What are the symptoms of premature ovarian failure?

Women should pay attention to protecting their ovaries, especially if they suffer from premature ovarian failure, which can cause menstrual disorders, abnormal leucorrhea, or mental symptoms such as memory loss and inattention, affecting their work and life.

1. Menstrual disorders

It can manifest in three forms: prolonged menstrual cycle or intermittent amenorrhea, decreased menstrual volume, shortened menstrual period, and finally menopause; or shortened and frequent menstrual cycle, prolonged menstrual period, increased menstrual volume, and even heavy vaginal bleeding or spotting, which gradually decreases and leads to menopause; or sudden cessation of menstruation, which is less common.

2. Reproductive tract changes

Pain and difficulty in sexual intercourse; vaginal burning sensation; yellow leucorrhea with a foul odor or even blood, which are manifestations of senile vaginitis; atrophy and closure of the cervical canal leading to uterine pyometra; or atrophy of the uterus and other reproductive organs.

3. Vasomotor syndrome

Common symptoms include skin flushing, hot flashes, sweating, dizziness, etc. The most typical symptoms are hot flashes and sweating, which occur in paroxysmal episodes, ranging from several times to dozens of times a day; the duration is from a few seconds to a few minutes.

4. Psychiatric symptoms

Anxiety, memory loss, lack of concentration, irritability, insomnia, and even mood swings. The symptoms are particularly obvious in women who have had unstable mental states in the past.

5. Urinary tract symptoms

Frequent urination, urgency, incontinence or urinary retention are caused by atrophy of the urethra and bladder due to a decrease in estrogen.

6. Skin and hair symptoms

The skin becomes thin, loses elasticity, and wrinkles appear; skin pigmentation is common on the face, back of the hands, and calves; hair gradually falls out and white hair appears.

7. Bone and joint symptoms

Osteoporosis is the most important complication for postmenopausal women, manifested by pain in the neck, waist, back, shoulders, knees, and arms; the incidence of fractures increases significantly, and common sites are ribs, vertebrae, hips, limbs, and femoral neck.