A woman has issued a stark warning after she snorted so much cocaine, her nose collapsed.
Kelly Kozyra was left with ‘a gaping hole’ in her face after she became addicted to the party drug following a night out with her friends in 2017.
The 38-year-old found herself using the class-A drug regularly — she stopped eating, sleeping and eventually was forced to quit her job to keep up the habit.
Ms Kozyra, who lives in Chicago, Illinois, US, started to bleed from her nostrils and was even ‘blowing out chunks of skin’, she says.
But she was convinced the injury was minor and would heal by itself.
Despite her alarming symptoms, she continued to snort cocaine, spending a whopping $80,000 (£63,276) in just over a year and a half.
Eventually, her nose was eroded by the party drug and a large hole formed in her septum, changing the shape of her nose.
Ms Kozyra compared the look of her nose to that of former Eastenders star Daniella Westbrook, whose long-term drug addiction led to similar nose issues.
Kelly Kozyra was left with a gaping hole in her face after she became addicted to the party drug following a night out with her friends in 2017 (pictured left before her drug addiction and right after)
Ms Kozyra, pictured with her late husband David Krabbe , 34, spent $80,000 over 19 months on the party drug
After interventions from friends and family, Kelly decided to live a sober life in 2021 and has since undergone 15 operations to help reconstruct her damaged nose.
Ms Kozyra, who plans on becoming a substance abuse counsellor, hopes her story inspires other users struggling with addiction.
‘I didn’t think I was doing that much, but it was a hell of a lot,’ she said. ‘After three months of almost daily use, I started experiencing bleeding in my nose and was blowing out chunks of skin.
‘I noticed the septum was deteriorating, but I thought it would just heal itself so I still continued snorting.
‘The septum completely deteriorated. Then I got a hole on the outside of my face, which grew to the size of a dime.
‘Eventually I had to shove my pinky up my nose to hold all the cocaine up there so I didn’t lose it out the hole.
‘My nose looked similar to Daniella Westbrook. I got lucky that it was during Covid and everyone was wearing masks so no one could see my face.
‘I kept telling people I had a sinus infection and was lying my way through it. I was horrified by the way it looked.
Ms Kozyra has since undergone 15 reconstructive surgeries to help restore her nose. One involved moving skin from her forehead to create a new tip and taking an artery from her arm to rebuild the blood supply from her cheek to her nose (pictured)
Ms Kozyra, who plans on becoming a substance abuse counsellor, hopes her story inspires other users struggling with addiction (pictured after surgery)
‘Cocaine destroyed everything in my life, including my nose.’
There are several reasons why cocaine can cause the nose to collapse.
According to information by UK Addiction Treatment Centres, because the drug reduces blood flow to the nasal tissues over time the tissues become deprived of oxygen and nutrients, leading to necrosis — tissue death.
Cocaine also is itself toxic and repeated exposure not only irritates the nose but causes cellular damage and tissue death.
The drug is often also cut with other substances such as talcum powder and other drugs which can also exacerbate nasal damage.
One operation Ms Kozyra had to reconstruct her nose involved moving skin from her forehead to create a new tip.
Surgeons also took an artery from her arm to rebuild the blood supply from her cheek to her nose.
She said: ‘It looks like a nose now. This entire experience has taught me so much. Now I live day by day, that’s how we’re taught to live through the programme.
‘I don’t have any plans of relapsing or using. I think being open about it helps me and other people. The more we talk about drug use, the less stigmatised it becomes.’
