Not at all Times Says Dermatologists

If you are looking for information about the possible side effects of steroids, you will surely find acne as one of the minor side effects. Most online sources would tell you that acne is one of the common effects after taking anabolic steroids. There are also a lot of professional athletes who were accused of using this performance enhancing drug because of their back acne. Some of them were Mike Piazza and Barry Bonds of the major league and Chael Sonnen of MMA.
The alleged steroid use of Mike Piazza still remains debatable because he had not failed a steroid test. On the other hand, Chael Sonnen tested positive for testosterone which makes people believe that the acne on his back was caused by steroid.
But what is the real score on this issue? Can steroids really cause acne? A recent article written by Howard Megdal of the NY Baseball Digest shed light on this matter. He interviewed some dermatologists to know if acne is really caused by steroid intake. Megdal concluded that the steroid-acne connection is extraordinarily tenuous.
The three doctors interviewed by Megdal were all specializing in acne treatment. All dermatologists agree that acne is a common problem of people regardless of age. “It’s a very common thing in my practice,” said Dr. Jennifer Goldwasser of Central Westchester Dermatology. But she argued that the number of steroid users with acne is very minimal.
A dermatologist from Manhattan agreed with Dr. Goldwasser. Dr. Eric Schweiger said that there is a broad section of the population who suffer from this condition but only a handful of them are taking steroids. “Lots of adult females, adult males, adolescents, many of whom have back acne,” he said. Based on his experience, half of his patients who admitted taking steroids showed no symptoms of acne.
But can we safely say that Piazza or Bonds took steroids because they have acne? The doctors answered in the negative. Most professional athletes are prone to acne even if they are not on steroids. According to Dr. Schweiger, 10 to 20 percent of men at their 20’s or 30’s suffer from acne. The percentage could be even higher for athletes. “More activity leads to the clogging of their pores,” the doctor said.
Another dermatologist from Staten Island confirms that athletes are more prone to acne. “One of the major causes of [back acne] is if someone sweats a lot, wears heavy equipment, wears, as Piazza did, heavy uniforms,” said Dr. Ira Davis.
Some people may also jump into a wrong conclusion. Dr. Goldwasser pointed out that red spots in the back are not always caused by acne. There are other skin problems with similar symptoms with acne. “We don’t even know if that’s what he had,” said Goldwasser, referring to the case of Mike Piazza. “Folliculitis, rosacea, they’d present in a similar way. We don’t have an official medical diagnosis, and we’d by no means draw the conclusion that he even had back acne so quickly,” the doctor said. She also told Megdal that steroids can’t cause folliculitis and rosacea. The former is an infection of the skin follicles while the latter is a chronic skin condition.
The doctors all agreed that athletes having acne should not be labeled as steroid users. “I would say that conclusion is not fair,” said Dr. Schweiger.