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Graziadaily
4 days ago
- Health
- Graziadaily
My PCOS Diagnosis Changed How I See My Body
For thirty years of my life, it's felt like I don't know my body. It does things I can't control, that are often painful, with no warning signs. My body is not a car that flashes lights when petrol is low, or emits steam from its bonnet. It is a human thing – flesh, organs, hormones, skin and bones – that I do not fully understand. Heavy, painful periods have stopped me in my tracks or pressed pause on my life again and again. I have hunched over on busy London streets, cramping to a state of disarray, feeling more like a bag of potatoes than a person. I've looked different from week to week, puffing up like rice some days, only to wake up faced with a version of myself I'm more familiar with. I've held my rock-hard, bloated stomach and watched it change shape like a moon eclipsing, depending on the time of day or month. My body has often felt like something that was happening to me, rather than with me. A recent Polycystic Ovary Syndrome diagnosis showed me that, despite always feeling like I should understand more, this confusion isn't my 'fault'. It's actually reality. It's not that I'm mistreating myself or misunderstanding something. Science doesn't know why I have this condition either, or why anyone who has it does. As the NHS website reads: The exact cause of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is unknown. And that, strangely, has been liberating. It's difficult to know exactly how many people have PCOS, with data varying and The World Health Organization estimating that up to 70% of women affected remain undiagnosed worldwide. But it's thought to be very common, affecting about 1 in every 10 women in the UK. If you do get to the diagnosis stage, things don't look much brighter: 2 in 5 people (39%) receive no treatment after their initial consultation, and 56% find more success in self-managing their symptoms than with GP-prescribed care. Earlier this year, I became one of those statistics. After more than 15 years of questioning, half my life, I was casually told that my blood tests and other investigations pointed towards PCOS. For a long time, I'd assumed I had endometriosis. My symptoms aligned, and I knew something wasn't right, but I'd received no medical support and had self-diagnosed. While endometriosis hasn't been ruled out, a conclusive PCOS diagnosis came as a surprise. I don't even have two of the most 'well known' symptoms: excess androgen or polycystic ovaries. What PCOS is, why people get it, and how it manifests are far harder to define than buzzy TikToks and search-friendly blogs would have you believe. Broadly, the NHS outlines the three main features as: irregular periods (when your ovaries don't regularly release eggs), excess androgen (higher levels of "male" hormones, which may cause things like facial or body hair), and polycystic ovaries (enlarged ovaries with many fluid-filled sacs, or follicles, around the eggs – though despite the name, you don't actually have cysts). You need to have at least two of these to be diagnosed. PCOS is also linked to increased risk of type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, and long-term health issues, and is associated with hormonal imbalances, including high insulin. I'm not a medical professional, but through personal research and speaking with many other women, I've learned how varied PCOS is, and how painfully limited our collective understanding of it remains. The lack of research, awareness and treatment is, many argue (myself included), a direct result of medical misogyny. Just look at endometriosis (a condition often grouped with PCOS despite being fundamentally different) – it's less studied than male balding. It's only been a few months since I was diagnosed, and although I was hurried away by overstretched NHS staff with no follow-up or treatment plan, the experience hasn't been all bad. In fact, it's fundamentally changed how I feel about myself, and more specifically, how I feel about my body. After leaving the consultant's office, I spent hours, then days, then weeks, researching. I already knew a fair bit about PCOS thanks to my job as a journalist focused on women's lives. But the more I read, the more I felt vindicated. Vindicated that my painful periods weren't 'normal'. But also, and this is harder to explain, vindicated in my appearance. That felt uncomfortable, even toxic at times. But it was also deeply validating. At 22, I came off contraception and quickly gained two stone. In the eight years since, my weight has steadily increased, even as my lifestyle has stayed largely the same; if anything, I've focused more on health and wellbeing as I've gotten older. But as a journalist who happens to be a woman, and someone with a public social media presence, I've received countless comments about my body – from the mildly offensive to the downright abusive. Those messages got into my head, alongside body-shaming remarks from family and former friends. Even though I've spent a long time in body-neutral and positive spaces, and therefore logically know that fatness isn't shameful and that health isn't something you can see, I still internalised the belief that I was somehow doing something wrong. My PCOS diagnosis shifted that. It gave me answers. From insulin resistance and the role of nutrition, to medication for heavy periods, and, more importantly, a renewed sense of self-empathy. Weight and PCOS is a complex, contradictory topic. Weight gain is a common symptom of PCOS, but we're told one of the best ways to manage the condition is to lose weight. Weight gain happens quickly with PCOS; weight loss happens slowly, if at all. Still, you're encouraged to try. And it runs deeper. Many women in larger bodies are dismissed outright by medical professionals, with weight becoming the sole focus of their care. More than half have reported experiencing medical fatphobia, including inappropriate, unsolicited weight-related comments and being denied treatment. So, while weight gain is a symptom, it's also part of why so many women go undiagnosed in the first place.
