Pelvic inflammatory disease

**Pelvic inflammatory disease** or PID is an infection.  It is an infection of the female organs: uterus. fallopian tubes, cervix, and ovaries. PID can cause a women not being able to have a baby. It can cause a baby to grow outside of the womb and pelvic pain. Sometimes the woman does not feel sick. The infection is caused by bacteria. Sexually transmitted infections can cause pelvic inflammatory disease. The infection is from having sex with some one who has the infection. One in 8 women with a history of PID may have a problem getting pregnant.

## Signs and symptoms

A woman with PID can feel sick. But sometimes a woman with PID does not feel sick. A woman with PID can have a fever, She can have pain when the belly is touched, painful sex, or unusual bleeding. The signs of being sick with PID can be:
- lower belly pain
- fever
- vaginal discharge
- painful sex
- burning feeling with urination
- bleeding

If this illness is not treated it can prevent a woman from having children.  It can kill the unborn child and it can be very painful. This disease can be treated and the infection can be cured. PID is treated by a doctor with antibiotic medication.

## Cause

The infection is caused by microorganisms that enter the body through the vagina during sex.  The bacteria travel up thorough the uterus and into the inside of the body. There are many microorganisms that cause infection in this way, such as:
- Gonorrhea
- _Chlamydia_
- Some mycoplasmas

## Diagnosis

Medical workers use different tests to find the infection.  They can perform a medical exam to see evidence of pus and find painful areas.  They can use a microscope to see the microorganisms causing the infection. A blood test can detect PID. Two thirds of women were not aware they had PID.  Even with no signs of infection, PID can cause serious harm.

## Similar symptoms

Other things can cause the same infection as PID. This could be a complicated pregnancy, appendicitis, swollen or twisted ovaries, and endometriosis. A woman is more likely to get Pelvic inflammatory disease if she has had it before.  She is more likely to have the infection if she has recently had sex, started menstruation, had an Intrauterine device put inside her uterus or if her sex partner has a sexually transmitted infection.

## Prevention

Medical testing for sexually transmitted infections is important for prevention. The chance of getting PID can be made less by:
- Using condoms
- Not having sex
- Seeing a doctor if you have belly pain
- Not having sex with anyone that has or had a sexually transmitted infection
- Not having sex after a baby is born,  a miscarriage, or abortion.

## Treatment

If your medical provider thinks you are infected, treatment is usually started right away. Serious results may happen from delayed treatment. Sometimes the medical provider will use a test to help find the infection. Curing the infection with antibiotic medications is normal.  Treating sex partners for possible infections will help in treatment and prevention of getting the infection again.

If the women does not get treated, the infection can get worse. Then many things will happen. If this infection is found early, treatment can begin, and the problems can be prevented. Some of the bad things that can happen with PID are blocked fallopian tubes and internal scar tissue.  The woman could have a baby grow outside the womb. There could be much pain in the belly.

## Being cured

Even when the PID infection is cured, the damage from the infection may not go away. This makes finding the infection important. Treatment by medical providers can prevent damage to the female reproductive organs.

## Other websites

- NIH/Medline
- CDC
- Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID; Salpingitis, Endometritis)