Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)

Overview

Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is an infection that occurs in your uterus, fallopian tubes or ovaries. It causes lower abdominal pain, abnormal discharge, and fever, and requires immediate antibiotics to prevent infertility and chronic pain.

It most often happens when sexually transmitted germs spread from the vagina to the uterus, fallopian tubes or ovaries.

The symptoms of pelvic inflammatory disease may be mild. Some people have no symptoms. If you don’t have symptoms, you might not realize you have pelvic inflammatory disease until you have trouble getting pregnant or you get ongoing, called chronic, pelvic pain.

It most often happens when sexually transmitted germs spread from the vagina to the uterus, fallopian tubes or ovaries.

If not treated, PID can cause scar tissue and pockets of infected fluid, called abscesses, in the reproductive tract. These can cause long-term damage.

Symptoms

Symptoms might be mild or unnoticeable. But symptoms of PID can also start suddenly. They can include:

Fever, sometimes with chills.
Urinating often. It may cause a burning feeling.
Pain or tenderness in your stomach or lower abdomen (belly), the most common symptom.
Irregular periods or having spotting or cramping throughout the month.
Nausea and vomiting.
Bleeding from the vagina between periods.
Pain during sex.

Causes

Many types of germs can cause PID. But gonorrhea and chlamydia are the most common. You may get these germs during sex if you don’t use protection, such as a condom.

Other germs also can cause pelvic inflammatory disease. These include bacteria in the vagina that are typical but out of balance. This is called bacterial vaginosis.

Rarely, germs may enter the reproductive tract when a healthcare professional puts in an intrauterine device, also called an IUD, for long-term birth control. Any medical procedure that involves putting instruments into the uterus also can cause PID.

Diagnosis and Tests

healthcare provider can diagnose PID through:

Asking about your medical history, including your general health, sexual activity and symptoms.
A pelvic exam to examine your reproductive organs and feel for tenderness or abscesses (collections of pus).
A vaginal culture to test your vaginal discharge for certain bacteria.

Blood tests.
Urine test to rule out a urinary tract infection, which causes similar pelvic pain.
Ultrasound to get clearer images of your reproductive system.
Testing for STIs.

In some cases, the consultant may recommend:

Endometrial biopsy: Your provider removes a small tissue sample from your uterine lining and tests it for diseases.
Laparoscopy: Your provider makes small incisions in your pelvis, then inserts a lighted instrument to look more closely at your reproductive organs.

Treatment

Your provider will prescribe antibiotics that you take by mouth, typically for 14 days. Make sure to take all your medicine, even if you start feeling better. Often, your symptoms improve before the infection goes away. Your provider may recommend you return a few days after starting the medicine. They can check that treatment is working.

Some people take antibiotics and still have symptoms. If that happens, you may need to go to the hospital to receive antibiotics through an IV. You may also need IV medication if you:

Are pregnant.
Have a severe infection and feel very sick.
Have an abscess (collection of pus) in your fallopian tube or ovary.

You shouldn’t have sex until you finish treatment. When you do have sex again, use condoms every time to prevent infections.

Complications

Pelvic inflammatory disease may cause scar tissue and pockets of infected fluid, called abscesses, in the reproductive tract. These can cause lasting damage to the reproductive organs.

Complications from this damage might include:

Ectopic pregnancy. PID is a major cause of ectopic pregnancy, also called tubal pregnancy. An ectopic pregnancy can happen when PID causes scar tissue in one of the tubes that links the uterus to the ovaries, called the fallopian tubes. The scar tissue keeps the fertilized egg from making it through the fallopian tube to the uterus.The fertilized egg then grows in the fallopian tube. Ectopic pregnancies can cause life-threatening bleeding and need emergency medical attention.
Trouble getting pregnant. Damage to your reproductive organs can keep you from getting pregnant, called infertility. The more times you’ve had PID, the greater your risk of infertility. Delaying treatment for PID also greatly raises your risk of infertility.
Ongoing, called chronic, pelvic pain. Pelvic inflammatory disease can cause pelvic pain that might last for months or years. Scarring in the fallopian tubes and other pelvic organs can cause pain during sex and when the body releases an egg, called ovulation.
Tubo-ovarian abscess. PID might cause pus to form in the reproductive tract. This is called an abscess. Most often, abscesses affect the fallopian tubes and ovaries. But they can form in the uterus or in other pelvic organs. An abscess may turn into a life-threatening infection.

If you get prompt diagnosis and treatment for an infection, antibiotics can cure PID. But treatment can’t reverse any damage that already happened to your reproductive organs. Don’t wait to get treated. See your provider right away so you can get the help you need. If you have pelvic inflammatory disease, tell your sexual partner(s). They should receive treatment. Otherwise, you may get PID again when you resume sex.

The Above article is for information purpose only, if you have any such symptom’s we would advise you to visit to your nearest healthcare provider and take the treatment or you can share the reports with us via query@gtsmeditour.com and get the medical opinion from our best available doctors from major hospitals abroad.

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