steroids

Throughout American history athletics have played a significant role in our national culture and identity. Sports occupy a special place in the hearts of the American people.
Our youth look up to athletes as heroes. Great performances on the fields of play are a source of inspiration. As Americans, we gain from our athletes a common, national pride.
Drug use in sports now puts all of this at risk. Drug use puts the lives and health of our athletes at risk. There is no victory worth the suffering these substances can bring. This threat is no longer confined to a mere handful of Olympic athletes. Today, drug use in sport can be found in the local high school football locker room and on the neighborhood soccer field.
Children--some as young as twelve years old--are turning to drugs to gain an upper hand in contests where only a gold-painted plastic trophy is at stake.

No one knows the uphill struggle that an athlete faces when competing against a competitor who is cheating through chemical engineering. Anabolic androgenic steroids are used medically for some forms of anemia, some breast cancers, osteoporosis, endometriosis, and hereditary angiodema, a swelling disorder. However, there is no sanctioned use of steroids for cosmetic purposes or athletic performance. Because of negative side effects and the potential for abuse, anabolic androgenic steroids have been classified as controlled substances with severe penalties for trafficking, possession, or use. Most athletic associations, including the International Olympic Committee, test athletes for steroids, and penalize those in whom steroids are detected.
There is a lot of information gathered by medical studies to show that Anabolic steroids have many harmful effects on the body. Anabolic steroids cause many visible effects occurring all over the body as well as internal effects on the liver and ventricle walls of the heart. Anabolic steroids are also shown that excessive usage can shorten a user s life span drastically. The one thing is that most of the harmful physical effects caused my steroids are dependent on the length of usage, the amount intake, what they were taken with, and how the user treated themselves heath wise while using anabolic steroids. If a user took all these in consideration, maybe a lot of these harmful effects can be avoided. It is very doubtfully though that all can be avoided. In conclusion, Androgenic anabolic steroids do cause many serious physical problems depending on the precautions taken by the user.

Rapid weight gain and muscle development though not as severe are a few side effects of steroid abuse as well as acne flare up, fluid retention, Jaundice (yellow tinge to eyes and skin), and Premature balding. Steroid abuse can have profound effects on the mind, causing temporary personality changes in some. Users may exhibit uncontrolled aggression and violent behavior called roid rage, in addition to severe mood swings, manic episodes, and depression. Moreover, users may suffer paranoid jealousy, extreme irritability, delusions, and impaired judgment from feelings of invincibility. During periods when they do not use, chronic users may experience withdrawal symptoms that intensify the psychological effects.

What are some of the side effects of steroid use?
A build-up of steroids upsets the body's internal balance, and side effects occur when the body begins to compensate to eliminate the excess steroids or hormones. Steroid abuse can cause stunted growth in adolescents, continuous headaches, bone pain, nausea, and changes in bowel and urinary patterns. An unexpected side effect is that steroid use can weaken the tendons, placing athletes at risk of serious injury. Cardiovascular System: Enlargement of the heart, a precursor to heart failure; high blood pressure; atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries, a precursor to coronary heart disease; elevated cholesterol levels; heart palpitations; heart attack; stroke; anaphylactic and septic shock. Reproductive System: In males, excess testosterone is converted to the female hormone estrogen which causes the development of female characteristics. For instance, men experience prostate enlargement, sterility, sexual dysfunction, baldness, breast enlargement, and testicular atrophy. Excess testosterone in females has the opposite effect, causing menstrual irregularities, deepening of the voice, baldness, fetal damage, hair growth on other parts of the body, sexual dysfunction, sterility, reduction of breasts, and genital swelling. Vital Organs: Prolonged heavy use of steroids can permanently damage the liver, causing cancer, jaundice, bleeding, and hepatitis. Steroids can impair the kidneys leading to kidney stones and kidney disease.Steroids can cause heart attacks or liver cancer, not to mention all the newly acquired acne that often develops. But with this new- found strength comes some harmful side effects. Steroids are extra hormones that are either taken orally or injected into the body. Theses hormones set off a reaction that sends an individual’s testosterone level soaring, which in turn allows that person to increase muscle size and strength. These are only a few of the hundreds of unhealthy things that can happen to you when you are on steroid.
Can steroids cause death?
Yes. Steroid-related fatalities occur as a result of suicide, homicide, liver disease, heart attack, and cancer

The majority of these steroids are illegally manufactured or traded on the black market which eliminates any quality controls. Steroids may be contaminated, mislabeled, or bogus.

Or perhaps do you think steroids should stay illegal because they have harmful side effects and promote an unfair advantage in sports. With the growing concern over steroid use in our country, we must look at what is really best for the future of our athletes and the spirit of competition. If many people already use steroids why not make them legal and let people take them at their own risk. It is said that over 3 million athletes and bodybuilders have used illegal steroids in this country alone.

They state that the unhealthy aspect of steroids comes from abuse of the drug. However, the fact remains, that in long-term usage, steroids are still bad for your body. Some people can use steroids and have no effects at all (Street 2. Many people, medical experts and athletes alike, feel steroids should be legalized. They feel that the use of steroids a few times and in moderation is acceptable.