A few decades back, steroids were only used for medical purposes. People used to stay away from non-medical use of supplements. They think that steroids will affect their health and lead to serious health issues. Over the years, awareness spread about the use of steroids for bodybuilding purposes. Nowadays, bodybuilders and athletes across the globe rely on them to achieve their fitness dreams.
Steroids are synthetic versions of testosterone with certain alterations. They can be used to get muscles, burn fat, improve performance, and gain strength. You can use them to develop a dream body shape within a few months. To get the maximum benefits of steroids, you need to use them along with a proper diet and workout routine. You also need to focus on appropriate dosages to mitigate the risk of side effects.
Despite their growing popularity, people are concerned about the immunosuppressive response of steroids. It means that you may become prone to different infections while using steroids. It raises a major question, “How long is the immune system compromised after steroid injection?” In this post, we will try to figure out the answer to this question. Let’s move forward without further ado.
Before knowing the impact of steroids on the immune system and how it lasts, you need to understand the immune system. The following are the key things you need to know to understand it.
The immune system is basically our body’s natural armor that helps us fight infections and stay away from diseases. It is a complex network of cells, nerves, tissues, and organs that work together to protect you from disorders. It attacks invaders such as harmful microorganisms and kills them to mitigate the risk of infections. When your immune system doesn’t work, you become more prone to different disorders.
The primary job of the immune system is to protect you from disorders. Apart from that, it contributes to healing wounds, stopping bacterial infections, etc. The system works by identifying the pathogens. Then, it immediately responds to them by raising body temperature or other ways.
It has a memory to remember the pathogens it has fought before. As a result, it responds to different harmful invaders accordingly. Apart from that, it regulates its activity as well. Otherwise, the temperature of your body may rise to a dangerous level.
There are two key types of immunity. These are:
Everyone is born with this immunity. It is your body’s natural system that helps you keep protected from regular disorders. It offers an immediate response to fight infections. The response is non-specific, i.e., all pathogens will be treated the same way.
As clear from its name, you adopt this immunity over time. When you get ill, your body responds to pathogens in different ways and remembers how it killed a specific pathogen. As a result, you develop immunity against that specific infectious microbe. Apart from that, it can be induced artificially as well in the form of a vaccine. When you get vaccinated for an infection, you never get that disorder again as you adopt immunity against it.
Do steroids lower your immune system? Do they make you more prone to viral infections and outbreaks? To find answers to all these questions, you need to understand the impact of steroids on immunity. It can either be long or short-term.
Long-Term Impact: It occurs due to continuous use of steroids for a long time. Immunity suppression can become chronic due to long-term impacts.
Short-Term Impact: Even short-term use of steroids can weaken immunity. However, the extent and duration of Suppression will be less than the long-term impact.
Both long and short-term impacts of steroids can cause immunity suppression. The ultimate result of this Suppression will be:
When your immune system is suppressed, you become more prone to viral and bacterial outbreaks. It will lead to the spread of infections as your body’s natural armor isn’t working at its full potential to safeguard you.
It can worsen the existing infections and increase the chance of getting new ones as well. As a result, you will often remain sick, and even the pathogens of minor health issues will start attacking you.
Immunity suppression doesn’t only lead to the spread of Infections but also increases their severity. Your body will not be able to fight the pathogens causing an infection, which will worsen the disorder. As a result, the treatment will also become more complex, reducing your chances of getting rid of infections.
In case the impact is long-term, the severity of infection will be way higher than regular conditions. In some cases, your immune system may stop functioning at all for some days. In such cases, you may even struggle to recover from regular flu and throat infections.
Immunity doesn’t only protect you from different viral and bacterial outbreaks but helps in various other departments as well. It boosts up the wound healing process for quick recovery. However, when your immunity is compromised due to the use of steroids, you may observe impaired Wound healing.
Your immune system will not be able to kill the pathogens in the wounded area and stop infections. As a result, the healing will slow down, and the wound may become worse due to infections. You will become more vulnerable to infections or disorders at the site of injury.
It’s probably the main reason why steroids manage to suppress the immune system. White blood cells are the most crucial component of the immune system. You can consider them as your body’s natural warriors. They kill harmful invaders to protect you from disorders. However, their number is reduced by using steroids for a long time.
It simply means that you will not have enough warriors for the fight against pathogens and lose them. As a result, you will become sick and get various infections at a time. There is a chance that steroids can inhibit the production of new white blood cells as well.
