Methamphetamine Health Risks and Effects

The use of methamphetamines is very wide spread, people of all ages abuse meth because of the long lasting euphoric high's experienced, because meth is inexpensive, and meth is so easy to come by. Methamphetamines are extremely addictive and very potent, because of this; many people have become dependent on them and are suffering the negative consequences from using them.

The amount of people that abuse methamphetamines is astonishing according to a survey that was done in 2009. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows that 12.84 million people age 12 years and older had illegally used methamphetamines at least once during their life. In this past year, 1.17 million people said they illegally used methamphetamines. As you can see, the abuse of meth is extremely high and because it's so potent and addictive many people today are suffering the consequences associated with its use.

When an individual uses methamphetamines it doesn't take long for them to build tolerance to the stimulant. In a short period of time the meth user has to increase their dose and use it more often which makes the already serious effects worse. The serious physical, psychological and emotional effects associated with using methamphetamines are severe and include:

1. Increased heart rate
2. High blood pressure
3. Blood vessel damage in the brain (stroke)
4. Loss of memory
5. Hostility and aggression
6. Bizarre and insane psychotic behavior
7. Damage to the heart
8. Severe dental problems
9. Meth mouth
10. Malnutrition
11. Hepatitis, HIV, and AIDS
12. Anxiety
13. Confusion
14. Hallucinations with sight and sounds
15. Chronic use can cause heart lining inflammation
16. Tweaking

Individuals who abuse methamphetamines by injecting it may develop:

1. Heart lining and valve infections
2. Abscesses
3. Pneumonia
4. Tuberculosis
5. Liver disease
6. Kidney disease

Many people don't realize just how serious methamphetamine use can be; many people suffer the effects for months or years after their use of meth has stopped. The psychotic symptoms can last for a very long time; stress can actually cause these symptoms to keep recurring.

Meth Mouth and Dental Problems Caused from Meth Use

There are a few reasons methamphetamine use can damage your teeth. Some people eat a lot of sugary foods after using meth, craving sweets like candies and soft drinks.

Meth users have been known to have problems with grinding their teeth or clenching their teeth from methamphetamine use. Some meth users actually have to suck on pacifiers or suckers to keep from grinding and clenching their teeth. Grinding can cause your teeth to crack easily but considering many chronic methamphetamine users eating habits are poor as well as their health and sometimes hygiene, their teeth suffer as well.

Meth use causes the individual to have a dry mouth because it dries out your saliva glands. When the mouth stays dry bacteria grows and doesn't get washed away. Also, when saliva is decreased the normal acid inside the mouth destroys the natural enamel on your teeth.

Tweaking

Many chronic meth abusers experience a tweaking stage that's associated with meth use. This stage takes place when the euphoric high decreases and subsides. During the tweaking stage, many chronic users can have episodes of paranoia and delusions that can become extremely and dangerously violent. This takes place at the end (crash) of a methamphetamine binge not at the beginning. Tweaking is so uncomfortable that many users need to use other substances like heroin or cocaine to help them through this stage.