Pelvic Pain and Disease- 03

1- Chronic Pelvic Pain
2- Diagnosing Chronic Pelvic Pain
3- How to Ease Your Chronic Pelvic Pain

4- Chronic Pelvic Pain: Questions to Ask
5- Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Pelvic Pain
6- Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID)

7- Symptoms of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease
8- How Do I Know If I Have PID?
9- What's the Treatment for Pelvic Inflammatory Disease?

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7- Symptoms of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease

What Are the Symptoms of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease?

Pelvic inflammatory disease, or PID, is an infection of the organs of a women’s reproductive system. They include the uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes, and cervix. It’s usually caused by a sexually transmitted infection (STI), like chlamydia or gonorrhea, and is treated with antibiotics.

You might not notice any symptoms of PID early on. But as the infection gets worse, you can have:

• Pain in your lower belly and pelvis
• Heavy discharge from your vagina with an unpleasant odor
• Bleeding between periods
• Pain during sex
• Fever and chills
• Pain when you pee or a hard time going

Call your doctor right away if you have any of these.

PID can cause serious problems if it’s not treated. For example, you might have trouble getting pregnant or have pain in your pelvic area that doesn’t go away.

In some cases, PID can bring on more intense symptoms. You’ll need to go to the emergency room right away if you have:

• Severe pain in your lower belly
• Signs of shock, like fainting
• Vomiting
• Fever higher than 101 F

Some of these also can be signs of other serious medical conditions, like appendicitis or an ectopic pregnancy (a pregnancy that happens in a fallopian tube outside the womb). You would need medical help right away for these as well.

Signs of an STI

Treating a sexually transmitted infection right away can help keep you from getting PID. Symptoms of STI are a lot like those of PID. They include heavy discharge from your vagina with an unpleasant odor, pain when you pee, and bleeding between periods.

Call your doctor as soon as you notice any of these to lower your chances of PID.

8- How Do I Know If I Have PID?

How Do I Know If I Have Pelvic Inflammatory Disease?

Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is a bacterial illness of the female reproductive system, including the uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries. It’s usually the result of a sexually transmitted infection like gonorrhea or chlamydia. It can cause pain in your lower belly and hurt your ability to have a baby if it’s not treated properly. About 770,000 women are diagnosed with PID each year.

The Symptoms

There are a variety of problems that could be a sign of PID. They include:

• Pain or tenderness in the lower or upper right abdomen
• A foul-smelling discharge from your vagina
• Pain when you pee
• Pain during sex
• Fever
• Throwing up, or feeling like you’re going to throw up
• More bleeding than usual during your period

You should see a doctor if you’re experiencing these symptoms. But some of these things can also be signs of other serious conditions, so your doctor will most likely run some tests to figure out whether you have PID or something else.

Diagnosing PID

When you visit your doctor, she’ll likely give you a pelvic examination. She’ll check for signs of tenderness in your cervix, uterus or surrounding organs (ovaries and fallopian tubes).

She’ll also:

• Look for signs of any fluid in the vagina or cervix that doesn’t look right
• Ask about your symptoms and your medical and sexual history
• Take your temperature

You doctor may check fluid samples under a microscope and send cultures for gonorrhea and chlamydia to the lab.

She might also recommend some tests:

• Blood test. This is to check for sexually transmitted infection.
• Ultrasound. This will make a picture of your internal organs.

If the exam or your tests show a high suspicion for PID, your doctor will talk to you about what treatment you need to get rid of it. You should also talk about your diagnosis with anyone you had sex with in the 60 days before your exam. That way they can get tested as well.

9- What's the Treatment for Pelvic Inflammatory Disease?

What's the Treatment for Pelvic Inflammatory Disease?

Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is an infection of the female reproductive system. It’s usually caused by a sexually transmitted infection. If you have it, most likely your doctor will give you antibiotics, but sometimes a hospital stay may be needed.

The Basics

PID can affect different parts of your reproductive system, including the uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries. If it’s not treated properly, you can end up with repeated infections, or it may make it hard for you to have a baby.

Several kinds of bacterial infections can give you PID, including gonorrhea, chlamydia and mycoplasma genitalium. About 770,000 women get it each year.

Medications

Several different types of antibiotics have been found to work against the illness, and you may be given several types to take together.

You’ll most likely be taking antibiotics for 2 weeks. You should always follow the directions and take all of them, even if you feel better.

Your symptoms should improve within 3 days. If they don’t, you should go back to your doctor, because you may need to try something else.

Hospitalization

In more serious cases, your treatment may include a stay in the hospital. There may be several reasons for this:

• You’ve been taking antibiotics and your symptoms aren’t improving. Your doctor might ask you to take more tests to figure out why.
• You need to take antibiotics with an IV. If you’re not able to keep pills down, for instance, your doctor will want you to get antibiotics directly into your body with intravenous fluids.
• You’ve developed what’s called a “tubo-ovarianabscess.” This happens when part of an ovary or fallopian tube fills with infected fluid that needs to be drained. IV antibiotics are usually given first to see if they’ll clear up the infection.
• You are sick to your stomach, vomiting or running a high fever. Your doctor might not be able to rule out another abdominal problem, such as appendicitis.

Tell Your Partner

You should tell anyone you’ve had sex with in the past 60 days about your illness. If it’s been longer than 60 days since you’ve had sex, tell your most recent partner, who should also get treated.

You should not have sex while you’re undergoing treatment for PID, and neither should your partner.