Doping has serious health consequences. The adverse effects can be hard to determine in athletes because athletes who dope don’t usually talk about it. The substances and methods used in doping are meant for therapeutic use - to treat sick people or sick animals - they don't have the same effects on healthy athletes as they do on sick patients.
Adverse effects can be MORE SERIOUS for athletes because they often use higher dosages than patients (so adverse effects are increased). Another issue is that athletes often combine different substances and methods – sometimes to hide the use of prohibited substances and methods (so the adverse effects are multiplied!).
The many combinations and/or doses of performance enhancing substances used by doping athletes have not undergone official trials. So athletes who dope are acting as guinea pigs, risking adverse effects of unknown nature and unknown gravity.
Some athletes dope with hormones. Hormones are important in the body's regulatory functions. The non-therapeutic use of any type of hormone risks creating an imbalance that affects several functions, and not only the function that is usually directly concerned by the given hormone.
Additional health risks are present when the use of substances or methods involves injections. Non-sterile injection techniques, including sharing possibly contaminated needles can increase the risk of transmission of infectious diseases such as hepatitis and HIV/AIDS.
Finally, use of any substance may lead to psychological or physiological, bringing a whole new set of problems.
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