Meth Sores
Many people who use meth (methamphetamine) begin to experience meth skin sores, which can transform a person’s appearance with permanent scars.
What Do Meth Sores Look Like?
Meth sores may appear anywhere on the skin of a person using meth and in various stages of healing. A person may often have several open sores, scabbed wounds, and scars on their face, hands, and other skin areas.
Open sores look similar to blisters that have been opened, often round or oval in appearance with a reddish, wet, or oozing appearance. They may be fresh or older wounds in which the scabs have been repeatedly picked off, thus deepening the wound.
What Are Meth Scabs And Meth Mites?
Meth scabs and “meth mites” are conditions associated with meth sores. Meth scabs refer to the scabs that form over the open sores that are healing on the skin of people who chronically use methamphetamine.
Meth mites refer to the “bugs” that people who use meth feel crawling on their skin. Though there are no actual bugs or mites there, meth causes tactile hallucinations, leading to a feeling of insects crawling on and under the skin. Reacting to these hallucinations, people using meth try to scratch or pick the bugs off, which results in skin damage.
Causes Of Meth Sores
People who use meth often develop meth sores as a side effect of methamphetamine’s direct effects. Psychotic reactions often result in paranoia, hallucinations, or repetitive motions that may lead the person to believe that there are insects incessantly crawling across their skin or even under it. In response, they may pick at their skin to relieve the itchy feeling, remove “bugs,” or as an uncontrolled repetitive movement.
Strong mood changes can lead to heightened reactions to stimuli, encouraging them to do greater damage to their skin when it bothers them.
What Is Meth Face?
Meth face refers to a constellation of symptomatic facial changes that often develop in people who chronically use methamphetamine. In addition to face sores, people who use meth also experience:
- Sunken eyes (dark circles)
- Hollow facial appearance (loss of fat and connective tissue)
- Thinned lips
- Meth mouth (tooth decay and loss)
- Facial swelling
- Chronic runny nose
- Increase in wrinkles
Chronic meth use and addiction often lead a person to seek methamphetamine before meeting any of their other needs, like eating, getting adequate sleep, and staying hydrated. Combined with a decrease in appetite as a direct result of the drug, patients are often suffering from severe malnutrition, which is the underlying cause of the many “meth face” symptoms.
Timeline And Progression Of Meth Sores
Meth sores may develop quickly as a person increases their meth usage. Higher and more frequent doses may lead to more frequent or severe side effects, including tactile hallucinations (the sensation of crawling bugs on the skin) that lead to skin picking and sores.
Meth sores often heal at a usual rate of wound healing, depending on a person’s nutrition status. However, they may occur and recur as long as a person is experiencing psychotic symptoms from meth use.
Psychosis may last for months to years after a person stops using meth. Sudden stressors can lead to the recurrence of methamphetamine psychosis after initial remission. There is no clear timeline for the healing of psychotic symptoms and the skin sores that occur as a result.
Treatment For Meth Sores
Meth sores may continue to appear and recur as long as a person is using meth and even for years beyond. Seeking treatment for meth misuse or addiction can help resolve meth sores and the psychotic symptoms that precede them.
However, specific principles for home wound care can help prevent infection and minimize scarring of meth sores at home:
- Keep deep or raw wounds “clean and greasy.” Rinse the wound with clean water and apply Vaseline, Aquaphor, or another oil-based neutral ointment to keep bacteria and dirt out and keep the wound from drying out. This way, the wound has a chance to heal from the inside.
- Listen to your body’s pain cues. If the meth sores are painful from putting pressure on them or from another action, the pain is your body’s way of telling you that you are interfering with its ability to heal.
- See a doctor if they appear infected or seem to be worsening. Any open wound can become a source of infection if it is not kept clean or allowed to heal. Infected wounds can increase in size and cause problems if they go untreated.
Following basic wound care can help heal meth sores that already exist. However, the only way to prevent them from recurring is to stop using meth and get treatment for any ongoing psychotic symptoms.
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Risks And Dangers Of Meth
Using methamphetamines can lead to several negative health effects throughout the body, both in the short and long term. Short-term effects of meth use include:
- Increased attention span
- Decreased fatigue
- Feeling more awake and active
- Loss of appetite
- Euphoria
- Increased rate of breathing
- Irregular or increased heart rate
- Overheating of body temperature
Long-term negative effects of using meth can include:
- Psychotic symptoms
- Irreversible brain changes
- Cognitive damage
- Loss of motor function
- Increased distractibility
- Memory loss
- Increased aggression or violence
- Changes in mood
- Severe dental issues
- Loss of appetite and weight
Meth misuse is a risky activity that can have disastrous consequences in a person’s life. Stop using meth and seek treatment as early as you can.
Find Help Today
There are many dangers from using meth, and meth sores on the skin are just one consequence. If you or a loved one are struggling with methamphetamine addiction, it is not too late to seek help.
Evidence-based addiction treatment can help people with meth addiction find their path to recovery and the support needed to stay on it. Reach out to a treatment provider today to explore your rehab options to get started.