The use of diuretics in sport.IntroductionDiuretics are substances that increase urine production and sodium excretion. Consequently, this alters both the volume and content of body fluids (Jackson, 2006). This highly desirable quality causes the use of diuretics to be abused by athletes for the benefit of both rapid water loss (to meet weight categories) and to mask the presence of banned substances. The competitive nature of human beings means that, since the inception of sporting events and competitions, the desire to gain a competitive advantage has always been an important factor. Nowadays, in this "commercial" sporting world, with extremely profitable lifestyles and the associated lust for sporting success, sporting men and women have adopted countless methods to gain a competitive advantage. With ever-increasing development in the field of medicine and chemistry, such attempts include the use of performance-enhancing drugs. This has unfortunately become the scourge of modern sport and their use to gain advantages in competitions is increasing. (Barroso et al., 2008). Although diuretic abuse occurs in sports, diuretics were initially developed to treat many conditions in medicine. Traditionally their medicinal purposes include the treatment of many disorders and diseases, for example hypertension (high blood pressure), heart failure and kidney failure. Diuretics can also be used for the general reduction of adverse effects resulting from salt or water retention (Jackson, 2006). There are numerous categories of diuretics, each with a different function. These include thiazides, used to treat hypertension and edema (e.g. benzthiazide), loop diuretics, which act on the loop of Henle in the kidney and are associated with heat… middle of paper… the abuse of diuretics as doping drugs and masking agents in sports doping: pharmacology, toxicology and analysis. British Journal of Pharmacology. 161 (1), 1-16.Dr Kare, Birkerland, I Hammersbach, P. . (July 1999). The future of doping control in athletes. Sports medicine. 28 (1), 25-33. Websites (http://www.cces.ca/en/news-170-junior-taekwondo-athlete-receives-two-year) (http://www.bbc.co . uk/sport/0/cycling/14116083)http://www.wada-ama.org/Documents/World_Anti-Doping_Program/WADP-Prohibited-list/2014/WADA-prohibited-list-2014-EN.pdf(http : //www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/sport/debate/types_1.shtml)http://www.bupa.co.uk/individuals/healthinformation/directory/d/diuretics#textBlock195474http://www.news - medical.net/health/What-Are-Diuretics-Used-For.aspxhttp://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/encyclopedia-of-doping-74006