When someone suffers from a meth use disorder, the effects of their addiction extend beyond the substance itself. There are several side effects one can experience the longer one uses meth. One such common side effect is the appearance of meth sores.
What Is Meth?
Meth, or methamphetamine, is a stimulant that has highly addictive properties. Some people can get hooked on meth after using it just once. The boost of energy, the increase in the release of neurotransmitters, and the euphoric state one experiences while under the drug’s effects can seem quite rewarding.
Unfortunately, continued use of meth can cause health problems, lead to accidental overdose, and make it difficult to stop using meth without medical detox assistance.
What Are Meth Sores?
Meth sores appear on different areas of the body, such as the face, mouth, arms, chest, and hands. The sores are one of the more noticeable signs that someone is using meth regularly.
They are open wounds or can look like acne or insect bites. Initially, most people may assume they are acne sores or insect bites. They may not realize their friend or loved one is using meth. However, as the individual’s addiction worsens, those around them can start to question the source of the sores.
What Causes Meth Sores?
Meth sores are caused by the continued use of meth. As one becomes more addicted to meth, their addiction becomes the most important thing in their life. As a result, the individual will often ignore personal hygiene and not bathe regularly or change their clothes.
Meth sore can also occur due to minor burns one can experience when smoking or inhaling meth. In addition, meth sores can form near areas where liquid meth is injected into the body.
Another cause is itching and scratching, which is associated with meth addiction. As the skin becomes irritated, it can leave open sores in different areas of the body. Furthermore, a weakened immune system is yet another cause of meth sores.
How Does Meth Cause Mouth and Face Sores?
When meth is dissolved and injected into the body, the drug is often dissolved in water. As a result, as meth exits the body, it usually goes through sweat glands and pores in our skin. The meth in the sweat is an irritant to the skin. As it irritates the skin, it causes it to redden and sores to gradually form in the pores.
Unfortunately, when someone is addicted to meth, they can pick and scratch at the their mouth and face, leading to open wounds. These open wounds can get infected and cause health problems.
How Do Hallucinations Cause Meth Sores?
One of the side effects experienced while under the influence of meth is hallucinations. Sometimes, the hallucinations can make it feel and look like bugs are moving around under the skin. This condition is commonly referred to as “meth mites,” but the clinical term is called formication.
The person will scratch at the skin in an effort to get the bugs out from under the skin. Unfortunately, this leads to meth sores, which can also become infected.
How Do You Treat Meth Sores?
There are different options to treat meth sores depending on their severity. When the sores are infected, medical treatment is required to clean the open sores. Antibiotics can also be necessary to fight off the infection.
However, treating infected meth sores does not address the individual’s substance use disorder. In addition, due to a lack of personal hygiene and continued meth use, as infected sores heal, new ones will appear and continue to get infected.
In order to treat these wounds effectively, the addiction must be treated. For someone with a long-term meth addiction, taking the first steps to get help for their addiction can be challenging.
For instance, they may be afraid of withdrawal symptoms they could experience during meth detox. They might not yet be to the point where they can admit they have a meth use disorder. However, once they do bottom out or reach the point where they want to stop using meth, entering medical detox is the best way to treat meth sores.
How Does Medical Detox Help?
Medical detox is supervised detox at a medical detox center. Healthcare professionals that specialize in addiction treatment oversee the detox process. In addition, medication therapies can be used to help alleviate many of the more severe withdrawal symptoms experienced with meth withdrawal.
As someone goes through detox, they will start to improve their personal hygiene. In addition, open and infected meth sores can be properly treated. Furthermore, since the individual is no longer using meth, they no longer experience hallucinations or have to worry about meth irritating their skin. Therefore, the body will heal.
Meth Sore Treatment and Meth Detox in Nashville, TN
When you are ready to get help with your meth addiction and have your meth sores treated, you can count on Detox Nashville in Tennessee to provide a caring, supportive, and healing environment. Contact us today to start your meth detox treatment.
