What Are Ovarian Cysts?
Ovarian cysts often can be found in people who are perfectly healthy and do not pose a threat to your overall health as a woman, but sometimes you may have a variation of ovarian cysts that can be painful to deal with. Oftentimes, if the ovarian cysts start to bleed or grow in the pelvic area, they may become inflamed or cause severe menstrual pain that could lead to infertility if left untreated. In order to correctly understand the many different kinds of cysts, and what exactly ovarian cysts are, it is first important to understand how they are formed within the reproductive system. Normally within a women’s reproductive system there are two ovaries that are located on the two sides of the uterus. These ovaries produce eggs each month that are grown in a sac until it is time for the ovary to release the egg which starts a women’s period. However, when the sac called the follicle does not rupture to release the egg during menstruation, the fluid inside remains in the body and starts to form a cyst inside the ovary. Hence the name given to small bubbles in the ovaries: ovarian cysts. Sometimes small cysts are already present in the ovary when the follicles are formed in turn producing larger ovarian cysts. There are different types of ovarian cysts, but the good news is that most are benign and simply may present with added pain during the menstruation period or directly before a woman starts her period. Depending on the type of ovarian cysts that are formed in the body, women may discover they have them in their early twenties onwards throughout their life. For the most part, women with ovarian cysts simply experience more pain during their period and/or severe abdominal pain that may send them to the doctor. Severe abdominal pain should not be ignored because this can signify that dermoid ovarian cysts that have twisted themselves and left untreated they may cause infertility if left untreated. The dermoid ovarian cysts and endometriod ovarian cysts are usually the cysts that a small percentage of women may have that are actual potential health threats and infertility threats to women. Typical treatment is to control the size of the growth as removing them is counterproductive since the body will re-grow them after surgery. Therefore, surgery is only an option if the cysts grow to be over 5-6 inches in diameter. |
