Pelvic Inflammatory Disease - A Serious Bacterial STD!!

Pelvic Inflammatory Disease, also known as PID, is characterized by an infection that occurs in woman's reproductive organs. Usually, this occurs as a result of complications arising from STD. The disease causes severe damage to the ovaries, fallopian tubes and the uterus. It is one of the major causes of infertility in women. 

Mode of infection- The cervix (the lower part of uterus), which is the entry to the body of the uterus has the function of stopping bacteria that are present in the vagina from spreading to other organs. Once infected by STD, the cervix can no longer perform its function effectively of preventing bacteria from spreading to other organs. PID develops when the infection spreads from cervix to the upper areas of the genital tract. 

There are certain factors which increase chances of being affected by PID: 

• Being sexually active 
• Already affected by one 
• Past history of PID 
• Having multiple sexual partners 

Symptoms- Women may experience pain while urinating and engaging in sexual intercourse, coupled with sore feeling in the stomach along with nausea. Abnormal vaginal discharge and a rise in body temperature are other symptoms. 

Treatment- Once the disease has been diagnosed by a doctor, a treatment plan is devised. The treatment options that you can avail of are: 

1. Medications: If the symptoms are mild, then the doctor will prescribe antibiotic medications. Usually, the antibiotics are administered by mouth unless the symptoms are severe, when the drugs are administered by injection. Your partner may also require medications sometimes if you happen to be diagnosed with PID. 
2. Surgery: Surgery may have to be recommended by the doctor in case of severe tissue inflammation and the presence of pus (abscess). The aim of surgery is to get rid of the abscess. 

In addition to the treatment methods, there are certain precautionary measures that one can adopt to be safe: 

1. Have protected sex. 
2. Try and stick to one sexual partner. 
3. Visit your gynecologist for regular checkups.

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!