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Suggest Treatment For Swollen Arms In A Meth User

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Posted on Sat, 4 Oct 2014
Question: hi my girlfriend is an active meth user and she shoots up she misses her all the time and her arms are swollen and she hurts from head to toe.she is beginning to get a sore throat and she will not go to the hospital what should i do how can I help her?
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Answered by Dr. Karen Steinberg (24 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
Try to get her to a doctor

Detailed Answer:
Hi, thank you for using Healthcare Magic. Unfortunately, there is not much you can do to help her if she is unwilling to be seen. I am very concerned with her history that she has developed a severe infection that is getting into her bloodstream. This is a serious risk with people who shoot drugs. Such infections can cause heart damage and septic shock. These are life-threatening. Tell her these possibilities so maybe she will be more cooperative to being seen. Also tell her if she is getting something like this, she will eventually collapse and end up at the hospital anyway as an emergency. She could be developing strep throat, which is easily treated and causes similar symptoms, except the swollen arms. I am concerned about that swelling. In any case, if it's just strep, that still needs treatment because it can cause complications.

She won't get into trouble at the hospital because of her meth usage if that is what she is worried about, but she should let the doctors know about it. This is because people shooting drugs can get unusual infections that require special testing. Body aching and a sore throat are common presenting symptoms of a great number of viral infections that could result in later serious consequences, such as chronic hepatitis or HIV.

All you can do right now is to try convincing her to be seen. Even if you call emergency, if she is still coherent and refuses to go, they cannot take her. This is a difficult problem and I wish you success in solving it. If she is thinking it's nothing serious and will go away by itself, there is always the possibility she is right, but I think the chance of it being something more serious that will get worse without treatment is not worth the risk of waiting it out.

Hope this answers your query. If you have further questions, I would be happy to answer them.
Note: For further guidance on mental health, Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj
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Answered by
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Dr. Karen Steinberg

Internal Medicine Specialist

Practicing since :1981

Answered : 824 Questions

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Suggest Treatment For Swollen Arms In A Meth User

Brief Answer: Try to get her to a doctor Detailed Answer: Hi, thank you for using Healthcare Magic. Unfortunately, there is not much you can do to help her if she is unwilling to be seen. I am very concerned with her history that she has developed a severe infection that is getting into her bloodstream. This is a serious risk with people who shoot drugs. Such infections can cause heart damage and septic shock. These are life-threatening. Tell her these possibilities so maybe she will be more cooperative to being seen. Also tell her if she is getting something like this, she will eventually collapse and end up at the hospital anyway as an emergency. She could be developing strep throat, which is easily treated and causes similar symptoms, except the swollen arms. I am concerned about that swelling. In any case, if it's just strep, that still needs treatment because it can cause complications. She won't get into trouble at the hospital because of her meth usage if that is what she is worried about, but she should let the doctors know about it. This is because people shooting drugs can get unusual infections that require special testing. Body aching and a sore throat are common presenting symptoms of a great number of viral infections that could result in later serious consequences, such as chronic hepatitis or HIV. All you can do right now is to try convincing her to be seen. Even if you call emergency, if she is still coherent and refuses to go, they cannot take her. This is a difficult problem and I wish you success in solving it. If she is thinking it's nothing serious and will go away by itself, there is always the possibility she is right, but I think the chance of it being something more serious that will get worse without treatment is not worth the risk of waiting it out. Hope this answers your query. If you have further questions, I would be happy to answer them.