Zawya
28-04-2025
- Health
- Zawya
Measles and rubella vaccination campaign protects children in Lunda Norte
Maria da Graça, who lives in the municipality of Chitato, remembers with sadness one of the most difficult moments in her life. In 2024, her eldest daughter, then four years old, fell ill with measles. "It started with a fever, then the spots appeared. She became very weak. I was afraid I was going to lose her," says Maria, her eyes watering. Although her daughter survived, the disease left deep scars and a fear that never left her. Maria's story is shared by many families in Chitato, Dundo and Mussungue, the three municipalities that recorded more than 200 cases of measles between November 2024 and March 2025. Most of those affected were children under the age of five, the group most vulnerable to the disease. "Measles is highly contagious and dangerous. It can cause serious complications such as pneumonia, diarrhea, blindness and even lead to death," explains Augusto Muachissaco, Chitato's municipal health director. "Children between the ages of six months and four years are the most vulnerable. If we don't act now, cases will continue to rise and more lives will be at risk." To contain the spread of the disease and protect children, the health authorities in Lunda Norte, with technical and logistical support from The World Health Organization (WHO), carried out an intensive measles and rubella vaccination campaign between March 20 and 25, 2025. 'The WHO worked closely with the local health authorities to ensure safe vaccines, trained professionals and an efficient campaign capable of reaching all children, even in the most remote areas,' said Dr. Noémia Silva, WHO immunization officer in Angola. The campaign included fixed vaccination posts in health units, schools and communities, as well as advanced teams in the communities, ensuring that no child was left behind. As soon as she heard about the campaign, Maria also took her youngest son, who is one year old, to the post set up at the school in her neighborhood. "The vaccine is a guarantee that we won't go through the same anguish again. Now my two children are protected." Thanks to the collective effort, almost 30,000 children have been vaccinated in the three municipalities. Thousands of families are now safer, better informed and better prepared to protect their children from possible health threats. The initiative by the province of Lunda-Norte resonates deeply as a call to collective action, at a time when the African continent is celebrating African Vaccination Week, under the theme 'Vaccination for all is humanly possible'. This action demonstrates that with local initiatives, everyone's support and the active involvement of the community, it is possible to move towards the 'Great Recovery of Zero-Dose Children' and protect citizens from preventable diseases. Measles is one of the most contagious diseases in the world, but it is also completely preventable through the administration of a safe and effective vaccine. Vaccinating is an act of love, responsibility and hope. Together, we can eliminate measles and save lives. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Health Organization (WHO) - Angola.
France 24
26-04-2025
- Health
- France 24
🌟The Bright Side: Uganda declares end to 6th Ebola outbreak
Uganda declared the end of an Ebola virus outbreak Saturday, which has killed at least two people in the east African nation since late January. The announcement came 42 days after the discharge of the last confirmed patient from hospital. The outbreak marked the sixth time Uganda was affected by the deadly virus that has six different strains, three of which have caused major epidemics. "During this outbreak, 14 cases, 12 confirmed and two not confirmed through laboratory tests (probable), were reported. Four deaths, two confirmed and two probable, occurred. Ten people recovered from the infection," The World Health Organization said in a statement. The confirmed cases of the Sudan Ebola strain resulted in the death of a four-year-old child and a nurse. Several dozens of people were also monitored after coming in contact with the disease, according to the African Union 's health agency (Africa CDC). "The current Ebola Sudan Virus Disease outbreak has officially come to an end," Uganda's health ministry said on X. "This follows 42 days without a new case since the last confirmed patient was discharged on March 14 2025." World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus applauded the health ministry for its "leadership and commitment" in overcoming the outbreak. "Congratulations to the government and health workers of #Uganda on ending the #Ebola outbreak," he said on X on Saturday. There is currently no approved vaccine for the Ebola-Sudan strain. But a vaccination trial for the strain was launched in the country in February. It was praised by the World Health Organization as the "fastest roll-out" of an Ebola vaccine trial in the midst of an epidemic. But the international context for funding such health efforts is proving challenging. In early March, the United Nations launched a call to raise $11.2 million to address this epidemic after the United States announced the cessation of most of its humanitarian aid. Ebola is transmitted between people through body fluids. People who are infected do not become contagious until the appearance of symptoms – mainly fever, vomiting, bleeding and diarrhoea – which occur after an incubation period of between two and 21 days.
