In this article we will describe the difference between real and fake anabolic steroids. It is no news that markets are flooded with fake products. This has put users of steroids at the risk of purchasing anabolic injections that could be of harm to their body. Many individuals have suffered severe damages, loss of resources and even death due the use of these fake injections.

Ten to fifteen years ago, it was very easy to spot the few counterfeit drugs in circulation. One needn’t be a trained expert to identify those crude looking drugs missing key elements. Quick and simple checks for legitimacy were easily done and products often verified as these fake drugs had something fishy about them.

What makes up a fake steroid is dependent upon how they are produced and where they are purchased. As a result, counterfeit steroidsconsist of anything ranging from being a substandard version of the original, containinga harmful substance, a completely inactive substance or an over or under dosed drug.

A bit of history

In 2008, Thevis and colleagues analyzed seventy different steroids confiscated from house searches. Forty-eight of the seventy samples were steroidal compounds.  Seventeen of these 48 samples (35.4%) did not match with the declared ingredients.  It was discovered that the actual content of the drug was a different type of steroid or steroid-blend than the label claimed.

In the year 2012, a toxicological analysis research was carried out on 15 steroid preparations from the black market by Pellegrini and his colleagues. It was discovered that only 2 out of the 13 preparations were compliant with their labelling. The rest either hard no active substance or the substance was different from the labelling.

What Are Anabolic Steroids?

These are known to be synthetic, or man-made, variations of the male sex hormone called testosterone. This substance has similar effects to testosterone in the body, including increased muscle growth and recovery, strength, leanness and development of secondary sexual characters such as facial hair, deep voice and male genitalia.

Anabolic steroids achieve this through various mechanisms, but the end result is usually the same: the rate at which protein is synthesized is either increased greatly, or, the degradation of proteins is reduced or both, which leads to fast and rapid muscle growth. Another mechanism is that which has to do with reducing or suppressing fat levels in the individual’s body.

Some Local hospitals carry outin office dispensing of prescription anabolic injections for treatment of the following cases: delayed puberty, wasting conditions and osteoporosis. Bodybuilders, weightlifters and athletes often use this drug for muscle building and also to aid recovery from stressful and rigorous training sessions.

The following are common steroids you can find in the market in addition to testosterone: Nandrolone, Danazol, Methandrostenolone, Oxymetholone and a host of others.

4 ways to know the difference between real and fake anabolic injections:

1. Know What The Genuine Product Looks Like

It is important you know exactly what the real drug product in question look like. If you know what the anabolic injection brand and packaging looks like; it becomes easier to spot a counterfeit. If you are not familiar with the genuine product, it will be difficult to recognise a fake.

There are over 3,000 pictures in the ANABOLICS 10th edition for referencing; these pictures provide steroid users with a baseline to compare products to. If you have a product which looks different from the picture you have in the book, then it is not genuine.

2. Check the Batch Number and Date of Expiration:

When you take some time to check the packaging details, it’s easy todiscover where counterfeiters mess up. Every pill or amp in plastic blisters should have a unique batch number.

Also, the batch number and date of expiration should not be printed in the same process but added later on. Counterfeiters often print these dates with the rest of the box and don’t stamp computer label the boxes individually. They do it that way because it saves a lot of money and time.

With a simple hand lens you can check whether the batch number and expiration date were added at the time of production, and not at the same time with box printing.

3. Carefully Check the Sealing:

Genuine pharmaceutical companies often make sure that their products are well sealed in order to keep out air and bacteria. Fake anabolic steroids often come with poor sealing because they use handheld sealing equipment. You know you have a counterfeit product when the top and stopper turn easily when little pressure is applied, sometimes even to the point of being peeled off the vial by hand.

Genuine sealing should have proper edges and should be uniformly attached. It should also have its brand name boldly written on it. If the top appears loose in anyway, you can be sure you’ve got with you a fake product.

4. Use Test Kits to check its originality:

This is a simple colour test that helps you identify genuine anabolic steroids. These test kits are designed to detect the substances in vials and tablets.

You simply drop your sample into the test tube and watch the colour change under white light (day light). The colour change at this point does not mean hormone presence in the sample yet. There is one more thing to do: you need to do a UV test. Take the 365nm UV light and point at the test vial and watch the fluorescence. If there is no fluorescence, it is a fake, no hormone inside. A genuine product will produce different colours under the 365nm ultraviolet light depending on the type of steroid.

Conclusion:

The U.S Drug Enforcement Administration in 2007 reported that buying steroids over the internet poses a great danger as illegally operating companies have not regard for product safety.