Hi all,
Just thought i'd pass on some information about the useof dexmethsone in sport. I'm 32yo with SWCAH and over the years had my meds changed from cortisone to prednisone to prednisolone to finally dexmethsone. Although I live in Qld I'm employed by AFL to visit scholls and get kids to try the sport. Also I play A Grade rugby league for my town.
Both these codes adhere to a strong drugs policy ( maybe not AFL, look at Ben Cousins), and dexmethsone is a prohibited substance and therfore illegal to have in one's system. I have had to apply through both organisations, AFL and ARL to be classified as TUE (therapeutic use exemption) and also through Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA), just to cover all angles.
I know there are some people out there with young kids who are probably thinking this doesn't matter to their child, however drug testing can be done all the way down to U12's in Australia, granted this is rare. It should be noted that if your child does grow up and excels in some form of sport this will definitely become a real issue.
TUEs are relatively easy to organise by firstly visiting the website of both ASADA http://www.asada.gov.au/ or the national body of the sport. Documentation is required, obviously, either from your consulting doctor or specialist.
I hope this helps some people out there as I really don't want any kids, especially one with this condition, missing out of anything.
Jeff Nickson
