Understanding Steroid Hormone Testing and its Various Types

Steroid testing; is two words that instantly convey images of professional athletes attempting to be the very best they can be by using steroids.

The result is, of course, the need to test athletes to assess the level of steroids in their bodies. Most competitions simply do not allow the use of steroids.

But steroid hormone testing is also important for anyone who has used steroids or testosterone boosters, whether currently or in the past. It is one way of making sure competitions are fair.

There are also a variety of medical conditions which are treated with corticosteroids, testing is needed in these cases to assess whether the medication is helping or not.

How To Test

It is possible to assess your steroid levels through blood samples, urine or even saliva. In fact, if you are concerned about your own levels you can order a test from testochecker.com.au, complete the test at home and have the results in just a few days.

·       Saliva

There are two types of tests with saliva, both can be ordered online or completed by your doctor. You will either need to spit into a tube or hold a swab in your mouth for a few minutes. These are then sealed into their respective containers and sent to the lab.

Your results can be posted straight to you or to your doctor. Saliva testing can alert you to a number of medical conditions as well as steroid levels.

·       Blood

This is the least common way of having your hormone and steroid levels tested. The reason for this is that it is the most invasive and offers no distinct advantage to the other forms of testing.

You will need to visit a doctor or nurse to have the blood test carried out but you are unlikely to get the results any quicker.

It is also worth noting that blood testing can highlight steroids and other hormones in the body even when they are not usable by the body, making it an inaccurate result. In many cases blood testing is still considered the gold standard of hormone testing.

·       Urine

This is also very simple. All you need to do is put a urine sample in the container supplied and send it to the lab. This is very effective at assessing how your body is dealing with substances. What is leaving your body can help you identify what your body is struggling to process.

Traces of steroids will always show up in urine.

Summing It Up

These tests will work on all types of steroids, whether the anabolic performance-enhancing ones or the medical versions. This makes this type of testing very important to everyone.

Athletes, especially those who have used steroids in the past, need to verify that they are clean before an event.

People with medical conditions being treated with corticosteroids will need to see how they are responding.

Even if you have no current issue these tests can help to spot an underlying condition, which could be beneficial if you are aware of it early enough.