Rohit Kumar, a 30-year-old man from Aligarh, has not recovered from the shock when his dream of getting 'fitter and pulling off six-pack abs' had put him in a hospital bed for renal failure. Kumar, a schoolteacher, was prescribed steroids and hormonal shots by his gym instructor which led to kidney failure. Kumar has now recovered from the illness, but the doctors are raising a big question on banning the over-the-counter sale of these steroids.

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The dream to have a chiseled body and the perfect six-pack abs led Kumar to visit a local gym in Aligarh, where the instructor took a hefty amount and promised to get him his dream body in a matter of a couple of months. He then started the regular dose of injections and powder which led to a decline in his health in just two months.

"He was detected with failed kidneys caused due to body-building under bad supervision, while we managed to cure him through a long medical treatment, there are others coming in with similar or even worse conditions," said Dr Jitendra Kumar, Director, Nephrology and Transplant Medicine, QRG Health City.

"Excess of gyming leads to damaged muscles and thus release of a protein called 'Myoglobin'. This myoglobin can damage the kidney. Thus, it is very important to do hardcore training and take steroids only under medical supervision," he said.

There are mainly two types of steroids - anabolic and cortico. These steroids are mainly used to help patients improve their muscle mass after illnesses such as cancer, arthritis, HIV, etc. Of these anabolic, which has more testosterone, is misused by people to get the bulked-up body.

While Kumar was cured of his illness, doctors worldwide confirm that there have been deaths reported due to misuse of steroids. In cases where they are absolutely necessary, the intake should be based on an individual's body chemistry and metabolism rate.