Overview Of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease
Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) is an infection of a woman’s womb (uterus), ovaries, or fallopian tubes.
Commonly Associated With
Oophoritis; Salpingitis; Salpingo – oophoritis; Salpingo – peritonitis
Causes Of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease
PID is an infection caused by bacteria. When bacteria from the vagina or cervix travel to your womb, fallopian tubes, or ovaries, they can cause an infection.
Most of the time, PID is caused by bacteria from chlamydia and gonorrhea. These are sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Having unprotected sex with someone who has an STI can cause PID.
Bacteria normally found in the cervix can also travel into the uterus and fallopian tubes during a medical procedure such as:
- Childbirth
- Endometrial biopsy (removing a small piece of your womb lining to test for cancer)
- Getting an intrauterine device (IUD)
- Miscarriage
- Abortion
- In the United States, nearly 1 million women have PID each year. About 1 in 8 sexually active girls will have PID before age 20.
You are more likely to get PID if:
- You have a sex partner with gonorrhea or chlamydia.
- You have sex with many different people.
- You have had an STI in the past.
- You have recently had PID.
- You have contracted gonorrhea or chlamydia and have an IUD.
- You have had sex before age 20.
Symptoms Of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease
Common symptoms of PID include:
- Fever
- Pain or tenderness in the pelvis, lower belly, or lower back
- Fluid from your vagina that has an unusual color, texture, or smell
Other symptoms that may occur with PID:
- Bleeding after intercourse
- Chills
- Being very tired
- Pain when you urinate
- Having to urinate often
- Period cramps that hurt more than usual or last longer than usual
- Unusual bleeding or spotting during your period
- Not feeling hungry
- Nausea and vomiting
- Skipping your period
- Pain when you have intercourse
- You can have PID and not have any severe symptoms. For example, chlamydia can cause PID with no symptoms. Women who have an ectopic pregnancy or who are infertile often have PID caused by chlamydia. An ectopic pregnancy is when an egg grows outside of the uterus. It puts the mother’s life in danger.
Exams & Tests
Your health care provider may do a pelvic exam to look for:
- Bleeding from your cervix. The cervix is the opening to your uterus.
- Fluid coming out of your cervix.
- Pain when your cervix is touched.
- Tenderness in your uterus, tubes, or ovaries.
You may have lab tests to check for signs of body-wide infection:
- C-reactive protein (CRP)
- Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)
- WBC count
Other tests include:
- A swab taken of your vagina or cervix. This sample will be checked for gonorrhea, chlamydia, or other causes of PID.
- Pelvic ultrasound or CT scan to see what else may be causing your symptoms. Appendicitis or pockets of infection around your tubes and ovaries, called a tubo-ovarian abscess (TOA), may cause similar symptoms.
- Pregnancy test.
Treatment Of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease
Your provider will often have you start taking antibiotics while waiting for your test results.
If you have mild PID:
- Your provider will give you a shot containing an antibiotic.
- You will be sent home with antibiotic pills to take for up to 2 weeks.
- You will need to follow up closely with your provider.
If you have more severe PID:
- You may need to stay in the hospital.
- You may be given antibiotics through a vein (IV).
- Later, you may be given antibiotic pills to take by mouth.
- There are many different antibiotics that can treat PID. Some are safe for pregnant women. Which type you take depends on the cause of the infection. You may receive a different treatment if you have gonorrhea or chlamydia.
- Finishing the full course of antibiotics you’ve been given is extremely important for treating PID. Scarring inside the womb from PID may lead to the need to have surgery or undergo in-vitro fertilization (IVF) to become pregnant. Follow up with your provider after you’ve finished the antibiotics to make sure that you no longer have the bacteria in your body.
- It’s very important that you practice safe sex in order to reduce your risk of getting infections, which could lead to PID.
- If your PID is caused by an STI like gonorrhea or chlamydia, your sexual partner must be treated as well.
- If you have more than one sexual partner, they must all be treated.
- If your partner is not treated, they can infect you again, or can infect other people in the future.
- Both you and your partner must finish taking all of the prescribed antibiotics.
- Use condoms until you both have finished taking antibiotics.
