What are the most common types of drugs used in sport?
Many athletes will do anything they can to win. These days, athletes are expected to compete for their country and win Olympic medals. In this stressful environment, some competitors use performance enhancing drugs to help achieve their goal. Taking performance enhancing drugs (doping) may have its benefits, but in most cases, they come with more health and physiological risks than advantages.
Here are some of the most common banned and regulated drugs:
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| Anabolic steroids |
- Amphetamines
Amphetamines are central nervous system stimulant drugs that increase alertness and self confidence, improve concentration, decrease appetite and create a feeling of increased energy.
- Anabolic Steroids
Anabolic steroids (also known as anabolic-androgenic steroids), are synthetic versions of the male hormone testosterone. Some athletes continue to use them illegally in an attempt to improve sports performance, despite evidence that using them this way can cause many serious health problems. Many athletes use them to increase muscle mass and strength.
- Caffeine
Caffeine is a naturally occurring substance that has been used by endurance athletes for years because it helps you to stay alert and it improves endurance. It usually isn’t harmful but it does have side effects and is banned (in high doses) by many sports organizations.
- Ephedrine
Ephedrine is classified as a supplement, and is freely available, but is on the banned list of many sports organizations. Many athletes use it to improve their strength, endurance, reaction time, anaerobic capacity, or recovery time but there is no conclusive research to suggest it. There are also serious side effects athletes should be wary of.
- Erythropoietin (EPO)
Erythropoietin (EPO) is a naturally-occurring hormone, produced by the kidneys, that stimulates the production of red blood cells. This hormone can also be manufactured and injected.
- HemAssist and HBOCs
HemAssist is a class of drug called a Hemoglobin-based Oxygen Carrier (HBOC). HBOCs are experimental drugs that carry oxygen in the blood for a short period of time. They are designed to act as blood substitutes for trauma patients.
- Diuretics
Diuretics change the body’s natural salt and fluid balance. They are commonly used to lose weight and to dilute their urine samples. Sometimes, athletes use diuretics to drop a weight class or category.
- Human Growth Hormone
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| Human growth hormone pills |
There are also performances enhancing supplements such as:
- Protein
- Glucosamine
- Ribose
- Creatine
- Glutamine
- B-vitamins
What are the physical and physiological effects when using these drugs?
Although some performance enhancing drugs have their advantages, almost all have devastating short-term and long-term risks. Below are the risks for each of these drugs:- Anabolic Steroids
Male:
• Enlarged breasts
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| A poster explaining the effects of using steroids |
• Shrunken testicles
• Infertility• Baldness
Female:
• Deeper voice• Enlarged clitoris
• More body hair
• Baldness
Both:
• Severe acne
• Increased risk of tendinitis and tendon rupture• Liver abnormalities and tumors
• Increased low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol)
• Decreased high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (the "good" cholesterol)
• Hypertension• Heart and circulatory problems
• Suppression of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis
• Prostate gland enlargement• Aggressive behaviours
• Psychiatric disorders (such as depression)
• Drug dependence
• Infections or diseases such as HIV or hepatitis if you're injecting the drugs
• Inhibited growth and development, and risk of future health problems in teenagers- Human Growth Hormone
• Joint pain
• Muscle weakness
• Fluid retention• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Impaired glucose regulation
• Cardiomyopathy (decreased function of the heart)
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| Fluid retention can develop with human growth hormone use |
- Erythropoietin (EPO)
• Thrombotic events such as stroke, heart attack or pulmonary edema
- Diuretics
• Dehydration
• Muscle cramps
• Exhaustion
• Dizziness
• Potassium deficiency
• Heart arrhythmias
• Drop in blood pressure
• Heatstroke
• Death
- Amphetamines
• Headaches
• Increased blood pressure
• Increased heart rate
• Insomnia
• Weight loss
• Hallucinations
• Convulsions
• Heart rhythm abnormalities
• Heart attack
• Inability to focus
• Restlessness
• Time distortion
• Poor balance and coordination
• Distorted perception of pain and fatigue
How are these drugs used?
Performance enhancing drugs can be taken in most forms. Most banned and regulated drugs are taken as pills, injections or topical treatments. Most supplements, such as creatine, protein and caffeine, are taken in foods like bars or gels. |
| Drugs in injection form |
