What You Need To Know About Steroids
Have you ever wondered why steroids were invented in the first place? Are you still clueless as to what the real uses of steroids are? Do you ever ask yourself why this drug always makes a headline beside an athlete’s name? These are actually answers I personally would like to investigate.
What are steroids?
The adrenal glands that sit on top of the kidneys produce the hormone steroids. The sex glands found in the testes (for males) and ovaries (for females) also produce this hormone. Androgens and estrogens control sexual development in males and females respectively and progesterone prepares the uterus for implantation of the fertilized egg and maintains pregnancy. The body produces steroids naturally to support such functions as fighting stress and promoting muscle growth and development. The most widely used steroid hormone is cortisol.
What is Cortisol?
Cortisol’s major role is to deal with stress reactions in the body. The other main function is to contain inflammation. When we get a wound, be it small or big, the body’s
normal reaction is for it to get inflamed so as to avoid any
infection. The healing of damaged tissue will not take place
until inflammation device is turned off. That is why they developed the drug corticosteroid. This is an anti-inflammatory drug that can come in cream/ointment form, pills, nasal sprays and as local injections. All have very important uses and treat a number of skin conditions like contact dermatitis, allergies and asthma. It greatly helps in joints and muscles injuries too. Abuse of this drug can eventually lead to osteoporosis and the development of diabetes.
Why are steroids always involved with an athlete’s name?
The drug steroids was initially also used to help build up mass for tissue and muscle. It was also found out that it could enhance the performance of athletes. That is why steroids in baseball, body-building, football or any other sports were very commonly associated.
What steroid drug do athlete’s use?
The most common steroids athletes use to enhance their performance are Anabolic steroids. The development of anabolic steroids was to promote growth of skeletal muscle and to develop male sexual characteristics.
This steroid has many brands it is known for. Stanozolol is one of the anabolic steroids commonly used as a performance enhancing drug. It is also known as Winstrol.
It is generally the safer choice and it is FDA approved. This
comes on tablet form and is said to be kinder to the liver.
Another anabolic steroid that is usually sold in the black market is Dianabol, also used to aid muscle growth and change body composition. It was banned by Congress under the Controlled Substance Act. In high doses (30 mg or more per day) , side effects such as gynecomastia, high blood pressure, acne and male pattern baldness may begin to occur. The drug can give masculine characteristics in women even at low doses. Other banned substances like this are metandienone, methandienone and Averbol.
What are sex steroids?
The two main classes of sex steroids are androgen and estrogen, of which the most important human derivatives are testosterone and estradiol. Generally, androgens are considered “male sex hormones”, since it gives the one who takes it masculine characteristics, while estrogens and progestagens are considered “female sex hormones”. All hormones are present in each sex but at different levels. Synthetic sex steroids are often referred to as anabolic steroids. This is also sometimes called anabolic androgenic steroids. “Anabolic” refers to muscle building, “androgenic” referring to increased masculine characteristics.
Does anabolic steroid have any medical use?
Anabolic Steroids are used for treating delayed puberty; some types of impotence; wasting of the body due to such conditions as HIV; some types of anemia; osteoporosis (brittle bones in menopausal women) and for itching caused by a liver condition called primary bilary obstruction.
How does steroid abuse or misuse of Anabolic steroids happen?
Steroids for non-medical use are a misuse of anabolic steroids. Due to the appearance change that comes with it, more and more athletes, especially body-builders, use anabolic steroids. Usually the abuse comes in when they use it for maintenance of masculine characters
they got with it. This is orally or intravenously taken,
typically in cycles rather than continuously. “Cycles” refer to a
pattern of use in which this drug is taken in a
period of weeks or months, depending on the treatment and then it is
stopped and restarted after resting. Abuse is when this cycle is
not followed and when steroids are used like it was a vitamin supplement. Some even combine different types of steroids to maximize their effectiveness. This practice is called “stacking”.
What are the dangers of steroid abuse?
- Most of the abused steroids that are used for body building and sports enhancement are illegal. When tested positive for this drug
you can get legal consequences jail time, monetary fines, exclusion
from an event or team, or forfeiture of trophies or medal.
- Long term use can negatively affect the reproductive system. In males, steroids can lead to impotence; a reduction in the amount of sperm produced in the testicles, and even reduced testicle size. Females who use steroids may have problems with their menstrual cycles since steroids can interrupt the maturation and release of eggs from the ovaries. This interruption can cause long-term evils with fertility.
- Stunted growth in teens by causing bones to mature too fast and stop growing at an early age
- Liver tumors
- Abnormal enlargement of the heart muscles
