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Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is an infection of the upper reproductive organs in women, and it is often sexually transmitted. It may also occur as an infection of the lower belly. PID usually begins as an infection of the cervix, which spreads from the cervix up into the uterus and fallopian tubes. An infection may also occur outside of the female reproductive organs in the tissues surrounding these organs. The infection could be present and a woman might not know.
To find out if you have PID, a doctor or nurse must examine you. Lab tests will be done to identify the bacteria that have caused the infection.
Any woman can get PID. Those who are at higher risk of getting PID include younger women, women who have unprotected sex with someone with a sexually transmitted infection such as chlamydia or gonorrhea, and women who have had PID infection before. Having a new sex partner or having more than two sex partners in the past 6 months is also linked with having PID.
Using an intrauterine device (IUD) is also linked with PID. Using oral birth control pills, a condom, or diaphragm may reduce the risk of getting PID.
Women who have PID often do not have any symptoms. The most common symptoms are pain or pressure in the lower belly, usually described as constant and dull. This pain may get worse during bowel movements, urination, or sexual activity. Other symptoms may include fever, abnormal vaginal bleeding, chills, lower back pain, nausea, and vomiting. Sometimes PID is only noticed during a pelvic exam. The pain caused by PID may be so bad that it sometimes requires hospital admission.
The main complications from PID include:
The likelihood of having a complication from PID increases each time a woman has a pelvic infection.
The usual treatment for PID is antibiotic pills. If you are treated sooner, you are less likely to have complications. In some cases, PID may be severe enough that a woman needs to be admitted to the hospital for intravenous antibiotic treatment.
1. You must take all your medication(s) as directed.
2. You should rest in bed for 1 to 3 days - or until there is much less pain.
3. You should return to your doctor or clinic in 2 to 4 days, again 7 to 10 days later, and then about 6 to 8 weeks after completing treatment to ensure the infection has stopped completely.
4. You should not have sexual intercourse until you have finished taking all your medication.
5. Your sexual partner(s) must be treated as well.
If you have different sexual partners, or if your partner has different partners, you should also be tested for other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis and HIV virus linked to AIDS. You should also consider getting vaccine shots to prevent hepatitis B infection. The more sexual partners you have, the higher your risk of getting a STI.
Birth control pills may not work very well when you are taking some antibiotics. Keep taking your birth control pills while taking any medication. Use also a second form of birth control, such as a condom, until your next period after completing the antibiotics.
For more information, see HealthLink BC File #08o Condoms Help Prevent Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs).
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For more HealthLink BC File topics, visit www.HealthLinkBC.ca/healthfiles/index.stm or your local public health unit. Click on www.HealthLinkBC.ca or call 8-1-1 for non-emergency health information and services in B.C. For deaf and hearing-impaired assistance, call 7-1-1 in B.C. Translation services are available in more than 130 languages on request. |
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