The harms of strox don’t wait years to appear. A young man of twenty may enter the emergency department after one cigarette with a seizure, chest pain or a psychotic episode, complications doctors rarely see with bango. With continuation other harms accumulate on the brain, mood, heart, kidneys and digestive system, alongside the effect on study, work and relationships. The main reason is that strox compounds activate cannabis receptors with great strength, and that their concentration in each packet is unknown. Here we present the harms organ by organ, and separate what happens immediately from what accumulates over time, and what can improve after stopping.
Short-term harms of strox
Within the first hours after smoking the following may happen, to degrees that vary from batch to batch:
- Severe racing of the heartbeat and a rise in blood pressure.
- Nausea and vomiting, and dizziness that prevents the person from standing.
- Acute panic, a feeling of imminent death, and confusion in perceiving place and time.
- Agitation and aggression, or on the contrary stiffness, lethargy and unresponsiveness.
- Seizures in some people even without a previous history of epilepsy.
These symptoms aren’t always a passing “bad trip”; some of them need urgent medical intervention.
Harms of strox on the brain
Excessive activation of cannabis receptors upsets the balance between excitation and calming inside the brain, which is why synthetic cannabinoids are linked to seizures more than natural cannabis. With continuation many users complain of slow thinking, weak concentration and short-term memory, and difficulty following lessons or work tasks. Clinical observations indicate that part of this decline improves after stopping, but the speed and extent of improvement differ from person to person.
Harms of strox on mental health
Here lie the most severe harms of strox and the most common in clinics. It may cause acute psychotic episodes with hallucinations, persecutory ideas and incoherent speech, lasting hours or days. In someone carrying a genetic or psychological predisposition, strox may reveal a chronic psychotic disorder that was latent, or hasten its appearance. Added to this are persistent anxiety and panic attacks, depression, mood swings, and a raised risk of suicidal thoughts in some patients, especially during withdrawal periods. That is why any strox patient needs a specialist psychiatric assessment, not just withdrawal of the substance.
Harms of strox on the heart and blood vessels
Strox raises the heart rate and blood pressure, and cases of heart rhythm disturbance and chest pain have been recorded, and even syndromes resembling a heart attack in young people with no previous illnesses. There have also been reports of strokes linked to these substances. The risk increases with physical exertion or combining with stimulants. Chest pain after strox isn’t treated lightly whatever the person’s age.
Harms of strox on the kidneys
Among the complications that drew doctors’ attention with synthetic cannabinoids are cases of acute kidney injury, appearing as flank pain, vomiting and reduced urine a few days after use. Factors contributing to this include dehydration from vomiting, muscle breakdown, and perhaps a direct effect of some compounds. Most of these cases improve with early treatment, but delayed diagnosis may make the damage more severe.
Muscles and body temperature
In cases of severe poisoning, especially with prolonged agitation or seizures, body temperature may rise dangerously, and muscle breakdown occurs, releasing substances that strain the kidneys. This picture is relatively rare but is among the most dangerous things that can happen, and it needs care in hospital.
Repeated vomiting and the digestive system
Some regular users go through repeated episodes of nausea, severe vomiting and abdominal pain, in which they find temporary relief by bathing in hot water. This picture is medically known with chronic use of cannabinoids, usually doesn’t improve with the usual anti-vomiting medicines, and its real treatment is stopping use. With persistent loss of appetite weight falls and the body weakens.
The lungs and respiratory system
Because strox is smoked, it adds to the lungs the smoke of burnt leaves, solvents and unknown impurities, on top of the tobacco it is usually mixed with. The result is a chronic cough, irritation in the chest and greater susceptibility to respiratory infections. Someone with asthma or chest allergy may notice more frequent and more severe attacks. Repeated smoking in closed places with friends also exposes those around to the smoke, though the greatest harm falls on the smoker themselves. Respiratory symptoms usually improve within weeks of stopping, especially if tobacco stops with it.
Harms of mixing strox with other substances
In Egypt strox often doesn’t come alone. Combining it with tramadol raises the risk of seizures because both may cause them. With alcohol, pregabalin or sedatives, confusion increases and so does the risk of loss of consciousness and choking on vomit. With stimulants the burden on the heart doubles. And the more substances there are, the harder the poisoning becomes to diagnose and treat.
Harms on daily life
Away from the organs, strox leaves a clear mark on the course of life: failing or dropping out of study, losing a job, small debts that accumulate, and repeated family arguments. Driving under its influence is very dangerous because of disturbed perception and reaction time. Episodes of agitation may also end in injuries or legal problems the person wouldn’t have got involved in when aware. To understand what drives young people down this road despite all this, see the article on the causes of strox addiction.
Harms of strox in pregnancy
There aren’t enough studies on the effect of synthetic cannabinoids on pregnancy specifically, but what is known about natural cannabis is linked to low birth weight and some developmental problems, and the stronger compounds are expected to be a greater concern. Added to this, the mother’s poisoning with seizures, high fever or dehydration from vomiting also exposes the fetus to danger. That is why any pregnant woman using strox is advised to tell her doctor frankly, so that stopping happens under joint follow-up between the gynecologist and the psychiatrist.
Why are teenagers harmed more?
The brain in adolescence is still building its networks responsible for control, planning and mood, and the internal cannabis system takes part in this building. That is why the teenager is more susceptible to the effects of strox on memory and learning, to the appearance of psychotic symptoms and anxiety, and to the experiment turning into dependence in a short time.
Signs of poisoning that call for an ambulance
Call an ambulance on 123 immediately if there appear
These are signs of poisoning that can't be postponed even if the person starts to improve.
- A seizure or loss of consciousness
- Pain or pressure in the chest or irregular palpitations
- Severe agitation or hallucinations with danger to self or others
- High fever with stiff muscles
- Persistent vomiting and flank pain or reduced urine
Do the harms of strox go away after stopping?
Many of them do improve. Sleep and appetite return gradually, anxiety eases over the weeks, concentration and memory improve in most patients, and the vomiting episodes stop. But some harms may leave a lasting mark, such as a psychotic disorder that appeared in a predisposed person, or kidney damage if its treatment was delayed. That is why early stopping under medical supervision is the best protection for what remains. The article on strox addiction treatment explains how this is done step by step, while on the strox page you will find the full picture of the substance.
More from the strox guide
- Strox: the complete guide
- Strox addiction symptoms
- Strox withdrawal symptoms
- Causes of strox addiction and ways of prevention
Questions many people ask
It may cause acute psychotic episodes with hallucinations and persecutory ideas, and in someone predisposed it may reveal a chronic psychotic disorder or hasten it. That is why any psychotic symptom after strox needs a psychiatric assessment.
Yes, cases of severe racing, rhythm disturbance and chest pain resembling a heart attack have been recorded in healthy young people. Any chest pain after it calls for the emergency department.
Cases of acute kidney injury linked to synthetic cannabinoids have been reported, and most improve with early treatment. Flank pain with vomiting and reduced urine after use is a sign that deserves examination.
Regular use of cannabinoids may cause repeated episodes of vomiting that don't respond to usual anti-vomiting medicines, and their main treatment is stopping use with medical follow-up for fluids.
Concentration and memory improve in most patients within weeks to months of stopping, and the speed differs according to the duration of use, age and the presence of accompanying mental disorders.
