Let's Talk About PID- Pelvic Inflammatory Disease

As a person with a pelvis, (yes, I'm talking to you!), it's important to be aware of the conditions that affect your pelvic health to know what to look out for when something feels off. It happens often, seeing that our pelvic floor is the base for our whole body, things can get thrown off quite easily. Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) affects around 5% of women, and it's important to be aware of what it is and what the symptoms are because it can be a very painful and dangerous infection if it goes untreated. So what is PID? It is an infection of the female reproductive organs including the uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries. It most often occurs when sexually transmitted bacteria spread from your vagina to your uterus, fallopian tubes, or ovaries. It can also be something that occurs during menstruation and after childbirth or miscarriage, as it is possible for bacteria to enter the reproductive tract during these instances. It is also possible that PID can occur after receiving an abortion, as well as during the insertion of an IUD, which is a long-term form of birth control that stands for “intrauterine device” that is inserted into the uterus to prevent pregnancy. 

Despite the numerous potential causes of PID, the most common cause is through sexually transmitted infection (STI), such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, or mycoplasma genitalium. These bacterias usually only infect the cervix and can be easily treated with antibiotics. So while it is definitely possible to experience PID after childbirth, during your period, or after the insertion of an IUD, it is most statistically likely that this type of infection will occur via an STI. However, contracting an STI does not mean you will automatically contract PID. The symptoms of an STI can take a while to reveal themselves which increases your chances of developing PID, so the best thing is to use protection and get checked regularly for STIs. But, luckily enough, there are ways to treat it, and it is important to know the signs and symptoms of PID so that you know when to seek treatment. 

The most common signs and symptoms of pelvic inflammatory disease are:

• Pain — ranging from mild to severe — in your lower abdomen and pelvis
• Unusual or heavy vaginal discharge that may have an unpleasant odor
• Unusual bleeding from the vagina, especially during or after sex, or between periods
• Pain during sex
• Fever, sometimes with chills
• Painful, frequent, or difficult urination
• Nausea and vomiting, with an inability to keep anything down

If you begin experiencing these symptoms, you should not hesitate to see a doctor as soon as possible. It is important to note that the consequences of letting PID go untreated can be severe. If left untreated, PID can cause scar tissue and pockets of infected fluid (abscesses) to develop in the reproductive tract. These can cause permanent damage to the reproductive organs. We see patients for pelvic and abdominal pain every day since these are common symptoms to experience over time, especially for women. We recommend seeking specialist help if you are concerned about your pelvic and or sexual health, which should be from an OBGYN you trust, and a pelvic floor therapist if you want to alleviate your physical symptoms.

The complications from this damage can include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Ectopic pregnancy. PID is a major cause of tubal (ectopic) pregnancy. An ectopic pregnancy can occur when untreated PID has caused scar tissue to develop in the fallopian tubes. The scar tissue prevents the fertilized egg from making its way through the fallopian tube to implant in the uterus. Instead, the egg implants in the fallopian tube. Ectopic pregnancies can cause massive, life-threatening bleeding and require emergency medical attention.
• Infertility. Damage to your reproductive organs may cause infertility — the inability to become pregnant. The more times you've had PID, the greater your risk of infertility. Delaying treatment for PID also dramatically increases your risk of infertility.
• Chronic pelvic pain. Pelvic inflammatory disease can cause pelvic pain that might last for months or years. Scarring in your fallopian tubes and other pelvic organs can cause pain during intercourse and ovulation.
• Tubo-ovarian abscess. PID might cause an abscess — a collection of pus — to form in your reproductive tract. Most commonly, abscesses affect the fallopian tubes and ovaries, but they can also develop in the uterus or in other pelvic organs. If an abscess is left untreated, you could develop a life-threatening infection.

Once you have been diagnosed with pelvic inflammatory disease, it is important to be aware of the treatment for it. Prompt treatment with medicine can get rid of the infection that causes pelvic inflammatory disease. But, there's no way to reverse any scarring or damage to the reproductive tract that PID might have caused. 

The treatment for PID typically involves:

• Antibiotics. Your health care provider will prescribe a combination of antibiotics to start immediately. After receiving your lab test results, your provider might adjust your prescription to better match what's causing the infection. You'll likely follow up with your provider after three days to make sure the treatment is working. Be sure to take all of your medication, even if you start to feel better after a few days.
• Treatment for your partner. To prevent reinfection with an STI, your sexual partner or partners should be examined and treated. Infected partners might not have any noticeable symptoms.
• Temporary abstinence. Avoid sexual intercourse until treatment is completed and symptoms have resolved.

If you think that you might be suffering from PID, we advise you to contact your doctor immediately to get checked out and receive the proper treatment. If you are experiencing other kinds of mystery pain in your pelvic area that may or may not be resulting from childbirth and/or pregnancy, we are here to help! Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us here at Arancia Physical Therapy for a free consultation. You can contact us online or by phone at 401.602.7006.