How to Test for Steroids

Steroids are a common subject in the sports world. Anabolic steroids are commonly used by athletes to help gain an unfair advantage over the competition or to help increase healing times. However, in most every sport this is illegal. Because of this, many sports organizations choose to test athletes for steroids before they compete.

Things You'll Need

• Urine test kit
• Gas chromatograph

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Instructions

• 1

  Obtain a urine sample. For the sample to be tested, you must obtain at least 30ml of urine. Some testing equipment can work with as little as 15ml, but 30ml is optimal.

• 2

  Ensure the sample is real. Since many athletes have much at stake with a steroids test, insuring that the sample is real is an important aspect of collection. In some cases, visual confirmation during the sample giving process may be necessary. In other cases, just feeling how warm the sample cup is can tell whether or not the sample is real or not.

• 3

  Seal the sample. With the person being tested present, the sample then needs to be sealed in a tamper proof lab container. Usually, the sample bag is signed by both the person administering the test, as well as the person taking the test, to ensure that it has not been tampered with.

• 4

  Place the sample in testing equipment. Once the sample has reached the lab, it is opened and placed in a gas chromatograph for thermoionic specific detection and flame ionization detection. Through this process, a medical technologist can determine whether or not anabolic steroids are currently in the system, or by-products created by anabolic steroids are in the system.

• 5

  Deliver results. Once the results have been obtained, they are sent back to the testing office. If the results are positive, there may be a second test done to ensure that the test was not a false positive.