Understanding the effects of methamphetamines on the body is important, and in this article, we’re going to talk through what happens to your body when you use methamphetamines.
Methamphetamine is a very powerful and highly addictive drug. It’s one of the more common ones on the street and it’s one that affects the central nervous system. It’s been called ice, blue, and crystal as its club names, and it’s often found as a white, odorless crystalline powder. This can dissolve in water or alcohol or it can be injected into the bloodstream.
In the past twenty years, crystal meth has become one of the most notorious drugs in countries around the world. As a powerful stimulant, it has a high street value, and whether smoked, injected, eaten, or snorted, it can produce a very fast high. It’s this high that keeps users coming back for more. It’s still a serious public health issue, and it can seriously damage your health if not treated.
Methamphetamine & Your Body
The organs in the body are severely impacted when methamphetamine is ingested and it’s a drug that can cause terrifying long-term effects. With meth users, the sharing of needles is common, causing an even bigger danger to the health of your body. There is a bigger risk of heart disease, liver damage, strokes, and even Parkinson’s disease. The ingestion of methamphetamine can also be possibly fatal. Chronic methamphetamine abuse can force the body to deteriorate fast.
Methamphetamine & Your Muscles
There is a range of issues that can arise as a result of methamphetamine abuse and the muscles can be particularly affected. Some users can find that they end up in a hyperreflective state, with involuntary movement and twitching as well as stereotypical movement. Muscle issues can come from a combination of increased body temperature and dehydration, which is common in users of methamphetamine. There is also a link to rhabdomyolysis, which causes a toxic release of chemicals into the bloodstream. This can lead to muscle pain and kidney failure if not caught quickly.
Methamphetamine & Your Teeth
It’s famous for the “meth teeth,” and it’s not okay that this drug has such a terrible impact on oral health. It causes damage to the teeth and the rest of the mouth, and the decay can be fast. The lack of saliva due to dehydration can reduce the ability of the body to fight the bacteria and it can make the user grind their teeth, too.
Methamphetamine & Your Heart
The stimulant effect that methamphetamines have pushes the heart rate right up and over time, arrhythmia is common in methamphetamine users. When it becomes severe, it can be fatal and users can collapse as a result. Methamphetamines can also raise blood pressure and cause damage to arteries and organs as a result. The symptoms of the heart can be silent, which makes them more dangerous.
Methamphetamine & Your Skin
The largest organ in the body isn’t going to escape from the effects of methamphetamines. Users will feel a compulsive need to pick at their skin. This is often due to psychosis and delusions. The feeling of itchiness on the skin comes from the hallucination of bugs on the skin, and scratching occurs. This leads to open sores on the skin that are subject to infection.
Methamphetamine & The Liver
One of the most common effects on the body as a result of methamphetamines is in the liver. Some users share needles when they inject the drug and when they do this, they can introduce Hepatitis B or C into the system. Both of these can have a detrimental effect on the liver and cause Hepatitis to develop, inflaming the liver and leading to cirrhosis and bleeding.
Methamphetamine & Your Immune System
The whole body functions in sync, but with extended meth usage, the functionality of the body changes in some subtle ways. The use of meth has the potential to suppress the immune system, and this can stop the body from fighting off diseases. This leaves those used to taking meth vulnerable to various illnesses. Needle sharing can also spread HIV and that leads to AIDS, which can be fatal if not treated. The cells degrade over time and users are much less protected.
Methamphetamines are highly addictive and there is a compulsion behind their usage. It can be tough to overcome this on its own, with users continuing to further damage their health while they choose to use the drug. The right help is out there!