Methamphetamine, popularly known as meth or speed, is a highly addictive Schedule II drug often used for substance abuse. It has severe impacts on one’s physical, social, and emotional health. It causes short-lived effects such as a feeling of euphoria, energy boost, and an increased level of concentration.
Once these effects subside, the long-term effects start to kick in, causing paranoia, hallucinations, mental issues, and a meth face that is a combination of meth sores and meth mouth.
What are Meth Sores?
Meth makes the skin sensitive, causing itching and acne that results in meth sores – open wounds on the face, mouth, chest, and arms – of the user. Meth sores can last for weeks and even months, and if not treated properly, they can leave behind lesions and scars.
Causes of Meth Sores
Regular consumption of meth can restrict blood flow which causes the skin to become dry and hard. This gives rise to itching, and if a person constantly scratches and picks on their skin, it can cause meth sores. Also, after a couple of hours of consumption, the users sweat out toxic meth through their pores, thus, giving rise to meth sores.
Another cause of meth sore is ‘meth mites.’ One of the side – effects of meth includes hallucination. Chronic users of meth may experience a form of infection that bugs, or as we call them ‘meth mites’ are living and crawling under their skin. To get rid of these mites, users constantly scratch and pick on their skin resulting in meth sores.
Meth sores are often vulnerable to infections due to a lack of hygiene, cleanliness, and nutrition, further leading to internal complications.
Treatment for Meth Sores
There is no particular remedy for meth sores. People need to resist the urge to constantly scratch and pick on their skin to avoid the meth sores from worsening. If a person has open meth sores, they need to consume a healthy diet and keep the infected area clean and dry to avoid infection.
One can clear up infection with the help of antibiotics and proper wound care which is the manual removal of pus from the sores performed by a professional doctor.
Unfortunately, these are only short-term solutions, and to completely get rid of meth sores the users must address the root of the problem and eliminate it from there i.e., getting rid of the long – term meth addiction.
