Athlete Problems With Legal Steroids

Posted by on March 31, 2011 · Leave a Comment

Article by Douglas Scott

Oftentimes, the asthma medication prescribed after an asthma attack will contain legal steroids that may be banned by an athlete’s sports organization. That is why athletes with asthma who have recently suffered an asthma attack need to be aware of the medicine that will be prescribed them in an effort to recover from the attack.These steroidal prescriptions are often fine to use for athletes if they are given permission by their school, organization, or league. However, sometimes the athletes aren’t aware that their prescription will contain steroids that may be banned, so they don’t know to ask for permission to use the medicine.

It may seem odd to present this warning, since people having asthma attacks aren’t usually athletes, or if they are athletes, they would probably have to wait some time before resuming their practices after an asthma attack. Attacks can often be caused by an outside element, like allergies or being around too much second-hand smoke. In cases like those, the attack is a short-term nuisance that will not prevent athletes from quickly resuming their training with approval from a doctor who has assessed the level of danger for a reoccurrence of an attack. In those instances, when taking asthma prescriptions with steroids, the athlete is more likely to test positive for a banned substance.

This can be avoided in a few different ways. Make sure coaches and athletic directors are aware that the athlete has asthma, thus necessitating the occasional treatment of prescription drugs to treat the disease. This is a good idea, even without the danger of accidentally taking a banned steroid, since coaches and the staff need to know what to do in case of an asthma attack. Coaches and administrative personnel can reach out to league officials to make them aware of athletes with asthma, which will lay the foundation for later if the athlete has to take an asthma steroid to recover from an episode. League officials will already be aware of the disease in the athlete and might be able to make a quick ruling on the steroidal prescription. The athlete can also make the prescribing doctor aware of their athletic situation and possibly request a medication that won’t violate their league’s rules. This can often be done if the asthma attack was a one-off occurrence that isn’t likely to happen again and if the damage from the attack wasn’t very severe.

In addition to taking the normal precautions to prevent asthma attacks, the asthmatic should also get a yearly flu shot, since people with asthma are at a greater risk of danger because of symptoms normally association with the flu triggering asthma symptoms.

An athlete who has had asthma attacks in the past can request approval ahead of time – possibly before the season starts – in case they later need to take a potentially banned substance. Daily or regularly used asthma medications, such as Albuterol (Proventil, Ventolin), Singulair, Pirbuterol, etc., do not have steroids and can safely be used without fear of violating league rules on banned substances.

About the Author

Douglas Scott does not advise using illegal steroids. Do your homework before using anabolic steroids like Deca Durabolin, Winstrol, and Dianabol, and consult your physician.