Steroids in Baseball

Anabolic and androgenic steroids come in many different forms. The most popular form is a pill and is easy to take. The draw back of the pill is it is hard on the liver and kidneys because it passes through the system in a couple of hours. Another popular form is cream. The cream's advantage is it is easy to apply and is less harmful to the body. The draw back is it is very ineffective. The last form is injection. Injecting straight into the muscle gives the best results. Most serious athletes that use enhancement drugs take pills every day of their cycle and inject three times a week.

Some of the short-term affects of steroid use include mild to severe acne. Another side affect is called virilization, this is when the skin's pores get larger. Steroids increase the risk of heart disease because they raise the cholesterol in the system, which causes thickening of the arterial walls. (Anonymous,2003,p.1) Long term affects from steroid use can cause damage to the heart, kidney, or liver. There have been documented cases where an individual has died because they did not cycle properly.

Steroids are not physically addictive, but they can be very mentally addictive. When a person sees large gains in strength or performance it can be hard for them to stop their cycle (Stocker,2004,p.3) When a person cycles their doses they typically start with small doses. As they progress in their cycle