to decay. Levamisole poisoning can cause skin lesions and discolouration and rotting of the skin when blood cells rupture, particularly in the ears, nose and fingers. Doctors also claim the drug that is used on pigs, cows and horses causes white blood cells to drop - leaving the sufferer 'feeling they have HIV.'
A shocking report claims there is a four in five chance the UK's supply has been 'cut' with levamisole, which causes human flesh to decay. Levamisole poisoning can cause skin lesions and discolouration and rotting of the skin when blood cells rupture, particularly in the ears, nose and fingers. Doctors also claim the drug that is used on pigs, cows and horses causes white blood cells to drop - leaving the sufferer 'feeling they have HIV.'
A study in the British Medical Journal said doctors were trying to treat a woman with mysterious open skin lesions and severe abdominal and joint pain but were stumped as to the cause of her symptoms. After running chemical tests on her hair, the team realised that the condition was caused by levamisole-tainted cocaine she'd taken. Levamisole poisoning can cause skin lesions and discolouration and rotting of the skin when blood cells rupture, particularly in extremities such as the ears, nose and fingers. Ingesting the chemical can also lead to a drop in white blood cell count, which leaves sufferers vulnerable to other conditions.
"It's a little bit like having HIV," said Dr Noah Craft, a dermatologist at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, during a 2011 spate of levamisole poisoning cases in the USAbout 10 per cent of those patients will die from severe infections - and they may be walking around like a ticking time bomb. The authors of the study said in part they wrote the report to highlight how difficult it can be to diagnose people who don't admit to drug use."It is essential for patients to be honest with their health care providers, so they can deliver the right care" lead researcher Dr Tjeerd van der Veer said. The international gangs are even 'cutting' heroin and cocaine with far less costly but deadly substances such as asbestos to increase their profit margins.