Steroids have become a very common term in athletic events. Steroids are a group of hormones, which the body naturally produces in small amounts. The body uses these hormones to help control metabolism, inflammation, immune function, salt and water balance, development of sexual characteristics and a person's ability to fight illness and injury.
             Steroids were first used in the medical field to help with the pains of arthritis. Now medical documentation is showing the side effects of using steroids for a prolonged time period. A person who has used steroids may find that their metabolism is not working properly allowing fat to accumulate in their abdomen, face, and back of the neck. Levels of blood sugar increase, sometimes leading to diabetes. Muscular weakness may develop over much of the body. Bones, eyes, skin, blood pressure, immune system, and emotions also were affected by the use of steroids in medical patients.
             Despite these side effects, steroids are continuously used in the medical field. Steroids are most often used to help with inflammation while no other drugs were able to do this with the same effectiveness. Since the knowledge of these side effects that go along with steroids has come about, new prescriptions have developed. One of the most common is to administer doses only once a day or every other day. This gives the body time to flush out the steroids before another dose. When steroids are used to treat the symptoms of asthma it is inhaled, this sends the medicine straight to the lungs surface without touching other body parts. These new methods along with others have helped lower the amount of side effects patients suffer do to steroid usage.
             People who take steroids to enhance their physical capabilities also are hampered by the side effects of steroids. Males who take large doses of anabolic steroids tend to experience changes in sexual characteristics. Some possible side effects a...