Most of the information out there regarding teens and drugs involve marijuana, cocaine and other recreational drugs. Little light is shed on another drug that kids are taking with greater frequency – steroids.
Teens might see steroid use as popular among professional athletes, especially with one of the most famous baseball players to date, Alex Rodriguez, admitting to using steroids, but when teens do use them, they face drastic effects to the body. There are many different anabolic-androgenic steroids including andro, oxandrin, dianabol, winstrol, deca-durabolin and equipoise, but many people just call them steroids, 'roids or juice. As reported in www.lcsun-news.com.
While the pressure to exceed both on and off the field is greater now than ever, parents and kids need to be aware of the severe side effects. Side effects from steroid use include prematurely stunted growth through early skeletal maturation and accelerated puberty changes, meaning teens risk remaining short for the remainder of their lives if they take anabolic steroids before they stop growing.
Other side effects include jaundice, fluid retention, high blood pressure, increases in LDL (bad cholesterol), decreases in HDL (good cholesterol), severe acne and trembling. In addition, there are some gender-specific side effects including shrinking of the testicles, reduced sperm count, infertility, baldness, development of breasts and increased risk for prostate cancer in men and growth of facial hair, male-pattern baldness, changes in or cessation of the menstrual cycle, enlargement of the clitoris and a permanently deepened voice in women.
Would you want to face any of these side effects? Even worse, would you want your kids to suffer from them? Do yourself a favor and take a Level 3 drug course to educate yourself on the dangers of steroids.