Harmful Effects of Steroids
Are the pros better than the cons in taking anabolic steroids? Anabolic steroids are injected into people so they can increase the amount of testosterone in their system. The official name of this dangerous drug is Anabolicandrogenic steroids. The effects of steroids range from temporary to long-term damage. They are not used by professionals and college athletes for that reason. “The International Olympic Committee, National Collegiate Athletic Association and other professional sports leagues (NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL) have banned the usage of steroids by athletes,” (“Steroid Abuse in Today’s Society” 16).
This is because they have harmful side effects and they give an unfair advantage to the user. In 1990, an act was passed that stated that any drug that contained testosterone could be considered an anabolic steroid. Steroids can make a person physically fit, but the side effects of taking steroids are more deadly than the physical outcome.
Anabolic steroids generally are used by athletes, bodybuilders, wrestlers, and fitness junkies. These occupations require people to be physically fit and muscular so they can perform at their work at the highest level. Other occupations that may be familiar with steroid use include: construction workers, body guards, and law enforcement officers. In a survey, taken by a random group of people, said that they would take the testosterone-filled drug to excel in sports or just to perform better at their job. Males who are not athletes use steroids to increase their muscle mass and strength and to make them feel better. Also, skinny teenagers who want to look bigger take steroids. This drug that makes athletes competitive has very harmful side effects. They make your muscles bigger, but putting twenty times the normal amount of testosterone in your body is dangerous. Three main things steroids are meant to increase are lean body mass, raw strength, and aggressiveness. One positive use for steroids is to treat muscle wasting, for example: “kidney failure, burns, HIV and other cancers” (“Steroids”).
The Essay on Effects of Drug Abuse
Drug abuse is a growing issue all over the world, and while the concentration on drug awareness has dramatically increased over the years, the number of families effected by drug use continues to rise at an alarming rate. Drugs are defined as “: a substance that is used as a medicine: an illegal and often harmful substance (such as heroin, cocaine, LSD, or marijuana) that people take for pleasure. ...
Doctors use steroids for positive medical results such as: “breast cancer, low red blood cell count, delayed puberty among some other things” (“Steroid Abuse in Today’s Society” 16).
Veterinarians use steroids on “cats, cattle, dogs, and horses for things like their feed efficiency, and to improve weight gain, and hair coat” (“Steroid Abuse in Today’s Society” 16).
There are many effects that range from short-term to long-term. One of the most dangerous effects in terms of diseases is HIV, which can be transmitted by sharing needles when injecting steroids. When young kids use steroids, the results are dangerous because the effects could become irreversible. “They can stunt the growth so they are rarely prescribed to kids” (“Abuse” 9).
Some permanent effects for both males and females include stunted growth, heart complications, and deadly infections. If inadequately used, the kidney, heart, and liver could be damaged in a life-threatening way. The greatest effect to one’s nature when taking steroids is aggressiveness. Taking steroids comes with psychological problems as well as others. Some effects include: mood swings, impaired judgment, nervousness, and many others. “Acne, jaundice, swelling of feet or ankles, reduction in the ‘good’ cholesterol, and high blood pressure” (“Abuse” 9) are some effects that take place in both genders.
Taking anabolic steroids can have many painful and aggressive side effects for males. Testosterone helps stimulate growth of blood, muscle and bone. At the same time, it can tell the body to stop growing. Men who take steroids experience impotence and an enlarged prostate, which makes it very painful to urinate. Having too much testosterone in a man’s body can make him do aggressive things such as: committing crimes, damaging others’ property, and more. Taking steroids as a teen male could turn them into an adult male physically, but not mentally. “One of the body’s many chemical messengers, testosterone promotes the growth of skeletal muscle and the development of male sexual characteristics in puberty, such as enlargement of the penis, growth of facial hair, and pubic hair, a deepening voice, and greater muscular development in boys” (“Steroids”).
The Essay on Side Effect Steroids Effects User
... effects of steroid use. (Stevens) In adolescents, among all other negative effects, the most noticeable is stunted growth. When the anabolic steroids are ingested, the growth ... of cheating their body by taking steroids. But, there are those ... confrontation. When users are abusing steroids they have an invincible ... effect of the drug is sterility. The testicles in males shrink in size after steroid ...
The side effects of taking anabolic steroids range from unattractive ones to life threatening ones such as heart attacks. More harmful effects for men include “low sperm count, insomnia, baldness, ruptured tendons, bursts of aggression, infections, HIV, depression which can lead to suicide” (Steroids 843).
Though women rarely take steroids, they may begin to take it after they are victimized from rape or assault. They will use steroids as a way to look less defenseless and less vulnerable. Women also use steroids not only for an athletic edge, but also to slim down and shed a few pounds. For those women who often use steroids, “they could possibly see irreversible masculinization” (“Steroids”).
Some extreme experiences women may encounter when using steroids could be discontinuance of the menstrual cycle. More side effects for women include: “growth of coarse hair on the face and body, enlargement of the clitoris, deepening of the voice, male-pattern baldness, and the inability to have children” (“Steroids” 844).
Anabolic steroids do not necessarily make athletes or other people better after they use the drug. Even sports organizations throughout the nation and the world ban steroid use because they harm the players and it could give the players a competitive edge, which is unfair. Steroids are so harmful that Congress passed an act in 1990 that said, “any drug or hormonal substance that are related to testosterone is an anabolic steroid” (“Steroid Abuse in Today’s Society” 16).
When taking steroids, the positives are miniscule compared to the negatives. Sometimes the abuser uses steroids just for a little while to get more muscular, but that still increases their chances of suffering from diseases or weakening vital organs. The aftermath of taking steroids can be life-threatening and can cause serious damage to the internal organs such as the heart and liver. All types of steroids should be banned and anyone abusing them, by using or distributing, should go to prison!
The Term Paper on Woman Abuse Violence Against Women
Male domination and patriarchy have been under challenge by feminists and the women's movement in recent decades. The economic, social and political subjection of women around the world, the violence brought against them and their confinement to the domestic sphere have been analyzed and denounced in academic studies. Most people want to build a new society where gender is not the central factor ...
Works Cited
Abuse, National Institute on Drug. “Anabolic Steroids: A Threat to Body and Mind.” NIDA Research Report Series. 1991: 1-9. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 06 Dec 2011.
“Steroid Abuse in Today’s Society.” Steroid Abuse in Today’s Society. March 2004: 1-16. SIRS Government Reporter. Web. 06 Dec 2011.
“Steroids.” Drugs and Controlled Substances: Information for Students. Ed. Stacey L. Blachford and Kristine Krapp. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 6 Dec. 2011.
“Steroids.” UXL Encyclopedia of Drugs and Addictive Substances. Ed. Barbara C. Bigelow. Vol. 5. Detroit: UXL, 2006. 864-883. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 6 Dec. 2011.
