Are ovarian cysts and polycystic ovaries the same? How to distinguish?

Ovarian cysts and polycystic ovaries are both related to the ovaries, but polycystic ovary is just a type of ovarian syndrome and does not fall into the category of disease. Ovarian tumor is a foreign body growing on the ovary and is a very common tumor in gynecology. So what are the differences among ovarian tumors? The following is a detailed explanation of the difference between ovarian cysts and polycystic ovaries.

The difference between ovarian cysts and polycystic ovaries:

Different causes of disease:

Ovarian cysts are caused by long-term dietary structure, bad living habits, excessive psychological stress and other factors that lead to excessive acidification of the body, a decline in the body's overall function, and kidney deficiency, which in turn causes the liver to become weak, leading to a slowdown in the metabolic cycle in the lower abdomen, causing ovarian diseases and endocrine disorders, a decline in immune function, and the development of abnormal proliferation of ovarian tissue, ultimately leading to ovarian cysts and even cancer. In addition, due to the acidification of the body constitution, other tissues of the body may become cancerous, and due to the decline in body functions, the body's tissue fluid may become acidic, causing ovarian cysts.

The exact cause of PCOS is unknown. It is currently believed that the ovaries produce too much androgen, and the excessive production of androgen is the result of the synergistic dysfunction of multiple endocrine systems in the body.

Symptoms vary:

Clinically, ovarian cysts are often manifested by lower abdominal pain, discomfort, increased vaginal discharge, yellow vaginal discharge, abnormal vaginal odor, menstrual irregularities, and usually a firm and painless swelling in the lower abdomen, and sometimes pain during sexual intercourse. When cysts interfere with hormone production, symptoms such as irregular vaginal bleeding or increased hair growth may occur. If the cyst twists, there will be severe abdominal pain, bloating, difficulty breathing, loss of appetite, nausea and fever. Larger cysts can put pressure on the area near the bladder, causing frequent urination and difficulty urinating. Especially when these symptoms are severe, bleeding is frequent and occur at the same time, women are more likely to develop ovarian cysts and the risk of malignant ovarian cancer is greater.

The clinical manifestations of polycystic ovary vary in severity and mostly occur in women aged 20-40 years old during their reproductive period. Typical polycystic ovary syndrome patients mainly present with:

1. Menstrual disorders, including oligomenorrhea, secondary amenorrhea and anovulatory functional uterine bleeding after menarche.

2. Infertility: Infertility occurs after marriage, mainly due to menstrual disorders and anovulation.

3. Hirsutism, abundant body hair, male-like pubic hair, oily skin, and acne are caused by the accumulation of androgens.

4. Obesity. About half of the patients have this symptom, which is related to excessive androgen, increased proportion of unbound testosterone and long-term stimulation of estrogen.

5. Bilateral ovarian enlargement. The volume of the ovaries can be determined by laparoscopic direct visualization of the ovaries or B-ultrasound imaging.

6. Acanthosis nigricans is a condition characterized by the appearance of symmetrical gray-brown pigmentation on the skin of the neck, back, armpits, under the breasts, and groin, such as velvety, flaky, hyperkeratotic lesions.