Pelvic inflammatory disease is the bacterial infection that occurs in the reproductive organs of women. Commonly called as PID, this disease is one of the major sexually transmitted disease. It severe cases it can cause irreversible damage to the ovaries and uterus and even infertility in women. Every year around 1 million women living in the USA are affected with pelvic inflammatory disease and become infertile. It may also cause ectopic pregnancy in many thousands of women. PID is common in teenagers. The worst part of PID is it will not produce any symptoms until the infection grows very severe causing chronic pelvic pain.
Symptoms :
During the initial stages there may not be any signs of PID. For some women it can cause pain in the abdomen, foul smelling vaginal discharge and irregular periods. She will experience pain in her vagina during intercourse. In severe cases, it can cause fever, fatigue, low back pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. If the infection is caused due to Chlamydia it will not produce any symptoms at all.
Causes :
The cervix of every woman will prevent the entry of bacteria and other micro-organisms into the internal reproductive organs. But when it is exposed to sexually transmitted diseases like gonorrhea it gets infected and thus the infection spreads into the deep parts of the uterus. The bacteria will travel from the cervix region till the upper genital tract making symptoms worse.
The major cause of PID is untreated gonorrhea or Chlamydia which is caused by unsafe sex. Women having sex with multiple partners are likely to get this infection from others. Sometimes abortion or any other pelvic procedures can cause PID. Having a contraceptive device in your uterus can increase the risk of getting PID.
Risk Factors :