Chronic Female Pelvic Pain
Prevention
Early diagnosis and treatment of pelvic pain may help prevent chronic female pelvic pain from developing.
One cause of chronic pelvic pain is pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). You can greatly reduce your risk of PID by protecting yourself from sexually transmitted infections (STIs). STIs are also called sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
Practise safe sex or abstinence
Preventing an STI is easier than treating an infection after it occurs.
- Talk with your partner about STIs before beginning a sexual relationship. Find out whether he or she is at risk for an STI. Remember that it is quite possible to be infected with an STI without knowing it. Some STIs, such as HIV, can take up to 6 months before they can be detected in the blood.
- Be responsible.
- Avoid sexual contact if you have symptoms of an STI or are being treated for an STI.
- Avoid all sexual contact with anyone who has symptoms of an STI or who may have been exposed to an STI.
- Don't have more than one sex partner at a time. Your risk for an STI increases if you have several sex partners at the same time.
Abstaining from sexual contact is the only certain way to avoid exposure to STIs.
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| Author: | Kathe Gallagher, MSW Carrie Henley | Last Updated: March 30, 2007 |
| Medical Review: | Renée M. Crichlow, MD - Family Medicine Kirtly Jones, MD - Obstetrics and Gynecology Donald Sproule, MD, CM, CCFP, FCFP - Family Medicine | |
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