• Question: can steroids save lifes

    Asked by happyfeet to Enda, Jean, Kate, Kev, Tim on 17 Nov 2012.
    • Photo: Jean Bourke

      Jean Bourke answered on 17 Nov 2012:


      Steroids are a class of molecules that all share the same basic structure. Most of the hormones in your body are steroids and there are hundreds of steroids naturally occurring in nature.

      You body makes loads of there all the time to keep you healthy and in working order and so there are loads of ways to use steroids in medicine to treat illnesses.

      Steroids can be used to help prevent brittle bones in old people, hormone replacement therapy during menopause, and to stimulate growth in children that do not produce enough growth hormone. People with AIDs can lose a lot of weight and can be given steroids to help them stay a healthy weight and stimulate their appetite. Hormone therapies exist for certain types of cancer.

      Steroids can be use to get rid of rashes, allergies, inflammation and autoimmune diseases. Asthma can be treated using steroids too.

      The hormones in the contraceptive pill are steroid hormones (as are all the sex hormones like testosterone and estrogen). The contraceptive pill was originally invented to help couples conceive. It would give the woman’s body a brief rest from making eggs thus making it easier for her to conceive after coming off it: it worked too! Not is is not just used as a contraceptive but to treat various problems associated with painful and heavy periods.

      Anabolic steroids can be abused by bodybuilders and this has given steroids a bad name. Steroids are not bad for you, you’re full of them! They also play many important roles in the treatment and management of diseases and disorders.

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