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What are the Medications Athletes Need to Avoid?

Taking medications when there’s something wrong with your health is something that everyone sees as a necessity and an entirely normal thing. After doctors have prescribed something, you will begin to follow the course of treatment and start recovering. However, if you’re an athlete, things are a little more complicated than that. Those who participate in professional sports and competitions have to comply with strict anti-doping rules and regulations in order to ensure things remain fair when they play. The consequences for those found guilty of violating these rules differ from one incident to another and depend on the severity of the event.

Multi-year and even lifetime bans can be implemented, and not just in the sport one was playing at the time. The full disqualification of results, loss of medals, and forfeiture of prize money can occur as well. The athlete’s reputation is often left in tatters, and they can also lose sponsorships and even end up dealing with criminal charges. Depending on the substance, the health risks associated with consumption can be severe and, in extreme cases, irreversible.

TUEs and the Duty of Care

TUEs, or Therapeutic Use Exemptions, are a class of permissions that allow athletes to use medications that would otherwise be prohibited. In order to obtain one, you need to have comprehensive medical evidence attesting to your need to use this medication, and they are generally only approved in the case of acute or chronic conditions for which there is another alternative form of medication that could be used instead. Some of the medications that the exemptions can apply to include medicine used to treat asthma, ADHD, cardiovascular issues, hormone deficiencies, and autoimmune illnesses. To take insulin, you must have received a diabetes diagnosis as well.

Overprescribing painkillers and performance-enhancing drugs to an athlete can constitute malpractice or medical negligence. It is important to talk to a public interest lawyer about your case, as every situation is different, and you need to have a good idea of the things you need to do. If a doctor willingly prescribes medication that can impact an athlete’s performance without their knowledge, the act can be regarded as criminal as well, with the lack of informed consent representing a serious breach of both legal and ethical standards. The duty of care the physician was obligated to take is disregarded as well in cases such as these.

Apart from overprescribing or misprescribing medicine, some of the other negligence scenarios include disregarding or minimising addiction risks (such as in the case of opioids) or the active help and encouragement offered to an athlete who is looking to cheat.

Non-Approved Substances

Non-approved substances are one of the classes of prohibited substances that athletes shouldn’t be taking. They typically include categories such as drugs that are still in clinical development or whose use has been discontinued, designer drugs, and medications that have been exclusively approved for veterinary use. They are strictly forbidden at all times, and no exceptions are ever made for their use. They include BPC-157, a synthetic amino acid oligopeptide derived from a protein found in human gastric juice and which could be used for injury recovery but which has been banned since 2022 due to concerns about the promotion of cancer cells and the insufficient data when it comes to human safety, as well as 2,4-Dinitrophenol, a substance used in the manufacturing of herbicides, pesticides, and explosives.

Anabolic Agents

Anabolic agents are hormones, both natural and synthetic, that can promote muscle growth and the development of androgenic effects. There are numerous different substances out there that are part of this category, such as Clenbuterol, which can be used as a decongestant and bronchodilator; Osilodrostat which is administered to adult patients with Cushing’s disease and which can lead to oedema, fatigue, and adrenal insufficiency; Zilpaterol, which is fed to cattle to increase body weight; and Ractopamine, another substance used to increase feed efficiency in cattle as well as turkeys and swine.

Beta-2 Agonists

Beta-2 agonists have a standard usage as medication that promotes smooth muscle relaxation. They are used to treat pulmonary disorders, being a crucial element of the treatment regimen for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease alongside other short-acting and long-acting medications. Arformoterol is used specifically for this progressive lung disease for the maintenance of bronchoconstriction. Olodaterol, Procaterol, and Salbutamol have similar standard uses as well, with the second being recognised as a particularly potent treatment for asthma.

Beta Blockers

Beta blockers are a class of medications used to manage arrhythmia and protect the heart from the possibility of a second heart attack taking place. They are also widely used in order to treat high blood pressure and can be utilised as part of the treatment for anxiety. They are prohibited in competition only for the majority of sports, but there are a few in which their use is forbidden outside of the competitions as well.

They include archery, billiards, golf, darts, mini-golf, shooting, and underwater sports across all subdisciplines of freediving and target shooting. Acebutolol is one of the medications, a beta blocker used for both hypertension and arrhythmias. Nadolol, Timolol, Oxprenolol, and Metoprolol are a few of the others.

Glucocorticoids

These corticosteroids are used to regulate immune responses and metabolism, as well as help with inflammation, being crucial for organ development and having powerful anti-inflammatory effects. They work by going directly into the cells and reducing the inflammatory proteins. As a result, they have massive potential as performance enhancers. Prednisone, a powerful medication used in the treatment of lupus, arthritis, and severe allergies, is one of them.

Dexamethasone is also used for allergies as well as brain swelling, superior vena cava syndrome, and, along with antibiotics, in the case of tuberculosis. It was also recommended by both the UK’s National Health Service and the National Institutes of Health in the United States as part of the treatment scheme of patients dealing with severe forms of COVID-19.

Some of the other categories of substances that athletes shouldn’t interact with include hormone and metabolic modulators, diuretics, chemical or physical manipulations, cell and gene doping, and a wide range of stimulants. Avoiding them is a must not just for fairness and sportsmanship, but also in order to ensure career continuity.

• Posted by pradmin
• February 11, 2026