The risks for athletes in using steroids

The risks for athletes in using steroids

Most professional athletes are aware of the fact that the competitive drive to win can be very severe.  Besides the happiness of personal success athletes often strive for winning medals for their country or securing a spot on a professional team. In such cut-throat competitive environment, the use of performance-enhancing drugs has become increasingly common.
Many athletes take anabolic steroids at doses that are much higher than those prescribed for medical reasons, and most of what is known about the drugs’ effects on athletes comes from observing users. It is impossible for researchers to design studies that would accurately test the effects of large doses of steroids on athletes, because giving participants such high doses would be unethical.

Very dangerous types of anabolic steroids are designer drugs which are synthetic steroids that have been specially created to be barely discernible in existing drug tests. They are made specifically for athletes and have not been approved for medical use. These drugs have not been tested or approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and represent a serious health threat to athletes. These steroids can cause the following problems in males: Prominent breasts, baldness, shrunken testicles, infertility and impotence. In women they might cause a deeper voice, an enlarged clitoris, increased body hair, baldness and infrequent or absent periods. These athletes should know how these drugs work and how they can affect their health. The continuous use performance-enhancing drugs carried many inherent risks

Both men and women usually experience the same common health issues which include: severe acne, increased risk of tendinitis and tendon rupture, Liver abnormalities and tumors, Increased low-density lipoprotein or bad” cholesterol, Decreased high-density lipoprotein or good” cholesterol, High blood pressure (hypertension), heart and circulatory problems, prostate gland enlargement, aggressive behaviors, violence and rage, Psychiatric disorders like depression, drug dependency, infections or diseases such as HIV or hepatitis if drugs are being injected, inhibited growth and development, and risk of future health problems in teenagers. These drugs are appealing to athletes because besides making muscles bigger, anabolic steroids help athletes recover from a hard workout more quickly by reducing the muscle damage that occurs during the session.

This enables athletes to work out harder and more frequently without overtraining. In addition, some athletes may like the heightened feelings of aggression they get when they take the drugs. Some athletes take straight testosterone to boost their performance. Frequently, the anabolic steroids that athletes use are artificial alternates of testosterone. These hormones have approved medical uses, though improving athletic performance is not one of them. They can be taken as pills, injections or topical treatments. Drug  use among competitive cyclists was common in the 1990s and allegedly contributed to at least 18 deaths. Inappropriate use of drugs increases the risk of thrombotic events, such as stroke, heart attack and pulmonary edema.