What is pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)?
Pelvic inflammatory disease, PID, is a condition in which the 'pelvic organs' are inflamed. The pelvic organs are, the uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries. PID is caused by an infection and is usually caught during sex. The most common infections are Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea. You might not have had any symptoms, or only very mild ones, when you were first infected and will sometimes get the symptoms of PID later on.
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What are the symptoms?
If you have PID, you will usually:
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Have pain which might feel like bad period pain, but can happen at other times of your menstrual cycle. You might have the pain often, or it might come on very suddenly and/or be very painful
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Feel unwell or feverish
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Have vaginal discharge
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Have irregular periods
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Experience bleeding from the vagina after sex or in between your periods.
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Find sex painful when your partner penetrates you deeply or uses sex toys
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Be having problems becoming pregnant
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What should I do before getting myself checked out?
"If you have sudden, severe pain, feel very unwell or feverish, and/or are bleeding, go to see a doctor or to an Accident and Emergency Department IMMEDIATELY."
If you have more generalised pain and/or vaginal discharge but no other symptoms, or have had pain after sex or bleeding between your periods before, go soon to see a doctor, who can test you for infections.
Don't have unprotected sex, especially if you are worried that you might have an infection that has caused the PID.
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What tests and treatment will you offer me at shac or Clinic 1A?
We will talk with you first, examine you carefully and will offer you tests for any infections. If you do have an infection we can usually treat it easily with antibiotics. If you have an infection your partner will also need to be tested, so you don't get re-infected, and we can help you arrange this. If antibiotics don't cure the PID problem we can arrange for you to see a gynaecologist to investigate other possible causes of the pain.
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