A recent national survey has found two-thirds of young men who began injecting drugs within the past three years were, overtaking methamphetamine and heroin use.
Combined with exercise and a proper diet, steroids work. But they have a range of negative side effects and harms. Indeed, most of the people who have used steroids in Australia perceive and report harms; only a small minority report having no concern, and, in one study, 97% reported at least one physical side-effect.
Some of the harms associated with steroid use could be considered minor or inconvenient, such as acne or increased body hair. Other side-effects can include increased appetite, water retention, reduced test size and sleeplessness. Many of these will subside once steroid use has stopped.
But, there are other side-effects that people often don’t consider. Steroids are injected, so there’s potential for harm from unsafe injecting practices, such as sharing or reusing needles or sharing multi-vial doses. Harms related to injecting may include persistent soreness or redness at the injection site, scarring or hard lumps, hitting a vein or persistent bleeding, swelling of the arm or leg, abscesses and nausea.
Steroid users do report concerns regarding their mental health. These include aggression or “roid rage”, and changes in mood and the impact of these on relationships with friends and family. Users have self-reported negative effects on mood, and these include mood swings or feeling more moody, and feeling anxious or depressed.
It’s also been suggested that steroid use can cause a dependence syndrome. This is probably the least explored aspect of steroid use. Interviews with steroids users have shown that some have continued to use despite experiencing negative physical or psychological effects, and some users indicate they are scared of stopping because they fear they will lose the physical benefits of using.
The latest research gives cause for concern and it’s really important that people who use steroids are aware of the harms they are opening themselves up to.
Combined with exercise and a proper diet, steroids work. But they have a range of negative side effects and harms. Indeed, most of the people who have used steroids in Australia perceive and report harms; only a small minority report having no concern, and, in one study, 97% reported at least one physical side-effect.
Some of the harms associated with steroid use could be considered minor or inconvenient, such as acne or increased body hair. Other side-effects can include increased appetite, water retention, reduced test size and sleeplessness. Many of these will subside once steroid use has stopped.
But, there are other side-effects that people often don’t consider. Steroids are injected, so there’s potential for harm from unsafe injecting practices, such as sharing or reusing needles or sharing multi-vial doses. Harms related to injecting may include persistent soreness or redness at the injection site, scarring or hard lumps, hitting a vein or persistent bleeding, swelling of the arm or leg, abscesses and nausea.
Steroid users do report concerns regarding their mental health. These include aggression or “roid rage”, and changes in mood and the impact of these on relationships with friends and family. Users have self-reported negative effects on mood, and these include mood swings or feeling more moody, and feeling anxious or depressed.
It’s also been suggested that steroid use can cause a dependence syndrome. This is probably the least explored aspect of steroid use. Interviews with steroids users have shown that some have continued to use despite experiencing negative physical or psychological effects, and some users indicate they are scared of stopping because they fear they will lose the physical benefits of using.
The latest research gives cause for concern and it’s really important that people who use steroids are aware of the harms they are opening themselves up to.
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