Eyewitness News
26-04-2025
- Health
- Eyewitness News
Uganda declares end of 6th Ebola outbreak
NAIROBI, Kenya - Uganda declared the end of an Ebola virus outbreak Saturday, which has killed at least two people in the east African nation since late January. The announcement came 42 days after the discharge of the last confirmed patient from hospital. The outbreak marked the sixth time Uganda was affected by the deadly virus that has six different strains, three of which have caused major epidemics. "During this outbreak, 14 cases, 12 confirmed and two not confirmed through laboratory tests (probable), were reported. Four deaths, two confirmed and two probable, occurred. Ten people recovered from the infection," The World Health Organization said in a statement. The confirmed cases of the Sudan Ebola strain resulted in the death of a four-year-old child and a nurse. Several dozens of people were also monitored after coming in contact with the disease, according to the African Union's health agency (Africa CDC). "The current Ebola Sudan Virus Disease outbreak has officially come to an end," Uganda's health ministry said on X. "This follows 42 days without a new case since the last confirmed patient was discharged on March 14 2025." World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus applauded the health ministry for its "leadership and commitment" in overcoming the outbreak. "Congratulations to the government and health workers of #Uganda on ending the #Ebola outbreak," he said on X on Saturday. There is currently no approved vaccine for the Ebola-Sudan strain. But a vaccination trial for the strain was launched in the country in February. It was praised by the World Health Organization as the "fastest roll-out" of an Ebola vaccine trial in the midst of an epidemic. But the international context for funding such health efforts is proving challenging. In early March, the United Nations launched a call to raise $11.2 million to address this epidemic after the United States announced the cessation of most of its humanitarian aid. Ebola is transmitted between people through body fluids. People who are infected do not become contagious until the appearance of symptoms -- mainly fever, vomiting, bleeding and diarrhoea -- which occur after an incubation period of between two and 21 days. More than 15,000 people in Africa have died of Ebola, all six strains combined, in the past half-century.
Al Jazeera
26-04-2025
- Health
- Al Jazeera
Uganda declares end to latest Ebola outbreak
Uganda has officially declared the end of its latest Ebola outbreak, three months after the first cases emerged in the capital, Kampala. The Ministry of Health announced the milestone on Saturday via its official X account, calling it 'good news' and confirming that 42 days had passed without new infections since the last patient was discharged. 'During this outbreak, 14 cases, 12 confirmed and two not confirmed through laboratory tests [probable], were reported. Four deaths, two confirmed and two probable, occurred. Ten people recovered from the infection,' The World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus applauded the Ugandan Health Ministry for its 'leadership and commitment' in overcoming the outbreak. 'Congratulations to the government and health workers of #Uganda on ending the #Ebola outbreak,' he said on X on Saturday. Ebola infections are frequent in Uganda which has many tropical forests that are natural reservoirs for the virus. The latest outbreak, caused by the Sudan strain of the virus, was detected on January 30 this year when a male nurse contracted the virus and later died. The strain has no approved vaccine. It was Uganda's ninth outbreak since the country recorded its first infection in 2000. Neighbouring the Democratic Republic of the Congo – a country that has experienced more than a dozen outbreaks, including one from 2018 to 2020 which killed nearly 2,300 people – Uganda remains highly vulnerable to the spread of the disease. The latest outbreak began in Kampala, a bustling city of four million people and a key transit hub linking eastern DRC, Kenya, Rwanda and South Sudan. Health experts say Uganda has been able to leverage on its experience battling the disease over the years to bring them under control relatively quickly. Ebola is spread through contact with infected bodily fluids and tissues, with symptoms such as severe headache, muscle pain, vomiting blood and internal bleeding.
