What Happens To Your Body When You Take Steroids?

Whenever people want to gain muscle mass or enhance their performance in sports, they tend to think that taking steroids is the easiest route. Experts, on the other hand, warn that steroids can create havoc inside your body. Read on to find out more about the side effects of steroids — beyond, of course, the risk of being banned from taking part in most competitive sports.

What Are Steroids?

Steroids are synthetic organic compounds that are characterized by the presence of four cyclo-alkane rings that are joined to one another. Steroids differ depending on the arrangement of these cyclo-alkane rings.

Steroids function in a similar manner to the male sex hormone testosterone. Steroids can either be anabolic or androgenic. Anabolic steroids are known to promote skeletal growth. Anabolic steroids are often misused by people who want to appear bigger and more muscular.

Steroids as a general class of medication can only be used under prescription by certified medical practitioners. Steroids are typically advised for treating medical conditions such as asthma, skin conditions, chronic lung diseases, and various forms of allergies. Steroids are also prescribed by doctors for treating very specific conditions such as delayed onset of puberty, blood disorders, and certain types of breast cancer. Steroids should never be prescribed to healthy, young people with the objective of boosting their athletic performance or for building up their muscular strength. Steroids can either be swallowed or injected. Steroids can be swallowed in the form of pills or capsules.

Reasons for Steroid Abuse

Veterinarians and doctors can legally prescribe steroids for treating specific medical conditions. However, it is illegal to buy or sell steroids in the open market. When there is an excess build up of steroids in the human body, there is a high risk of harmful side effects.

Steroids are powerful hormones than can adversely affect the normal functioning of the body. When steroids are consumed by adolescents whose bodies have not yet completely formed, the risks of the side effects associated with steroids are even more pronounced. One of the most common reasons behind steroid abuse is the need for improving their athletic performance. The misuse of steroids is very commonly observed in athletes who want to boost their performance or bodybuilders who specifically want to gain visible muscle mass.

People also take to steroid abuse for reducing the body fat and for increasing their muscle size. Such people suffer from a psychological disorder known as muscle dysmorphia, wherein they feel inferior about their physical stature. Even though such people are physically well built, they feel that they are small and weak. Such people tend to abuse steroids for building up their body and to get the desired lean and muscular look.

Some adolescents also take to steroid abuse to exhibit their high-risk taking personalities in front of their peers. Such adolescents take to drinking and driving, carrying guns, and driving cars or motorcycles at high speeds without helmets.

Health Consequences of Steroid Abuse

Commonly observed health consequences of steroid abuse are listed below:

• Hormonal System: Over use of steroids interferes with the hormones present in the body and alter their normal functioning. Steroids impact the normal production of hormones in our body. Commonly observed symptoms of steroid abuse in males include infertility owing to reduced sperm production and shrinking of testicles, male-pattern baldness, and breast development. In females, over use of steroids can lead to masculinization and the side effects include the enlargement of clitoris, decrease in breast size and body fat, excessive growth of body hair with a coarsening of skin, and deepening of voice. Women can also experience male-pattern baldness with the overuse of steroids. Excessive use of steroids in females interferes with their menstrual cycle and can even lead to infertility.

• Musculoskeletal system: Steroid abuse can lead to a rise in the levels of testosterone and sex hormones in the body. This triggers a spurt in growth that is witnessed during the puberty and adolescence phases of our lives. This sudden spurt of testosterone in our body signals the brain to stop the growth of our body. The metabolites of the estrogen hormone are responsible for slowing the growth and inducing the fusion of the growth plates. Steroid abuse leads to the production of estrogen metabolites, which can trigger the premature fusion of the growth plates thereby leading to stunted growth. Steroids, when used in excess trigger muscle growth. The tendons are unable to keep pace with this sudden spurt of muscular growth and they lose their capability to support muscles. The tendons tend to tear when exerted too much.

• Cardiovascular system: Steroid abusers face the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. Cases of strokes and heart attacks have been reported in steroid abusing athletes who are even younger than 30 years of age. Our blood contains lipoproteins that are responsible for carrying cholesterol in the blood. Over use of steroids alters the levels of lipoproteins and as a result the levels of LDL (or bad cholesterol) increase and the levels of HDL (or good cholesterol) decrease. This increases the risk of atherosclerosis, a condition wherein fatty substances get deposited in the arteries. Steroid abuse also increases the risk of blood clot formation in blood vessels. The blood clots tend to disrupt the flow of blood and this can damage the heart muscles. Steroid abuse can also lead to the enlargement of the left ventricle of the heart.

• Liver: Excessive use of oral steroids can lead to liver cancer. Oral steroids are difficult to metabolize and their continued use can lead to growth of tumors which can even be malignant. Steroid abusers face the risk of developing peliosis hepatis, a medical condition wherein blood-filled cysts are formed in the liver. On rupturing, they can cause internal bleeding.

• Skin: Steroid abuse stimulates the sebaceous glands in our skin. The sebaceous glands produce oily substances which help in waterproofing our skin. Over use of steroids can cause severe acne, oily hair and scalp, cysts, and jaundice.

Another commonly observed health implication of steroid abuse is that the abusers become prone to infections. Many steroid abusers inject steroids using non-sterile and common needles shared with other abusers. This makes them prone to deadly viral infections such as hepatitis B and C, and AIDS.

Psychological Implications of Steroid Abuse

Anabolic steroids when used indiscriminately over an unusually long period of time can have serious psychological implications. Steroid abusers exhibit irritability and aggression and tend to commit serious aggressive acts such as theft, burglary, vandalism, and physical fighting. They also experience sensations of euphoria, increased tolerance to stress, depression, and disturbed reasoning.