There seems to be an epidemic of PCO ( polycystic ovarian
disease) today, but I think this is a myth.
This is because making the diagnosis has become so easy
today - all you need to do is order a "PCO panel of blood tests" from
a medical lab. In fact, lots of online portals will allow you to self-diagnose yourself,
and order the tests yourself ( through their portal of course, where their
preferred partners are happy to give them a kickback for the tests).
Also, these labs spend so much money on "creating
awareness" about this "disease", that every second teenager has started
believing she has PCOD ! Have a little bit of acne ? Oh - then make sure you
don't have PCO ! Put on a little bit of weight ? You may have PCO ! Find a few extra
hair on your face ? Make sure you dont have PCO !
This is why there is so much overdiagnosis and
over-testing .
Now PCO is not a new disease - it's just that we're able
to apply the diagnostic label with much more ease !
Thus, it's very common for hairdressers and beauticians to
tell a client who has a little extra hair or some acne or oily skin that they
may have PCO, and they need to test for it !
They are then happy to "refer" the customer to a
friendly skin specialists, who is happy to order the tests. There is a high
probability that the test results will come back as abnormal, and once a
diagnostic label of PCO has been stuck onto a patient, it remains for life !
This is the real tragedy , because it's not really helping
anyone - and it just ends up creating more anxiety when they read about PCO on Dr
Google !
You can read more about how we treat PCOD at
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