Polycystic Ovary Syndrome or PCOS is a kind of reproductive and metabolic disorder that is known to affect at least ten percent of women nowadays. Awareness of this disease if being promoted since PCOS is also known to be an early indication of ovarian cancer. If not diagnosed and treated at an earlier time, this could lead to worse conditions. But the sad the truth is, only a few people are actually aware of this disease, let alone know the meaning of its acronym.
For Women: Six Well-Known PCOS Signs and Symptoms
Just like other diseases, there are medical signs and symptoms that could possibly indicate that a woman has it. Even though this disease is known to affect women who had already given birth to children, it is not an assurance that it won’t affect those who are not.
Listed below are some well-known PCOS signs and symptoms:
- Weird or Irregular Menstrual Cycle Periods – If your menstrual cycle periods can’t be predicted at all or you’re experiencing heavier periods than usual, this could possibly indicate that the hormone imbalance inside your body is being triggered by PCOS. It also doesn’t make any difference whether those heavy periods have clots or not.
- Skin-related problems or disorders – If you’re an adult and yet, you’re still struggling with acne, this could also indicate that you are experiencing PCOS. In addition to that, if you have foul-smelling boils under your armpit, groin or breast area, skins and dark patches other than birthmarks that are not removed after scrubbing are also symptoms of the disease.
- Hair problems – If you experience either hair loss or too much facial or body hair, chances are that this is due to the excessive amount of testosterone inside your body, one of the known effects of PCOS.
- Weight problems – We all know that most of us do have weight problems. However, if you’re one of those who had gained additional weight despite eating very little in just a month or two, this could be a possible sign that you have PCOS.
- Infertility – Since PCOS is a known reproductive disorder, the hormone imbalance in a woman’s body could also affect her ability to produce children. In other words, sterility or infertility is actually one of its well-known effects.
- Repetitive Miscarriages – If you have managed to get pregnant all the time but are experiencing miscarriages, chances are that the PCOS might be the culprit.