Why does meth make people ugly?
In: Biology
It’s a combination of things
1. Meth causes dehydration, that’s what’s responsible for “meth mouth”. It’s not because meth is caustic or whatever; not everyone smokes meth. Being dehydrated for long periods of time dries out the mouth and accelerates tooth decay. Failure to take care of dental hygiene can also play a part here.
2. It also causes appetite suppression which can lead to weight loss and a gaunt appearance.
3. Probably the most severe impact is sleep deprivation and long periods of being in a heightened stress state. This causes a ton of stress on the body which can contribute to aging. It can also cause paranoia, visual/auditory hallucinations, and drug induced psychosis in many users. That leads to behaviors like picking at skin obsessively which can create sores. And long-term high stress levels contributes to rapid aging in general (true for non-meth users too.)
It’s important to note not all these effects occur to the same degree in all users, and sometimes some of them can be mitigated by taking steps like drinking lots of water, regularly attending to hygiene, etc – and there’s people out there who do. I’ve met “healthy looking” users, fat users etc. The ones who fit the stereotypes are some of the worst and therefore most obvious examples. It’s still a terrible drug and is terrible for your brain and body, but I see a ton of misinformation even in this very thread about the side effects of meth and what actually causes them.
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