Hello my people! Today we will be looking at PCOS. PCOS is the acronym for polycystic ovarian syndrome. Yes, it's a syndrome that affects females, but I would encourage the male folk to get educated on this issue too. It might just win you a bonus point with one of the ladies sometime.
This piece was inspired by the comments made by women on Twitter about how men are mostly ignorant about things like this; and September just happens to be PCOS awareness month. So keep reading!
Polycystic ovarian syndrome is a hormonal disorder characterized by enlarged ovaries with small cysts on the outer edges. Its symptoms include menstrual irregularity, excess hair growth usually as a result of the presence of the male hormone androgen in large amounts,(some women experience male pattern baldness instead) acne and obesity. While the causes of PCOS are generally unknown, doctors believe it may involve a combination of genetic and environmental factors. In Nigeria, about a hundred thousand cases are diagnosed each year. For something this common, it's shocking to note that there are a lot of myths surrounding the condition and fairly little or no awareness about how to manage it.
I read a thread about a young lady who was diagnosed with PCOS as a teenager. The doctor advised her mother to get her daughter married and so that she can have her babies early as PCOS could also cause infertility and there was no cure for it.
Yes, PCOS has no known cure; that much is true. However, its symptoms can be managed. Birth control pills are used to regularize periods, medication such as metformin may be used to prevent diabetes because women who suffer from PCOS are prone to type 2 diabetes; statins are used to regulate cholesterol levels and other procedures may be used to deal with acne and hair growth problems. Dieting helps with all of these things too.
Sounds dreary I know, but women with the condition can lead fairly normal lives and have children with ease if it is properly managed.
Kufre Effiong-Robert.
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