Pelvic Inflammatory Disease and How It Affects Female Fertility

Pelvic Inflammatory Disease and How It Affects Female Fertility

Introduction

Millions of women are infected with Pelvic Inflammatory Disease all over the world. Here, the reproductive organs of the women get infected because of sexually transmitted diseases. PID can be treated with antibiotics but can lead to long-term consequences, particularly on women’s fertility.

This article will make you knowledgeable about Pelvic inflammatory disease and how it affects female fertility.

Understanding Pelvic Inflammatory Disease

The genital infection causes permanent functional damage to the reproductive tract in both men and women, resulting in infertility. In men, post-infection infertility is uncommon, whereas, in women, sequelae after pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) are the most common cause of acquired infertility. 

The pelvic inflammatory disease, commonly known as PID, occurs when a bacterial infection is spread from the vagina to your fallopian tubes, uterus, and ovaries. Bacteria causing PID are transmitted sexually, including Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. About 1 in 8 women struggle to get pregnant, suffering from PID. If PID is not treated on time, it can lead to inflammation, scarring, and damage to the reproductive organs, reducing the chance of conceiving. 

Symptoms of Pelvic inflammatory disease

The symptoms of PID can vary from mild to severe and may include:

  • Pain in the lower abdomen or pelvis
  • Pain during sex
  • Painful urination
  • Abnormal vaginal discharge
  • Fever
  • Mensuration problems
  • Nausea and vomiting

Causes of PID

Do you know what causes pelvic inflammatory disease ? Well, if not, here are the real causes you should know.

 PID is caused due to bacterial infection, which mainly spreads from the vagina or the cervix to the reproductive organ higher up. Different bacteria can cause PID (sexually transmitted infections) like chlamydia or gonorrhea.

One more STI known as mycoplasma genitalium is increasing and is considered a major cause of PID. 

PID treatment

If PID is discovered early in the illness, an antibiotic course, typically lasting 14 days, can be used to treat it.

A combination of antibiotics covering the majority of infections will be administered to you, along with tablets or rarely an injection.

To help ensure the infection clears, it’s crucial to finish the entire course and refrain from having sex during this time.

In addition, you partner should get treated for any STDs that may have caused your PID ,from your recent sexual partners. This will lessen the likelihood that it will return or infect more people.

Risk factors

A number of factors might increase your risk of pelvic inflammatory disease, including:

  •   Being sexually active and younger than 25 years old
  •   Having multiple sexual partners
  •   Being in a sexual relationship with someone who has more than one sex partner
  •   Having sex without a condom
  •   Douching regularly, which upsets the balance of good versus harmful bacteria in the vagina and might mask symptoms
  •   Having a history of pelvic inflammatory disease or a sexually transmitted infection

There is a small increased risk of PID after the insertion of an intrauterine device (IUD). This risk is generally confined to the first three weeks after insertion.

Complications

Various complications could take place if PID is not treated well, leading to scar tissues and infected fluids developing in the reproductive tract. Reproductive organs can be damaged permanently with this. The complications with the damage are as follows-

Ectopic pregnancy– Ectopic pregnancy occurs when scar tissues are developed in

fallopian tubes, because of untreated PID. It is a paramount cause of ectopic pregnancy. 

Infertility– The inability to conceive may result from damage to your reproductive organs. The likelihood of infertility increases with the number of PID episodes you have. Your chance of becoming infertile also rises noticeably if you put off receiving treatment for PID.

Chronic pelvic pain– Pelvic pain resulting from pelvic inflammatory disease may persist for several months or even years. Pain during ovulation and sexual activity may be a result of scarring in your fallopian tubes and other pelvic organs.

Tubo-ovarian abscess– An abscess, or collection of pus, could develop in your reproductive tract as a result of PID. Abscesses can form in the uterus or other pelvic organs, but they typically affect the ovaries and fallopian tubes. An infection that could be fatal could arise from an untreated abscess

Prevention

 Well, if you want to prevent yourself from the Pelvic Inflammatory Disease, here are some important preventions that you should know:

  • When you are going through a sexual process, always use barrier form of contraceptive (condoms )and have safe sex. Limit the number of partners you are having sex with and get a proper sexual history of your partner.
  • Always talk with your health care provider about the contraception’s as many of them hardly protect against the PID. The barrier methods are helpful in reducing the risk like use of condom. Consumption of birth control pill or use of condom while having sex can protect against the Sexually Transmitted Infection.
  • Schedule a test appointment with your provider if you think you may have a STI. If necessary, arrange a routine screening schedule with your provider. Your best chance of avoiding PID is to treat a STI as soon as possible.
  • Get your partner tested and treated if you have STIs or pelvic inflammatory disease. This may stop the transmission of STIs and the potential recurrence of PID.

For more details or you want to know more about  Pelvic Inflammatory Disease and How It Affects Female Fertility, you can contact Aveya IVF infertility Centre.

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