It is only of late that the women community has started paying attention to the health hazards of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). Signs and symptoms include irregular or excess menstrual flow, excessive body and facial hair, pelvic pain, difficulty in getting pregnant, thick velvety skin, etc.
The awareness for PCOS has increased and women have started understanding the importance of taking care of their health and uterus.
PCOS is caused when the uterus swells up with multiple cysts layered, thus hindering pregnancy. Although it is great to know that awareness has spread about PCOS, myths and false information about it have also spread wide. This causes fear and exaggerated worry about something that can be easily cured and treated in this age of medicine and technology. So, here are some myths that should be taken from one ear and thrown from the other:
5 Myths about PCOS That Need To Debunked Right Now
1. It cannot be diagnosed
This is one myth that is absolutely redundant! Seriously? It is 2017. There is nothing that is un-curable as such. Any and every medical ailment has a solution and even PCOS has cured. It is just that sometimes patients go to different specialists due to the different symptoms. When the patients directly go to a PCOS specialist or Gynecologist, it can be treated easily. But when they go to the dermatologist or some other specialist due to other symptoms, the kind of treatment they undergo differently can make the diagnosis difficult and confusing. But, it is not impossible to cure. So, ladies, you know the symptoms, go to the gynecologist and you can get this fixed easily!
2. PCOS = Ovarian Cysts
Just because the word has cysts in it does not mean that you can equate the term to ovarian cysts. When someone has PCOS, it means that there is a layer of unruptured follicles that look like cysts in an ultrasound. That is also why one must take a PCOS test if they think it might be cysts problem since they do tend to look alike.
3. It is difficult to get pregnant
When you look at it from a logical point of view, actually, women with PCOS tend to have higher fertility rates since the ovaries have follicles, which are plenty of eggs. The only problem that these women face is that they have irregularity in their menstrual cycle, which means that the bad blood that has to be removed from the body does not happen in a smooth process. So, when women having PCOS look for a cure or undergo treatment, it is not to get pregnant but to treat irregular periods.
4. It has only physical effects
This is not true. Although the physical effects of PCOS can be very prominent, like pimples, acne, and unwanted hair, it also affects women mentally. Women go through mood swings, anxiety disorders, and PMS issues. (Pre /Post Menstrual Syndrome). Statistics show that 30% of women show signs of poor mental health and need specialists to help them out with this as well.
5. It affects only the elder women
PCOS does not discriminate against women based on their ages. Although it is not something to be happy about, females of all ages can have it. Previously, it was thought that it affected girls who were in the pre-menstrual stage. But the medical community feels that it can affect women of all ages. However, usually, the symptoms become more visible after girls hit adolescence.
So, readers! Pass the word about these common misconceptions and let us educate more people about PCOS. Because these myths can reduce the kind of exaggerated image people have of PCOS. It is best to get it treated at its earliest stage so that women around us can lead a healthier lifestyle.