Norman — Some drugs are designed to heal and some are meant to enslave and eventually kill. It all depends on how they are used.
To say Russian President Medvedev was indignant following the Vancouver Olympics is a gross understatement of his mood. He vented enough steam to melt all the snow and ice in Moscow (which, by the way, didn’t the mayor of Moscow promise his people a snow free winter this year?) Why was Medvedev so publicly and vocally upset? It seems that the Russians did not do well in the Olympic medals race. In fact, he wants everyone responsible for embarrassing Mother Russia to resign.
What his puppetness (since Putin pulls the strings) failed to mention, or consider as a probable cause for the paucity of Russian medals, was that some of their top athletes could not attend due to the stricter enforcement of drug testing rules.
Oh my. Regardless of their past practices, have the Russians ever heard of drug-free preparations? Something along the lines of pure human determination, effort and ability?
As if Medvedev’s outburst was not enough, the Russian Olympic hockey coach trumped his president in demanding change. And how does he propose to bring about a medal-winning change? “Let’s put up a bunch of guillotines and gallows. We have 35 people on the hockey team. Let’s go to Red Square and dispatch with them all.
Lucky for those presumed culprits that the old USSR is gone (or is it) and that 14 of their hockey players play on several United States professional hockey teams. Do you suppose their boys left the Olympics and made a beeline for the good old USA? Or, did they take a nostalgic trip to Mother Russia?
Funny thing about drugs, they may be developed with specific ailments in mind, but sometimes the side effects also can turn out to be effective for something other than the primary purpose of the drug.
For example, Rogaine was developed for blood pressure and it worked well. However, there was a furry (non-cuddly) side effect. Women taking Rogaine began growing mustaches. Solution? Women switched to non-hair raising blood pressure meds and men with vanishing hairlines became furry on top once more.
Let’s consider steroids. They are synthetic derivatives of testosterone, which increases muscle and bone mass, and hair growth. Simplistically put, it focuses its best efforts on making a male a male. Synthetic anabolic-androgenic steroids are legally used as anti-inflammatory drugs for those who suffer severe joint pain, for cancer or AIDS patients, for the increase of bone growth, and other accepted medical uses.
Of course, most people are familiar with steroids because of the media frenzy whenever prominent athletes abuse them. Yes, steroids increase muscle mass and help those big strong men become even bulgier and stronger, but they also mess up blood pressure and cholesterol (increase LDL (bad cholesterol) and decrease HDL (good cholesterol). Heart problems and liver damage also are side effects of steroid abuse. And, steroids can even cause acne and baldness.
Curious. The same thing that is part of the natural process (testosterone), which Nature uses for the proper development of a male (height, hair, etc.), when abused can produce the exact opposite effect.
Knowing all this, imagine a friend’s concern when her doctor prescribed a steroid nasal spray. He explained that used as a nasal spray steroids will not enter the blood stream and cause the usual problems related to steroid use.
She was relieved to hear that. No need to worry about getting massive biceps, six-pack abs or a bull-neck that would make the Minotaur proud. But what are the chances of her adenoids developing unsightly muscles? Will the bulges be noticeable? Will cosmetics conceal any visible side effects? Or will her nose compete for top honors with hockey players and other athletes with distorted noses?
Aside from these serious concerns, the question uppermost in her mind, “Will I have to revisit the agonies of acne again?”
Elizabeth Cowan is a freelance writer and former Norman resident. Her e-mail is elizabeth@elizabethcowan.com.
