http://articles.viraloidplus.com/rss.xml A blog about viraloidplus.com daily 365 1901-01-01T00:00+00:00 http://articles.viraloidplus.com/?a=35821 <p>by Gregg Hall</p><p>Understanding the term abuse becomes difficult when individuals utilize the term in a discussion on steroids.</p><p>For example, we can flip on &quot;60 Minutes&quot; and her Andy Rooney talk about how doctors are using steroids to elongate the lives of AIDS and cancer patients. Then we can flip the channel and hear about athletes abusing the same life prolonging drug. You don&rsquo;t even have to turn on the television to hear the discrepancy: just pick up an issue of Time to read how steroids have helped chronically ill patients and then read in Newsweek how steroids stunt growth. Thus we first need to define &quot;abuse&quot; before continuing this discussion. Clearly steroids have lots of effects, both good and bad. So let&rsquo;s put our focus on something that everyone can relate to regarding abuse: alcohol. Don&rsquo;t freak out because we&rsquo;ll get back to discussing the problem of steroid abuse. But we first must define abuse.</p><p>Clearly we can differentiate between a social drinker and an alcoholic. One damages his body while the other controls his intake of alcohol and keeps tabs on his reactions while drinking. Summarily, alcohol abuse occurs when the cost/benefit ratio spikes and the alcoholic spends more time feeling worse the morning after drinking than he felt good drinking the night before. The same principles apply to steroid use. In some cases people feel great while on a cycle, but then crash after it and feel terrible when they off their cycle. Abuse occurs when an individual can no longer control his intake of a substance and the lack of control registers as a compulsive habit. With alcohol, at this point alcoholism manifests in an individual. Let&rsquo;s look at another topic that we hear a great deal about thanks to the media. Most people have read or heard about professional athletes who receive painkiller prescriptions while recovering from an injury. And while these painkillers help heal their bodies, the continual use leads to an eventual addiction.</p><p>Abusers in hindsight can see the downward spiral along with the point where it started. When looking at drugs like alcohol and painkillers, we can see a clear line between abuse and use. Abuse occurs when the cost outweighs the benefit. Let&rsquo;s examine steroid abuse now.</p><p>In actuality, genuine steroid abuse rarely occurs. Typically we find steroid abuse highest in those uneducated about their effects and side effects. Usually abuse occurs accidentally with this group. Abuse is dose dependent, and thus as the steroids remain useful, the user will continue to take them at an increasing rate until he has passed the threshold and begins taking too much. Here he has crossed over from use to abuse.</p><p>Thus when we see the typical athlete healthy both emotionally and psychologically, we don&rsquo;t see much genuine abuse. Instead, we see an athlete using steroids to either prolong his career or avoid injury.</p><h3 class="popup">About the Author </h3><p>Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Florida. Find more about this as well as Anabolic Steroids at <a href="http://www.viraloidplus.com/">http://www.viraloidplus.com</a></p> 2006-09-23T18:41-04:00 http://articles.viraloidplus.com/?a=35796 <p>by Gregg Hall</p><p>Thanks to the immense media coverage of successful athletes who previously used steroids, teenagers throwing caution to the wind with their use. Unfortunately, irreparable damage and even death results from their uneducated use of this powerful drug. This indeed is serious. <br /><br />Anabolic steroids, a synthetic substance, promote the growth of skeletal muscles and are related to testosterone. Since their discovery in 1930, over 100 known steroids have been developed. Weight liters utilized this drug first after hearing about its effectiveness in building skeletal muscle in lab animals. Other athletes soon followed suit, and the results may forever change the outcome of sports. <br /><br />Steroids are not always illegal. Doctors use them to treat impotence, delayed puberty, and even HIV infection. Though illegal in the United States, steroids find their way into the hands of teenagers through sophisticated smuggling rings and savvy drug dealers. Steroids can physically change a teenager's body, and not always for good. <br /><br />To take steroids, a user must inject them into his body. Unfortunately, users become sloppy, and many use non sterile injections or share needles with other users. <br /><br />Thanks to unregulated and many times dirty manufacturing environments, many users are at risk for hepatitis B and C, HIV, and other viral infections. Infections tend to form at the injection site where an abscess will eventually form. Endocarditis, or the inflammation of the inner lining of the heart, can also result from the dirty environment. <br /><br />Liver tumors and blood filled cysts in the liver have been linked to steroid use as well. When the cysts rupture, they cause internal bleeding and other potential life threatening conditions. <br /><br />The cardiovascular system also suffers when an athlete shoots up with steroids. Heart attacks and strokes can happen to anyone on steroids, even teenagers. Many teenagers have died while taking steroids. Additionally, steroid use decreases the good levels of cholesterol. The risk of blood clots increases with steroid use as well. <br /><br />On a more vain side, steroids can cause skin problems like acne and cysts. Oily skin and hair also result from steroid use. <br /><br />Hormonally steroids do irreversible and reversible damage. If the drug user stops after a short time, the otherwise irreversible effect of reduced sperm count and testicle shrinking can reverse. Other changes are not reversible, such as male pattern baldness and breast development in men. <br /><br />Conversely, women who take steroids often experience masculine traits, such as a loss of body fat, breast shrinkage, and coarse skin. A body hair begins to grow excessively while their scale hair thins. Women on steroids also tend to have an enlarged clitoris and deeper voice. <br /><br />Finally, steroid use can literally stunt a teenage user's growth by causing bones to stop growing, locking the user into his current height. <br /><br />Pony up with your teens: talk to them about steroid use. Keep an eye open for changes in their body, and be open with them.</p><h3 class="popup">About the Author </h3><p>Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Florida. Find more about this as well as Legal Steroids at <a href="http://www.viraloidplus.com/">http://www.viraloidplus.com</a></p> 2006-09-23T15:01-04:00