What are diuretics?
Diuretics elevate the rate of bodily urine excretion (diuresis). All diuretics increase the excretion of water from the body, although each class of diuretics does so in a distinct way employing different mechanisms of action. Use of diuretics is prohibited in sports. Increased urine flow would reduce concentrations of banned performance enhancing substances in urine such as anabolic steroids, thus complicating their detection in doping control (masking). In sports where weight categories are involved diuretics are abused as weight reducing agents. Diuretic abuse in sports is unethical and dangerous for athlete health (dehydration). Diuretic testing is a part of routine doping control in sports.