T cells are also an important part of your immune system. The main role of these cells is to identify the entrance of pathogens into the body and give immediate response to stop them. Using steroids will reduce their activity as well. Sometimes, they may fail to identify the invader. As a result, you will get disorders.
After knowing the impact of steroids on immunity, the next thing you need to find is, “How long do steroids suppress the immune system?” The accurate answer to this question is it depends. The duration of Suppression of the immune system depends upon a number of factors, including:
You have to use different cutting and bulking supplements throughout your bodybuilding journey. The type of steroid you are using can impact the duration of the immunosuppression response.
If you are using a potent steroid or stacking different steroids, the duration will be longer as the impact will be strong. On the other hand, mild steroids have relatively less impact on immunity, ultimately reducing the time of Suppression of the immune system.
How long you consume steroids will also have a deep impact on the duration of the immune system’s Suppression. It’s a simple rule of thumb that the longer you consume steroids, the longer the suppression time will be.
When you take a specific supplement for more than the recommended time, it will lead to long-term impacts on immunity. As a result, not only the duration but also the extent of suppression will increase.
Bodybuilders and athletes have to take different doses of supplements based on their goals. The more you consume them, the longer the suppression duration will be. If you keep on taking high doses of a supplement, your immune system will get weaker in a relatively short time and remain suppressed for an extended period.
Age is a major factor that affects the duration of the immune system’s Suppression after using steroids. In children or elderly users, the immune system is already weaker than in adults. They have relatively less T and white blood cells. So, their immune system will remain suppressed longer after using steroids.
On the other hand, adults have a strong immune system. Their body can deal with changes more efficiently, ensuring their immune system gets normal quicker. This means that the duration of Suppression will be less in adults than in children or older adults.
Sometimes, your immunity remains suppressed due to various other reasons as well. If you have some underlying health condition that can suppress immunity, the suppression time will automatically increase.
For example, if you have HIV or cancer, your immune system will already be weak as these disorders affect it. Upon using steroids, it will be compromised within a few days and require a long time to recover completely.
Every individual reacts differently to steroids. Some users can immediately affect their immunity and suppress it. On the other hand, some users may not even notice the Suppression due to their bodies’ response. So, the duration of Suppression varies from person to person. Usually, the immunity of users with an active lifestyle and better overall health will remain suppressed for a short time.
Some bodybuilders or athletes may take some medication due to various reasons. These medicines can interact with the steroids. As a result, the duration of Suppression may be prolonged. On the other hand, it may mitigate the risk of immunosuppression response. It depends upon the nature of medicines and how they react with supplements.
If you already have an active lifestyle and enjoy good health, the impact of steroids on immunity will be less severe. Due to your healthy habits, your immunity will not be compromised for a long time after using steroids. However, the situation will be reversed if you don’t have an active or healthy lifestyle.
Considering all these factors can help in finding how long your immune system will remain suppressed after consuming steroids. The best way to figure this out is to consult with your doctor and undergo a proper medical examination.
From the above discussion, you can conclude steroids weaken the immune system. The duration of Suppression can either be long or short based on various factors. However, it never means that you stop using steroids. We are here with some effective strategies to reduce the suppression time. Let’s unveil them.
Always try to get high-quality steroids from reputable brands, as they have less impact than low-grade products. Consider ordering them from UGFreak, a reputable online store delivering high-grade supplements across the globe. You will get 100% authentic steroids from this store at affordable rates, too.
Monitor your immune system continuously when using steroids. It will help you figure out the intensity of changes to your immunity. In case you notice the immunity is decreasing very rapidly, immediately stop using steroids and consult with a qualified health professional.
It’s an overlooked but super effective strategy to reduce the duration of immunosuppressive response. To optimize your health, you must work daily, improve your eating habits, and maintain a healthy and active lifestyle. When your overall health is good, you can quickly restore your immunity after using steroids.
Sticking to the cycle and taking controlled doses will reduce the extent and duration of the immune system’s suppressions. Apart from that, it will mitigate the risk of other side effects as well, ensuring you get the maximum benefits of using steroids.
Steroids suppress the immune system by lowering white blood cells. However, the duration of Suppression may vary based on various factors such as type of supplement, dosage, age, etc. Taking high-grade steroids and avoiding abusing them is the best way to reduce the suppression time.