Steroid Injections – Knowing How to Use It Helps

Steroid injections have positive as well as negative effects on the body. When used with discretion, they can offer many benefits and can be truly useful in getting relief from pain and discomfort. The negative effects of steroid injections usually occur when they are misused and used rampantly without understanding their process of action. The negative effects of a steroid injection can be experienced more intensely in the cardiovascular system. Their misuse can cause enlargement of the heart, high blood pressure and atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries. In some patients, use of steroid injections can also result in increased heart palpitations and elevated cholesterol levels. Steroid injections can also affect the reproductive system. In males the side effect can show up in form of loss of libido. They are known to inhibit or even completely stop the production of testosterones, leading to a condition known as testicular atrophy and hypogonadism. In females, steroid injections can lead to hirsutism, condition which leads to the body exhibiting male characteristics such as deep, bass voice, reduction of breasts and growth of Adam’s apple. However, the side effects of steroid injections can be easily avoided if physicians use them within recommended dosages and only when all other safe options are either not available or exhausted. Conditions of liver damage are one of the more serious side effects of using steroid injections profusely. The steroids are metabolized in the digestive system leading to their ready availability in the body which can be a precursor for more damaging side effects. Steroid injections can have more severe adverse effects on adolescents such as stunted growth occurring due to increased levels of estrogen concentration in the body. It can also lead to rapid bone maturation and premature sexual development. Poor health attitudes are also a major cause of using steroid injections frequently and above recommended levels. More than physical effects, the physiological side effects are damaging. Angry behavior, a pronounced inability to take a rational view of a situation and unusual aggressiveness can be seen in many adolescents dependent of steroid injections. These conditions affect a small percentage of the users and should not be seen as a common side effect of steroidal injections. The risk factor however remains present for all those who are likely to misuse the steroidal injections either due to dependence or because of necessity.