Sports and Drugs: Anabolic Steroids

Sports and Drugs: Anabolic Steroids

In today’s world, being famous is very important to athletes all over the world. In sports, the more popular and athletic you are the more money you obtain. It is not easy being the best on the playing field, so some chose to use easier forms of getting an advantage. They believe that drugs will give them that important edge over their opponents. Using drugs means that athletes don’t have to work for their achievement. Real athletes depend on practice and hard work to improve themselves in skill, power, and speed. Drugs are primarily used to treat an illness or a medical treatment, but the problems occur when they are used in the attempt to give an unfair advantage over competition. Taking them to improve your ability in sports is usually unsafe, sometimes life-threatening, and always being dishonest to both yourself and others.

There are many different types of drugs that enhance your performance. Some of them include: stimulants, anabolic steroids, hormonal growth-promoters, beta-blockers, and diuretics. The most commonly abused drugs in sports are the anabolic steroids. Sometimes they are also called “juice”, “hype”, “”pump” or “roids. These drugs are used by athletes who want to build up body muscle and increase body mass. Most anabolic steroids are artificial versions of the hormone testosterone. This hormone brings out male sexual traits and causes muscles, bones, and skin to grow. There are many different anabolic steroids on sale throughout the world, some have names of Dianabol, Durabolin, Winstrol, and Anavar (Mohun 21).

Steroids can be taken two ways: orally or injected. Taking them orally consist of swallowing pills by the mouth. Steroids can also be injected into the body with a needle. People who inject anabolic steroids carry a risk of catching AIDS or hepatitis from non-sterile needles. It doesn’t matter what way you take them, both ways are equally dangerous. Steroid use is mostly popular in high schools, college, Olympics, and professional sports. Many sports events and organizations have banned the use of steroids and have applied programs to test for such substances in their players. Organizations believe that steroids ruin the name of good sports. They believe steroids spoil the idea of fair competition in sports. Although steroids are commonly associated with athletes, many workers, females, and adolescents take steroids just to look, perform, and feel better (Dudley 8).

Many of these steroids banned from sports have uses to treat patients with serious medical conditions. These drugs treat disorders in men that prevent the normal production of testosterone. They are prescribed to people who lose weight rapidly during diseases or cancer such as AIDS. They are also used for patients who have been unable to move from bed for a long time. Steroids can come in different forms such as inhalers, injections, and creams. Steroid inhalers reduce asthma and steroid injections help treat painful joints and ligaments. Steroid creams are used to treat inflammatory skin conditions. Steroid use in medicine is limited due to the many side-effects on the body (Dixon).

It is unsafe using steroids because they are very dangerous to your health. Anabolic steroids can make people look stronger on the outside, but they create weaknesses on the inside. The main effects of anabolic steroids include increased muscle size and development in the opposite sex characteristics. When steroids are used the muscles are inflated making them look bigger and stronger. Anabolic steroids increase male bodily features on women and increase female bodily characteristics on males. They can also permanently stop bones from growing in teenagers. This means that a teenage steroid user may not grow to be his or her full adult height and will be shorter for life. Anabolic steroids have many harmful effects especially when they are used for long periods. Some effects will not go away when the drug is stopped and others will. Many changes take place in the body and will not be noticed by the taker (Wadler).

Typical problems people on anabolic steroids might experience include liver cancer, liver tumors, high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes, acne, elevated cholesterol levels, and weakened tendons. Men catch effects like reduced sperm count, shrinking of the testicles, development of breast, increase risk of prostate cancer, and impotence. Females may experience the side effects such as reduced breast size, increase in facial and body hair, deepened voice, and menstrual problems. Other harmful effects for both sexes include frequent headaches, yellow staining of eyes, bad breath, stomach pains, vomiting, diarrhea, yellowing of the skin, ankle swelling, painful urination, and sore tongue (“Steroids: Anabolic-Androgenic”).

In addition to physical side effects, anabolic steroids