Pelvic inflammatory disease
Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) generally refers to infection and inflammation of the uterus, fallopian tubes or ovaries in women and can result in permanent damage to a woman’s reproductive organs. The infection is caused by bacteria or other micro-organisms, such as Chlamydia. It is fairly common among women who are under 25 years of age, and women with more than one sexual partner are at the highest risk of PID. Also, those women using an IUD (intrauterine device) as contraception are at higher risk of getting PID.
It’s estimated that 10,000 Australian women are treated for PID as hospital inpatients each year, but it’s thought that up to 10 to 30 times that number may be treated as outpatients or have a lesser form of infection.
How do I know if I have PID?
It can sometimes be difficult to tell if you have PID, as some people may have severe symptoms while others may have mild or even no symptoms at all. You may have:
- a disturbed menstrual cycle;
- pain or burning when urinating;
- pain or tenderness in your lower abdomen;
- pain during sex;
- backache;
- discharge from the vagina that has a bad odour; or
- fever, chills, nausea or vomiting.
If you have any of these symptoms, see your doctor.
The consequences of PID can be extremely distressing. Having just one bout of PID can double your risk of tubal infertility and even a single attack increases your chances of having an ectopic pregnancy 7-fold.
What are the causes of PID?
PID is usually spread sexually, but some surgical procedures, such as abortion, having an IUD inserted or even childbirth, can cause micro-organisms that enter the vagina to then travel through the cervix (the entrance to the uterus), into the uterus and up the fallopian tubes. In severe cases of infection the ovaries may become infected as well.
A common cause of PID is Chlamydia — a sexually transmitted disease. If Chlamydia infection is left untreated it can spread to the fallopian tubes, causing PID that may lead to infertility or permanent pelvic pain. Chlamydia infection is one of the most common causes of blocked fallopian tubes.
Women infected with Chlamydia often have no symptoms early in the infection, so if you are sexually active, you should have your doctor check for Chlamydia at least once a year. Sexually active men should also have regular checks for Chlamydia, even if they do not have any symptoms, so that they do not pass the infection on to their partner.
How can I prevent PID?
Not having sex at all is obviously the best way to prevent PID, but if you are in a sexual relationship with only one (faithful) partner, you have very little risk of PID.
If you have multiple partners, though, there are a number of ways you can guard against PID.
- Use condoms during sex (vaginal or anal).
- If you have an IUD, always make sure your partner wears a condom.
- Use a spermicide as well as a condom.
- If you are taking birth control pills and have more than one sex partner, use spermicides and condoms to further reduce your risk of PID.
Treatment
If you do have PID, it’s important that you, and all recent sex partners, are checked and treated by the doctor. As well, it’s important that you do not have sexual intercourse again until you receive a negative test result.
Finally, if you think you may have PID or Chlamydia infection, see your doctor. PID can seriously affect your health and fertility and although prevention is the best option, prompt treatment (with antibiotics) can get rid of the infection and ensure that it doesn’t cause problems in the future.
Last Reviewed: 27 March 2001
