Health Risks Of Anabolic Steroids

Anabolic steroids are hot topics for the mass media, and obviously popular among certain people, particularly athletes and competitive bodybuilders. There are fairly dramatic benefits, visible and evident, and a whole variety of horror stories regarding their use and misuse.

But what are the real hazards, the real health risks of taking anabolic steroids, and how real are they?

First, it should be noted that primarily these risks are attributed to misuse or overuse of anabolic steroids. In fact, anabolic steroids are used for a variety of legitimate medical reasons having nothing to do with cosmetic or strengthening goals. However, anabolic steroids can be abused and lead to a variety of health risks, including very serious ones, even cancer.

Other risks include hypertension (high blood pressure), cholesterol problems (lowering of HDL, or “good” cholesterol and an increase in LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, increasing risk for heart disease and stroke), liver and kidney tumors, and more minor but still significant side effects such as severe acne and tremulousness.

Perhaps the most serious risk from anabolic steroids, at least from those anabolic steroids that are injected, is the chance of contracting disease from shared needles, such as HIV/AIDS.

There are myths about anabolic steroids, but it’s always important to know the real risks, too.