The abuse of Anabolic Steroids can cause permanent injury to anyone who uses them. Unfortunately, not many teens understand this. Many children use Steroids in the hope of improving athletic ability, body appearance as well as increasing sexual desire. Adolescents, who have limited knowledge and developing bodies, have a higher risk of using illegal Steroids. As a result, parents need to actively update necessary information to prevent their teenage child from using Steroids.
The article will summarize what Steroids are, why people use them and how terrible the side effects of Steroids are on your child’s body.
What are Steroids?
Steroids are chemicals that help organs, tissues and cells in the body function. Steroids are hormones and are naturally produced by the body. Balanced Steroids help the body grow, develop and reproduce. Steroids can also be synthetic pharmacology, consisting of two main types: corticosteroids and anabolic steroids (Androgenic Steroids).
- Corticosteroids: Such as cortisone, is a prescription drug to help control inflammation. Corticosteroids work in the same way as cortisol – a hormone secreted by the adrenal glands. Cortisol suppresses the immune system by making anti-inflammatory substances.
- Anabolic Steroids: Anabolic Steroids are synthetic hormones that can enhance muscle production and prevent muscles from disappearing. This is a danger for your tween.
What are the side effects of Steroids?
Steroids help relieve symptoms of lupus, asthma, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and conditions like eczema. Not only used in drug form, but Steroids can also be used in the form of sprays, inhalers, creams, injections.
Some athletes use Steroids to run faster, lifting heavier weights, jumping higher, increasing endurance. Men use Steroids to increase muscle, promote muscle recovery, and increase libido. Women and children take Steroids to promote blood cell growth. Steroids promise bold results, but there’s little evidence that they offer any such benefits.
How do anabolic Steroids work?
Anabolic Steroids have a chemical structure similar to that of the sex hormone testosterone
is produced naturally by the body. Testosterone helps the body create or enhance male traits, such as increasing muscle mass, developing facial hair, deepening the voice, and is an important part of male growth during puberty.
When Anabolic Steroids increase testosterone levels in the blood, they stimulate the muscles to grow bigger and stronger. However, too much testosterone circulating in the body can be harmful over time.
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What are the long-term effects of Anabolic Steroids?
Steroids are dangerous for two reasons: they are illegal and they can be harmful to the health of pre teen and teens, especially when taken in large doses over time. Although Steroids help build muscle, they come with very serious side effects.
- For boys: Long-term use of Steroids can harm the reproductive system. Steroids can lead to physiological weakness, a decrease in sperm count, and even a decrease in testicle size. Besides, your child will have high blood pressure and cholesterol, as well as heart and liver abnormalities. Steroids also increase breast growth, hair loss and baldness.
- For girls: Teenage girls using Steroids may have problems with their menstrual cycle because Steroids can disrupt egg maturation and ovulation, having long-term effects on fertility. They can develop masculine traits like facial and body hair, and a deeper voice.
Both sexes will experience retardation due to rapid growth of bones and then discontinue growth at a young age, risk of liver tumor, enlarged heart muscle, acne, muscle pain, violent behavior and mood swings.
Other information about Steroids
In the US, drug testing on all athletes has become commonplace, and athletes using Steroids face legal consequences, including prison sentences, fines, banned from participating in event, being stripped of trophies/medals. The use of androgenic Steroids has been banned by many sports organizations, including the International Olympic Committee.
How can parents prevent the use of Steroids in the first place?
Parents often don’t believe that their teenage child will consider anabolic steroid use, but the truth is that the frequency of steroid use in this age group is much greater than you might think. During growth and puberty, your child is extremely concerned with the way people look at them, so they will take great care of their bodies and find ways to make them as “epic” as possible to prove themselves. This is also partly considered one of the negative influences of social networking like Tumblr.
Even if you really believe your child is not using Steroids, you should not be subjective. Install a content filtering tool so that when it find your child searching for information about drugs like marijuana, drugs and Steroids, you will be notified. Then, along with observing the child’s appearance and behavior, you will have a more timely solution, avoiding serious consequences in the future.
You should not be subjective because even though Steroids are prescription drugs, your child can completely buy and sell through “unscrupulous” clinics or on the black market. The challenge is compounded by the fact that on the black market sellers do not advertise the exact content of the products they sell. The teen may then not know what they are taking, what the appropriate dosage is, or the level of control and safety that has been incorporated into the manufacturing process. These facts make the risks of using over-the-counter Anabolic Steroids even worse.
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