In our society today, we witness many of our athletes being destroyed by the use of anabolic steroids. However, this substance is not limited professional athletes, as we are seeing increased use of steroids in our general population. Anabolic steroids may have uses in a medical sense, but the abuse of this substance presents numerous health risks that can take everything away from its user.
Steroid Abuse in the Fitness Community
While many people may think of steroid use as being an exclusive substance utilized by individuals with demanding physical requirements for their profession, many may not realize that steroid use may be found in one’s own gym. Many individuals may be using illicit substances like anabolic steroids or GHB to improve their own physical ability or appearance. Rather than using nature and FDA approved supplements, many individuals take substantial risks by taking a substance that may seem to yield more results, but cause substantial health disparities as a result.
Medical Uses of Steroids
While steroids are often viewed as dangerous chemicals like PCP that are solely purposed
to damage and destroy its users, the original purpose of this substance presented several uses in the medical field. Depending in the presenting condition, anabolic steroids has been shown to assist in either mediating the symptoms, or directly treating the issue. According to reports from Mayo Clinic, steroids have been shown to assist in the process of restoring body mass and weight to patients who are unable to gain or maintain adequate physiological state due to unknown medical issues. In addition, certain diseases (such as certain strains anemia or even breast cancer) can actually be effectively treated with the proper use of anabolic steroids. There have also been cases in which patients with hereditary strains of angiodema, which consist of swelling in the face, legs, throat, bowel, and arm swelling have experienced a reduction in negative symptoms. However, any use of anabolic steroids would require the use of medical supervision, to avoid any misuse that would result in substantial harm to the patient.
The Dangers of Steroid Use
Without proper medical supervision and administration, anabolic steroids present risks of severe symptoms if abused. For men specifically, many symptoms often include gynocomastia (the development of large breasts), loss of hair, and general infertility. For women, there are common of cases of excessive growth of one’s body hair, as well as similar patterns of baldness found in males. From a more musculoskeletal perspective, both genders are at risk of stunting one’s own growth if administered during adolescence. In addition, individuals using steroids are also at an increased risk of rupturing tendons, as well as developing high blood pressure, imbalance in levels of necessary lipids, cardiovascular complications, heart attacks, comas, psychosis, liver failure, Hepatitis and HIV (depending on the method and condition of administration), mania, increased aggression, psychosis, coma and death. For anyone searching for a means of improving one’s own physical state, the answer does not lie in drugs that do the work for you. exercise in conjunction with protein and other approved dietary supplements will bring far more fulfillment in physical fitness than steroids ever will.
