How To Manage PCOS And Ovarian Cysts: Is There A Difference Between Them

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If you want to know how to manage PCOS, then it is also important to learn about the different types of cysts that are related to ovaries. Ovarian cysts are fluid-filled sacs that develop on the ovaries. Mostly they are related to menstrual hormone changes and usually settle on their own within a few weeks without any treatment. Ovarian cysts often don’t cause any symptoms.

However, if they become bigger or don\’t settle on their own, you may need treatment. Factors that increase your risk of developing ovarian cysts include hormone changes (including fertility drugs), pregnancy, endometriosis, and a severe pelvic infection that spreads to your ovaries. Most ovarian cysts are small, non-cancerous (benign), and cause no symptoms.

However, some ovarian cyst symptoms may include pain and irregular periods. There is a difference between PCOS, cystic ovaries, and ovarian cysts in women of childbearing age.

Different types of Ovarian cysts

Functional ovarian cysts

These are of two types- Follicular and corpus luteum

Follicular cysts are a type of ovarian cyst that usually occurs in women who are receiving infertility treatment.

Corpus luteum cysts are those which occur when the corpus luteum fills with fluid or blood to form a cyst. Blood-filled cysts are also called hemorrhagic cysts.

Dermoid cysts

Also called benign mature cystic teratomas, these comprise a large percentage of ovarian cysts and grow larger than two inches in diameter. These types of cysts can be described by an odd array of mass contents such as hair, teeth, and bone. This is because dermoid cysts develop from cells that make eggs in the ovary. It is estimated that 1-in-10 such cysts reside in both ovaries, and may run in families due to hereditary factors.

Cystadenomas

These develop from cells that cover the outer part of the ovary. There are different types. For example, serous cystadenomas fill with a thin fluid and mucinous cystadenomas fill with a thick mucous-type fluid. These types of cysts are often attached to an ovary by a stalk rather than growing within the ovary itself. Some grow very large. They are usually benign but some are cancerous.

Endometriomas

Cysts often occur in women with endometriosis. Cysts form when tissue from the uterus, called endometrium, develops elsewhere in the body. Endometriosis, a medical term for a uterine disorder that affects about ten percent of women, can cause painful ovulation and menstruation that may be cyclical or irregular, as well as chronic pelvic pain. Though typically benign, both PCOS and ovarian cysts can create ovulation problems for women.

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome or PCOS

PCOS is characterized by many small, typically harmless ovarian cysts. PCOS develops in women with a hormone imbalance that affects ovulation. Those with PCOS often develop period problems, reduced fertility, extra body hair, being overweight or obese, and acne. For more information on PCOS, check out the related leaflet called Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.

Cystadenomas

Cystic ovaries don’t come from mature eggs, but rather grow alongside them. Possible presentations are dependent on the fluid they have secreted. Some are benign, while others have cultivated cancerous cells. These cysts can grow large and attached to an ovary via a stalk-like structure growing outside the ovary than within it. Though benign, some can grow very large and be cancerous.

Some growths can be tumours

However, it is important to note that there are other rare types of ovarian cysts. There are also various types of benign ovarian tumours that are solid and not cystic (do not have fluid in the middle).

What does an ovarian cyst feel like?

Ovarian cysts can be diagnosed through a pelvic exam or ultrasound scan for another reason. Cysts rarely cause symptoms but they can rupture and release fluids leading to an infection.

If you have symptoms suggestive of an ovarian cyst, your doctor may examine your tummy (abdomen) and perform an internal (vaginal) examination. They may be able to feel an abnormal swelling which may be a cyst. With PCOS, distinguishing symptoms are less specific yet no less concerning.

How to diagnose the type of cyst

Ultrasound can confirm an ovarian cyst, but it is important to know the difference between PCOS, cystic ovaries, and ovarian cysts. Cystic ovaries are the result of periods in which eggs inside the ovaries aren’t released. Ovarian Cysts can be found by ultrasound, but doctors usually make a diagnosis by looking at how the follicles (egg chambers), measure up with recent ultrasounds.

Many cases of ovarian cancer present initially, as an ovary cyst. A blood test called a CA125 test is often done as well as an ultrasound scan to determine if it is cancerous.

PCOS sufferers regularly experience ovarian cysts. Blood tests can rule out cancer, but it is still wise to complete ultrasound scans regularly.

