Can COVID Lead To Hormonal Imbalance in Women?

COVID fear is leading to many mental problems in women, which can also manifest into physical health problems the most common being hormonal imbalance. ETV Bharat Sukhibhava was in conversation with Dr. Manjula Anagani, M.D., FICOG, Padmashree Awardee, Clinical Director and HOD, Dept of Gyn and Obst & Lap Surgery, Care Hospitals, Hyderabad, and she has shared some insightful information with us on women's health and COVID.

The lockdowns and home isolation do impact our hormonal imbalance. The fear of the disease itself can cause an alteration in the hormone levels due to an imbalance in the pituitary ovarian axis. The presentation is different for different individuals.

For those who have suffered from COVID- 19 disease, two factors have to be looked into:

1. The co-inflammatory effect of COVID on the hormones. COVID patients are given blood thinners as well as the fact that local changes also occur due to the infection. Women who suffered from covid 19 reported having increased bleeding during 2-3 cycles. However, both these changes are temporary and within a period of 6 months to one year, everything comes back to normal.
2. Post-vaccination also certain changes in the menstrual cycle are seen which are temporary and even if it occurs. Immunity has nothing to do with the menstrual cycle. People who are infected with COVID-19 need not worry about disposing of their sanitary pads in any special way as the blood is not infected. COVID-19 is not spread by blood but is spread by droplet infection, therefore the sanitary pads have to be disposed of as is usually done. The virus does not survive for a long time at all

Fear/ stress of going out, fear of vaccination, fear of contracting infection, erratic dietary patterns which happen due to sitting at home, lack of exercise, no gyming, no walks, no aerobics, leading to obesity all contribute towards a hormonal imbalance. The bad combination of diet, stress, and hormones can lead to PCOS which can come for the first time, or PCOS which is already there can be worsened.

Women avoid going to hospitals for regular checkups for their gynecological checkups and land in an emergency many times. The myth that going to hospitals can make you prone to COVID needs to be busted. Hospitals are one of the safest places during COVID as they take all precautions as far as sanitization is concerned. Also, every multi-specialty hospital has a separate COVID ward, which is kept away from non-COVID visiting patients.

Women should go for regular checkups. Menopausal womengo through erratic menses, mood swings, depression, severe bleeding. women should definitely visit a doctor if several acute conditions occur ex. bleeding does not seem to stop after a period of 10 days, the woman feels anemic, if you have noticed hot sweat flushes, severe abdominal pain, mood swings are too much, dryness.

Some Important Facts To Keep In Mind:

-All women attaining 40 yrs or above age need to take calcium supplements, as after this age your body stops creating it naturally because through food one gets 500mg. teenagers should test for a vitamin deficiency.

- Thyroid deficiency develops at any age it could be in the teenage, middle age, or menopausal period of life and is normally addressed when the woman approaches for pain or severe bleeding, unnecessary weight gain, or producing more thyroid symptoms, ammoniuria. more cases of Thyroid disorder are in light nowadays due to various factors like endocrine changing situations due to plastic usage, pollution of factories has increased so one should always keep a watch on the same by doing a periodical six-monthly test to see if it’s under control.

-Vaccination should be taken on priority in pregnancy, lactating mothers as it’s a vulnerable group. They should not wait should be taken as a topmost priority. Vaccinations should not be delayed or postponed between two doses. Lastly, all women whether adolescent, before pregnancy after pregnancy, or older group should definitely take a COVID vaccine.

For your queries, contactmanjuanagani@yahoo.com.