Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is a term for an infection of the upper reproductive
organs in women. It may also occur as an infection of the lower belly. PID usually
begins as an infection of the cervix, which spreads from the cervix up into
the uterus and fallopian tubes. An infection may also occur outside of the female
reproductive organs, in the structures surrounding these organs. You can have
PID and not know it.
To find out if you have
PID, you must be examined by a doctor or nurse. Lab tests will be done to help
name the specific bacteria that have caused the infection.
Any woman can get PID but those at higher risk include, younger women, women
who have unprotected sex with someone who has a sexually transmitted disease,
usually chlamydia or gonorrhea, and women who have had PID infection before.
Other risk factors include having a new sexual partner, or having more than
two partners in the past six months.
Using an IUD/intrauterine
device can also increase the risk, while using oral birth control pills,
a condom or diaphragm can reduce the risk of PID.
Women who have PID often do not have any symptoms. The most common symptoms
are pain or pressure in the lower belly, usually described as constant and dull.
This pain may get worse during bowel movements, sexual activity, or while urinating.
Other symptoms may include fever, abnormal vaginal bleeding, chills, nausea,
lower back pain, and vomiting. Sometimes PID is only noticed during a pelvic
exam. The pain caused by PID may be so bad it sometimes requires hospital admission.
The usual treatment for PID is antibiotic pills. The sooner you get treated,
the less likely you will have complications. In some cases, PID can be severe
enough that patients need to be admitted to the hospital for intravenous antibiotics.
Important directions for treatment:
1. You must take all your medication(s) as directed.
2. You should rest in bed for one to three days - or until there is much less pain.
3. You should return to
your doctor or clinic in two to four days, again seven to ten days later,
and then about six to eight weeks after completing treatment to ensure the
infection has stopped completely.
4. You should not have
sexual intercourse until you have finished taking all your medication.
5. Your sexual partner(s)
must be treated as well.
If you have different sexual partners, or if your partner has different partners,
you should also be tested for other STDs including gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis
and HIV (the virus linked to AIDS). You should also consider getting vaccine
shots to prevent hepatitis B infection.
Please remember: The more sexual partners you have, the higher
your risk of getting a STD.
Birth control pills may not work very well when you are taking some antibiotic
medicines. Keep taking your birth control pills while taking any medication,
and also use a second form of birth control, such as a condom, until your next
period after completing the antibiotics.
Have sex with only
one partner who has been tested for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs),
who has been treated if necessary and who is having sex only with you. The
more partners you have, the higher your risk of getting an STD.
Use a female or male
condom every time you have sex. Condoms offer protection against STDs, but
they must be used properly.
A condom
acts like a barrier that helps prevent the exchange of body fluids, the
transmission of sexually transmitted infections, and pregnancy.
A new
condom should be used each time you have sexual intercourse (anal, vaginal,
or oral sex).
Check the expiry date on the condom package.
Use
only water-based lubricants with the male latex condom. Oil-based lubricants,
such as petroleum jelly, lotion or baby oil, can weaken and destroy latex.
Female
condoms are made of polyurethane. This material can be used with any type
of lubricant, water-based or oil-based.
Some
lubricants contain chemicals called spermicides to help protect against
unwanted pregnancy. If they irritate your genitals, don't use them.
Do
not use a male condom together with a female condom as the friction created
may cause tearing of either product.
If
a condom breaks during sex remove it immediately and apply a new condom.
Remember!
Condoms do not offer 100 per cent protection from STDs and unwanted pregnancy.
It will not consistently prevent transmission of STDs passed through skin-to-skin
contact - for example, syphilis, human papilloma virus (warts) and
herpes. However, if used properly, they are very effective and can reduce
the risk of transmission of these STDs.
Place the condom on the
tip of the penis when it is hard and erect, but before it touches the partner's
body. Make sure that the rolled-up condom rim faces outward.
With the other hand,
pinch the tip of the condom to remove any trapped air, and unroll the condom
to the base of the erect penis.
After intercourse and
before the penis becomes soft, withdraw the penis carefully, holding the rim
of the condom against the penis, so that semen does not spill out.
Slide the condom gently off the penis, and knot the open end.
A condom can be inserted up to eight hours before sexual intercourse.
Open the package carefully.
Hold the small ring at the closed end of the condom between the thumb and
middle finger.
Find a comfortable position,
either lying down, sitting with your knees apart or standing with one foot
raised on a stool, squeeze the small ring and insert it into the vagina as
far as you can.
Put a finger inside the
condom and push the small ring inside as far as possible. It is also possible
to insert the condom by putting it onto the erect penis before intercourse.
Make sure that the part
of the condom with the outer ring is outside the body. The outer ring will
lie flat against the body when the penis is inside the condom.
When the penis enters
the vagina, make sure that the penis is inside the condom.
Immediately after sexual
intercourse, remove the condom by gently twisting the outer ring and pulling
the condom out, making sure that no semen is spilt and throw it in the garbage.
English