Since the 1950’s some athletes and bodybuilders have been using anabolic steroids. In the 1980’s and 1990’s the use of steroids took a different turn, now the average person looking to get a better body and even middle and high school students looking to overcome Body Image problems or to perform better in their sports started getting into taking the drug. The idea was that they could get more from their workout without putting as much effort into it. Negative side effects are being ignored in the quest to get the perfect body or be the perfect athlete.
Studies show that indeed long-term use of anabolic steroids can take a heavy toll on a person’s body. The abuse of oral and inject able steroids is associated with higher risk for heart attack and stroke. The abuse of oral steroids can cause serious liver problems. Steroid abusers who share needles are also at a risk of getting HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B and C, and Bacterial Endocarditis.
Many abusers who inject steroids are at risk when they share needles or use unsterile injection techniques. Some steroid preparations are manufactured illegally under unsterile and unsafe conditions. Sharing needles and using unsterile techniques can put abusers at a risk for acquiring life threatening viral infections, such as HIV/AIDS Hepatitis B and C. Abusers also can develop infective endocarditis, a bacterial illness that causes a potentially fatal inflammation of the inner lining of the heart.
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