What is PCOS?
POLYCYSTIC OVARIAN SYNDROME or PCOS, for short, is a common disorder which affects women of child-bearing age. This is generally a genetic disorder which may be passed on by the father or mother to their female offspring.
It is characterized by a hormonal imbalance wherein the ovaries have more androgens than normal. It may also mean that a woman’s ovaries develop many small cysts. These cysts are benign in nature, but leads to hormonal imbalance.
Symptoms of PCOS
Women who suffer from PCOS can experience mild to severe symptoms. PCOS may be identified if the female has one or more of the following symptoms:
· Hyperandrogenism – Due to the body’s overproduction of androgens, which is a male testosterone-like hormone, a female with PCOS is likely to have more body hair and acne.
· Irregular Menstrual Cycles
· Obesity or Weight Gain
· Insulin Resistance which can lead to diabetes
· Infertility, in extreme cases
The most strongly recommended PCOS treatment is to have an active, healthy lifestyle. This may mean a complete lifestyle change including having regular physical activity and intelligent food choices as well as adapting a smoke free lifestyle. There are, however, a lot of alternative or non-conventional ways to treat PCOS.
Alternative treatments for PCOS include:
1. Acupuncture – this ancient Chinese ritual using needles is known to be able to treat a lot of different ailments. It is not scientifically proven, however, has significantly improved PCOS in a lot of cases.
2. Homeopathy – this is a more holistic way to treat any disorder which entails ingesting a natural substance which produces similar symptoms in small doses, thereby giving the body the chance to develop a resistance to the disorder.
3. Herbal Treatments – is another natural way to explore the treatment of PCOS.
4. Kinesiology – this is the study of testing the muscles in order to detect any imbalance which allows one to determine which parts of the body needs treatment.