Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common condition that affects how a woman’s ovaries work.

The 3 main features of PCOS are:

• Irregular periods – which means your ovaries do not regularly release eggs (ovulation)
• Excess androgen – high levels of “male” hormones in your body, which may cause physical signs such as excess facial or body hair.
• Polycystic ovaries – your ovaries become enlarged and contain many fluid-filled sacs (follicles) that surround the eggs (but despite the name, you do not actually have cysts if you have PCOS)

If you have at least 2 of these features, you may be diagnosed with PCOS.

Polycystic ovaries contain a large number of harmless follicles. The follicles are underdeveloped sacs in which eggs develop. In PCOS, these sacs are often unable to release an egg, which means ovulation does not take place. It’s difficult to know exactly how many women have PCOS, but it’s thought to be very common, affecting about 1 in every 5 women in the UK.

Check out this link (https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/polycystic-ovary-syndrome-pcos/) to read more about the symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), causes of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and the treatments.