For the most common type of benign ovarian cysts, an ultrasound scan is needed. It may also be required to get a computerized tomography (CT) scan or a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan in some cases.

To learn more on How to Manage PCOS, click here.

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It’s been more eight months since the lockdown, and we are pretty much getting into the new normal — but something that remained unchanged is the sexual abuse of most women by male abusers.

On November 08, when a Bengaluru based writer asked, “is flashing an offence in India?”, half of the Instagrammers got into a debate!

But what left me startled were the comments made by multiple people on the social media platforms — which showed me their instant disdain towards not only the womenfolk but also the fact that how many people are unaware of the basic form of sexual harassments and how, knowingly or unknowingly, they kept normalising a lot of them all this while.

Man Arrested For Flashing At Bengaluru Based Writer!

This incident which was first covered by us was later given limelight by a lot of digital media platforms, but the one thing that kept anguishing me was the constant contemptation by these men which eventually made me write this.

What is ‘flashing’?

First and foremost, for people asking, ‘yeh flashing kya hota hai’, here’s something you need to understand:

Flashing is a term coined for the act of showing/ revealing your ‘private parts’ to another person; this is something that’s done intentionally, and yes, this is an offence.

The Indian law doesn’t particularly cover the offensive, harassing and sexually abusive act of flashing or cyber-flashing but over time, the law authorities have shared their opinion and concern over this, and though the law doesn’t count it under a crime, there have been enough incidents where the offender have been punished or jailed for the same.

Since the reported cases of such incidents are relatively low in our country, there hasn’t been enough legal developments, but the chances of meeting someone, especially a woman, who would have encountered such an incident at least once would be quite common.

And as if this wasn’t enough, ask any girl/ woman and most of them would probably have got a cyber-flashing story to tell — with social media users growing more than ever, several male users have been found sending unsolicited pictures of their genitalia, pornography or other sorts of visual sexually offensive images into women’s inboxes.

And oh, let me clear the fact that cyber flashing amounts to cyber sexual harassment!!

Is flashing a real crime?

Coming back to the objective of my writing; yes, flashing is an offence. “Such behaviour is a form of exhibitionism which derives pleasure from shocking and intimidating the other party,” says Pulkit Sharma, a clinical psychologist. “When they flash their private parts to someone, the expression of disgust and fear is turn on for these people. In India, girls are taught to hide their private parts, but men aren’t. By flashing, they give the message that they are not at all vulnerable, and the woman in the situation is!”

In the cases reported before, the offenders have been put behind bars for a minimum of six months to upto two years. And though it leaves a lifelong traumatic impression on the victim, not everyone is convinced about the seriousness of the issue.

When singer and activist Chinmayi Sripaada had asked her female Twitter/ Instagram followers to share their experiences of being flashed, she was sent more than 600 responses in only a few days.

The demographics

Speaking of victims, school going, or teenage girls are often flashed. “School-going girls are less sexually experienced, and their reactions are way more pronounced than older women. So they are not only easy targets but also most targeted,” says the middle school counsellor Vandana Nangya.

In fact, auto drivers flashing outside schools or on the routes to working women’s hostels is also very common. A lot of women faces these experiences on buses and trains too, which makes it more difficult for them to commute. Eventually, they either change their routes or jobs.

The outcasted response

Half of the janta doesn’t even know what ‘flashing’ means, and this shows the clear lack of awareness about the basic forms of harassments too.

And these comments made by so many men would give you a clear idea of how lightly the society we live in take these issues.

Is this because they have been raised this way or because they weren’t taught about the disgust, the fear and the trauma it brings?

And those arguing that women should also be punished for flashing themselves lack a clear sense of understanding. The victim could be of any gender and so can be the offender — what one must be concerned about is the offence. The psychology behind flashing is not just limited to the exposure of obscenity but also to the fact that the offender knows that he/ she could potentially get off it easily and safely — that’s how less it matters!

This is not about Milind Soman or Poonam Pandey — this is about the consent, about the etiquettes, about the correct psychology.

Our nation soon should come up with specific laws regarding flashing — in clear terms. And it won’t happen until the adequate amount of awareness is spread awareness among the masses about such forms of sexual harassment.

Until then, do not back out to report such cases — because every time you choose silence, someone else suffers!

PS: All the comments were screengrabbed within 12 hours of posting on the social media!

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