Heart attack, testicular shrinkage and erectile dysfunction – these are just some of the side effects of anabolic steroids. In addition to freely available anabolic steroids, product counterfeits are also offered whose consumption can often have drastic consequences.
Fat muscle packages or just running longer and faster: Doping is not only widespread in professional sports. Often it comes in recreational sports, especially in the bodybuilder scene, the misuse of performance-enhancing means. Anabolic steroids are most commonly consumed there. However, the intake carries a high risk, since numerous side effects can occur.
Side effects of anabolic steroids
Anabolic-androgenic steroid hormones (AAS), also known as anabolic steroids, can cause steroid acne, cardiac arrhythmia, liver damage such as jaundice and cirrhosis, testicular shrinkage, and erectile dysfunction.
Women may experience clitoral hypertrophy, an enlargement of the vagina. This can increase the risk of cancer and heart attack. Also, psychological changes, such as depression, sleep disorders or increased aggressiveness, are some of the negative side effects.
With prolonged use of steroids and other doping agents, the body develops a tolerance. Thus, the consumer gradually increases the dose, and often several drugs are taken at the same time.
Counterfeiting of steroids
Trading in steroids is a million-dollar business. For this reason, there is now a large black market for drugs, on which more and more product counterfeits are in circulation. It can lead to false dosages and ingestion of incorrect and contaminated substances. Thus, health risks increase when taking significantly.
Prominent doping cases
Anabolic steroids have become known to the general public through doping scandals by professional athletes. One of the most well-known doping cases is that of the Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson, who was proven after his 100 -meter Olympic victory in Seoul in 1988, the intake of the synthetic anabolic steroid stanozolol.
In 1987, German sieve fighter Birgit Dressel died of a toxic shock. The athlete had been proven to take 20 different remedies from three doctors.