After a miscarriage about a year ago, 33-year-old Jyoti was emotionally devastated. Despite continued efforts to conceive for the last few months, she was not getting any signs of pregnancy. Of late, she was also experiencing pain in the pelvis and facing other gynecological issues. Flustered, she and her husband decided to see a gynaecologist.
After the usual test procedures, Jyoti was diagnosed to be suffering from an infection of fallopian tubes also known as pelvic inflammatory disease. PID may involve the uterus lining, fallopian tubes or ovaries. Most cases of PID are due to the bacteria that cause chlamydia and gonorrhoea, which are sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Dr Sonia Malik said, “About 70 per cent of women with chlamydia and gonorrhoea infections do not show any symptoms, but if treatment is delayed then both symptomatic and asymptomatic infections may lead to the development of major complications, one of them being infertility.”
PID if diagnosed in early stages can be treated with antibiotics. Sexual partners should also take complete antibiotic course to prevent the infection from recurring.
If left untreated for a long time, PID can cause scarring of the pelvic organs which may result in chronic pelvic pain, infertility and serious pregnancy problems like ectopic pregnancy (pregnancy which occurs outside uterus and is life threatening for mother).
The shocking fact is that 30-40 per cent cases of female infertility are due to tubal (fallopian tube) damage because of untreated chlamydial infection. Furthermore, women who have had PID are 6-10 times more likely to develop an ectopic (tubal) pregnancy than those who have not, and 40-50 per cent of ectopic pregnancies can be attributed to previous PID.
“It is a very stressful situation for couples who cannot have children due to PID, as in many cases damage has already been done by the time women come in for treatment. However, such couples should not give up hope as novel medical techniques like In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) can prove to be excellent solution for them,” adds Dr Malik.
According to a study done by the World Health Organisation in 2011, STI’s are the main preventable cause of infertility particularly in women. PID is many times asymptomatic or mimics other clinical conditions, so the diagnosis can get delayed.
Taking precautions is the key to escape from later stage complications like infertility. Taking care of hygiene and sanitation and adopting safe sexual practices may reduce the incidence of PID.