There are various reasons why teenagers might start using steroids. They could for example want to live the lavish lifestyle that professional athletes enjoy. This professional athletes also enjoy fame and we all know how women worship there feet due to there great body physique.
This coupled with the positive picture painted by the media about steroids has driven a lot of teens to start using steroids.
The risk of abuse:
Steroids are synthetic proteins which are designed to resemble the male sex hormone. Anabolic steroids also referred to as androgenic steroids can be used in the treatment of asthma, skin problems, inflammation, impotence, and breast cancer. However for them to be able to enhance a bodybuilder or athlete’s performance, the doses are taken in high amount of 10 to 100 times the recommended dosage.
This leads to a hormonal imbalance in the body. When you have hormonal imbalance your health will be affected adversely. This will affect both your psychological health and your physical health. Your psychological health will be affected in the following ways; you could experience mood swings, you could become very aggressive, you could suffer from withdrawal syndrome, depression, and suicidal tendencies. Your physical health will be affected as follows; liver disorders, kidney failures, and heart conditions and strokes. There are other side effects which are less life threatening and if a person quits taking steroids they could be reversible. They include; in men- shrinking testicles, there breasts could enlarge, low sexual drive or libido, impotence, and premature lose of hair. In females the side effects include; growth of facial hair, disrupted menstrual cycles, development of a hoarse voice, and an enlargement of the clitoris.
Warning signs:
How can one tell if there teenager is using steroids? There are several signs to look for, but sometimes parents tend to overlook the most visible sign, which is fast muscle growth. Other detectable signs include; jaundice growth of facial and body hair, reduction of breasts in females, enlargement of breasts in males, changing of voice in females, hair loss, and occurrence of acne. There behavior also changes as a result of hormonal imbalance. They become obsessed with there body image and working out. They become very aggressive, euphoric, confused, pathologic anxieties, paranoia, depression, suffer from sleeping disorders, and there sexual drive is also enhanced.
Talk to the child:
The moment you notice any of the signs stated above you need to sit your child down and ask them whether they are on steroids. Do not confront them, but instead try to get the information out of them in a gentle manner. If you confront them, they will lie to you out of fear. The next thing you need to do is advice them about the health implications of using steroids such as heart diseases, liver disorders, kidney failure and cancer.
You should also try and find out what made the kid to start using steroids in the first place. This will enable you to advice them on ways they can fight the urge to use steroids. You need to be involved in the life of your teen so that you can be able to offer them guidance about using drugs.
Tags: anabolic steroids, health, heart conditions, hormonal imbalance, kidney failures, liver disorders, steroid, steroid abuse, steroid alternatives, steroids, strokes, teen bodybuilding, teen steroid users