Health

Risk Factors, Symptoms and Prevention of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease

More and more cases of pelvic inflammatory disease are being reported every year. The disease is quickly becoming prevalent among the non-hispanic black people.

Pelvic Inflammatory Disease

What is PID?

The pelvic inflammatory disease attacks women. The uterus and fallopian tube are two areas in a woman's body where PID occurs. The most common cause of PID is sexually transmitted infection (STI) such as gonorrhoea or chlamydia. Other causes include the side effects of intrauterine devices, vaginal bacterias, etc.

PID statistics

Every year, over one million women in the United States get this disease. Since PID is linked to termination of pregnancy, almost 10% of the women suffering from PID become unable to give birth every year. Teenagers are more susceptible to STIs as well as to PID.

Risk factors

The risk factors include contracting a sexually transmitted disease and not being treated, having multiple sex partners, being in a monogamous relationship with someone, who has multiple sex partners, using IUD for birth control, being previously exposed to PID, etc.

The risk of PID could be reduced if a woman does the following things;

  • Stays in a monogamous relationship with someone, who has been tested negative for any STD.
  • Uses latex condom.

Taking the said steps significantly reduces the risk of getting PID.

PID symptoms

The common symptoms of PID are following:

  • Pain in the pelvic area and in the lower abdomen.
  • Pain at the time of having sex.
  • Fever and an overall feeling of not being well.
  • Vaginal discharge and menstrual bleeding being irregular.

The symptoms may range from mild to severe. All women, especially those, who are twenty five years of age or younger are strongly recommended to get themselves tested for PID because one version of the disease, called "silent PID" doesn't have any symptom at all.

PID diagnosis

Doctors suspect PID after some routine analysis. They examine the cervix area and the fallopian tube, and check if the cervix area is tender. After some routine inspection, the doctor may prescribe the patient blood test and ultrasound test. Doctors trace the infection in the blood and through ultrasound, they view the pelvic organs. There are other diagnostic tests to detect pelvic inflammatory disease such as laparoscopy and endometrial biopsy.

PID treatment

Antibiotics are used by doctors for the treatment of PID. Patients take antibiotics for two weeks. If the disease has become severe, the patient might need to be admitted to a hospital. Doctors find it difficult to diagnose PID, because of which women are strongly advised to undergo PID treatment if no other cause of pelvic pain is found.

Prevention is better than cure

The good news is PID is preventable. I've mentioned it already that the key reason behind PID is STIs. Eliminating the odds of STIs can prevent women from getting pelvic inflammatory disease.

Alongside customary preventive steps such as having a monogamous relationship, women are also advised to have routine check-ups by a gynecologists and screening. The majority of cervical infections are remediable, and they can be stopped before they spread to reproductive organs.

The problem with the treatment is it cannot bring the damages of the reproductive system to an end. Many women delay the treatment, which causes further damage to their pelvic organs. Because antibiotics may cause the symptoms to disappear without curing the disease, a thorough check-up is always recommended.

Oral medications

Your knowledge of PID is incomplete unless you know the oral therapies. Since hospitalization is rare in PID, oral therapies are mostly outpatient programs. If a patient doesn't respond to it within a certain duration (3 days), then his doctor might suggest him inpatient treatment program.

The recommended dose regimen is Ceftriaxone 250 mg intramuscular injection, Doxycycline 100 mg oral pill for two weeks and Metronidazole 500 mg oral pill.

Parenteral therapy

Similar to oral therapy, parenteral therapy is recommended for women with mild or moderate pelvic inflammatory disease. The therapy is outpatient except for women with tubo-ovarian abscesses.

Parenteral regimen, recommended for outpatients are either Cefotetan 2-gram IV within every twelve hours or Cefoxitin 2-gram IV within every six hours along with Doxycycline 100 mg oral pill within every twelve hours. Taking natural anti-inflammatory supplements help, but not when the disease is severe.

Prevent it

The points discussed in this article can help you comprehend the risk factors of PID. Follow the preventive steps mentioned here so you don't get PID.

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