Each year, over a million women suffer from, and seek treatment for, Pelvic Inflammatory Disease, also known as PID. Unfortunately, for many women, symptoms of PID may have lingered for quite some time, resulting in a significant bacterial infection with even more significant issues when faced with the possibility of infection in a sexual partner. For women suffering from female reproductive pain, understanding the symptoms and treatment of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease may result in fewer cases of infertility and associated death.
Pelvic Inflammatory Disease, PID, is a term that encompasses a variety of symptoms and causes. The most common train of thought lends the origin of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease to bacteria associated with a sexually transmitted disease. However, in some women, this is not the case. In fact, PID can be attributed to the use of some forms of contraception, including the IUD, and may even be found in women who use a douching product too frequently, resulting in a disturbance of the bacterial flora in the vaginal area.
Women who suffer from PID generally exhibit symptoms such as pain in the pelvis, uterus, ovaries and even the fallopian tubes. In addition to pain, some women will exhibit more extensive PID symptoms such as fever, irregular menstrual cycles and notice a malodorous vaginal discharge. When untreated, the PID can render a woman infertile and, in rare cases, even result in death.
When diagnosed with Pelvic Inflammatory Disease, PID, the gynecologist should begin a series of antibiotics in an effort to control the bacteria associated with the PID symptoms. The antibiotics used to treat PID can be administered both orally or by injection but should include an antibiotic used in the treatment of sexually transmitted diseases rather than an antibiotic that may be used to treatment an upper respiratory infection or other ailment.
Because Pelvic Inflammatory Disease is attributed to a bacterial infection, preventing the spread of PID is crucially important to the woman’s health as well as the health of her sexual partner. For women suffering from symptoms of PID, avoiding or abstaining from sex is crucial to preventing infection. In fact, to ensure proper control of the bacterial PID infection, it is highly recommended that the sexual partner obtain medical treatment as well to ensure the bacterial infection is not present in either patient upon the completion of treatment.
When untreated, Pelvic Inflammatory Disease can lead to life long complications and may include death. For this reason, in rare cases when the infection is quite significant, the gynecologist may recommend hospital admission with a course of IV antibiotics. While this is rare, it is recommended that the woman suffering from PID be open to the possibility of hospital admission as a necessary course of treatment of the Pelvic Inflammatory Disease.
For more information regarding PID and the associated complications, visit www.cdc.gov.
