Meth production: A look at what is in methamphetamine and how it is made

The most common health problem associated with methamphetamine use in the St. Anthony emergency room is “Meth Mouth,” and skin ulcers.

Skin ulcers are primarily caused by bad hygiene and sores from picking at the skin, Dr. Scott Hough, an emergency medicine physician at St. Anthony Hospital, said.

Meth mouth is a common side effect of meth use.

“It is usually just really bad dental decay or a fracture of the tooth because it is so decayed,” Hough said. “You lose the ability to do any self-care.”

Methamphetamine causes the small vessels in the teeth to constrict, leading to pre-mature dental decay.

Doctors in the ER usually treat meth mouth with antibiotics and painkillers and then send the patient to a dentist, Hough said.

Meth is made up primarily of organo phosphate chemicals that are corrosive to the human body.

If inhaled, those chemicals will damage the respiratory system and possibly cause it to shut-down.