Protect Your Pelvic Health

Tests help prevent pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), a leading cause of infertility

One in Seven Women

Statistically, that’s how many will get PID. Most at risk are:

• Women age 25 or younger. If your cervix is not fully mature, you’re more susceptible to the spread of bacteria.
• Women who are sexually active but not monogamous. PID is spread through sexual contact. Using a condom reduces the risk for getting the disease.

If you’re sexually active and not in a long-term monogamous relationship, your gynecologist will probably suggest you get tested for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) at your yearly exam. Don’t take it personally. The STDs gonorrhea and chlamydia are often symptomless in the earliest stages. Without testing, you may not realize something is wrong until well after the bacteria have spread to the fallopian tubes, uterus or ovaries and you’ve developed a more painful and serious condition called pelvic inflammatory disease (PID).

An estimated 1 in 7 women will be treated for PID in her lifetime. In one-quarter of cases, PID is caught too late, after it has already scarred the fallopian tubes. Scarring can block the movement of fertilized eggs into the uterus, leading to infertility and raising the risk for ectopic pregnancy (pregnancy within the fallopian tube). PID also can cause chronic pelvic pain and, in rare cases, can be fatal.

Many types of bacteria besides those that cause gonorrhea and chlamydia can lead to PID. As a result, there is no definitive diagnostic test. Women with unexplained severe abdominal pain and/or vaginal discharge are usually treated for PID just in case, says Eduardo Lara- Torre, M.D., a gynecologist with Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network. “We tend to overtreat because of the severe consequences of missing it,” he says.

If you are diagnosed with PID, your doctor or health provider typically will prescribe at least two antibiotics designed to kill multiple types of bacteria. When taken as directed, the antibiotics will clear up the infection, but they can’t reverse scarring. That’s why STD screenings are so important.

Want to Know More about sexually transmitted diseases, including one that causes cancer? Call 610-402-CARE.

Published from Healthy You Magazine, September-October 2007

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