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Slang Terms:
Gym Candy, Pumpers, Stackers, A’s, Anabolics, Arnolds, Bolins, Oxys, Balls or Bulls, Weight Trainers, Rhoids, Juice

Short Term Effects:
Psychological Effects
· Homicidal rage
· Mania
· Delusions
· Aggressiveness
· Mood swings/depressed moods
· Paranoid jealousy

Adverse Physical Effects
· Acne
· Oily hair and skin
· Cysts
· Fluid retention
· Jaundice

Long Term Effects:
· Infertility
· Premature balding
· Breast development in men
· Shrinking of testicles
· Excessive hair growth in women
· Heart attacks

Steroids
anabolic androgenic steroids


Form

Some are taken orally, most are injected intramuscularly.

When and Why it is Used

Steroids are used to improve performance in sports or to increase muscle size and reduce body fat. Steroid use is most common in males. Steroid use is high among competitive body builders and athletes.

Other Facts

Among both adolescents and adults, steroid abuse is higher among males than females. In adolescents, steroid use causes stunted growth due to agent that prematurely stops growth of bones.

Steroid abuse is growing most rapidly among young women.

In females, steroids have a masculinizing effect, resulting in more body hair, a deeper voice, smaller breasts, and fewer menstrual cycles. Most these effects are irreversible.

Some steroid preparations are manufactured illegally under non-sterile conditions.

These factors put abusers at risk for acquiring life threatening viral infections, such as HIV and hepatitis B and C.

Steroids are a Schedule III Drug under the Controlled Substances Act.