Image and performance-enhancing drugs (IPEDs)
What are IPEDs?
Image and performance-enhancing drugs (IPEDs) can alter your appearance, or boost your strength and physical performance.
There are many types of IPEDs. They include:
- Anabolic steroids, which people take to help build muscle or be better at sports
- Growth hormones, insulin and other related peptides
- Weight-loss drugs
- Sildenafil, Viagra, and other drugs used for erectile dysfunction
- Modafinil, nootropics and other drugs people take to keep themselves awake and alert
- Skin and hair drugs such as melanotan, an artificial hormone used for tanning
The risks and side effects of IPEDs
The impact IPEDs will vary for each person and for each drug. There are ways to keep yourself safer, but there will always be some risks involved.
They can affect your mental health. Some people who use these drugs notice changes to their mood and wellbeing. Other people use IPEDs specifically to help them to deal with confidence and self-esteem issues.
They can affect your physical health. IPEDs have been linked to liver damage, heart disease, high blood pressure, gynecomastia (growth of breast tissue in men), erectile dysfunction, and more.
You don’t always know what’s in them. It’s common for cheap compounds to be made up and labelled as other types of steroids. Drugs are often mis-sold or have been mixed with other - sometimes dangerous - substances. This means they can be much weaker or stronger than you think. The packaging often makes them look safer and more legitimate than they actually are.
Safer injecting advice for steroids
Most IPEDs are injected. Injections can cause injuries and infections if they aren’t carried out safely. They can also make you more vulnerable to blood-borne viruses like HIV, hepatitis C and hepatitis B.
The best way to stay safe is by not injecting, but there are things you can do to lower the risk of infection and injury:
- Always inject into a large muscle, like your glute or quads. Never inject into a vein or artery. Draw back the plunger a little before you inject to make sure there’s no blood in the barrel.
- Never share equipment (barrels, needles, vials, water, etc). This can pass on infections and blood-borne viruses.
- Always use new and sterile equipment for each injection.
- Clean the site with an alcohol swab once before injecting. Do not swab the site after injecting, as this can irritate the skin and increase the chance of infection.
- Keep everything as clean as possible. Clean your injection site and the rubber caps of vials.
- Don’t inject more than 2ml into one site.
- Steroids come with blue and green needles. Use the green needle for drawing up from the vial and inject with the blue.
- When using vials or illicit pens, use a separate needle to draw up the liquid. Then replace with a finer, shorter needle to inject.
Read more of our advice for safer injecting.
You can also follow these 10 steps:
- Get all equipment ready
- Warm up steroids
- Clean skin
- Draw up with the green needle
- Remove the green end and dispose of it
- Place the blue end on the syringe
- Insert the needle
- Withdraw, checking for blood
- Inject
- Dispose of everything in a sharps bin
Get support and advice
Advice and support are always available from your local Change Grow Live service. If you’re struggling with drugs or alcohol, we’re here to help.
