Pelvic inflammatory disease

Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) often doesn't cause any obvious symptoms. When it does, the symptoms are usually mild, and that makes it hard to diagnose.

The symptoms include:

• pain around the pelvis or lower tummy
• discomfort or pain during sex that is felt deep inside the pelvis
• pain when peeing
• bleeding between periods or after sex
• heavy periods
• painful periods
• unusual vaginal discharge

Less common symptoms include:

• severe tummy pain
• a high temperature (fever)
• feeling and being sick

• you have symptoms of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)
• you're worried about your symptoms

There is no single test for diagnosing pelvic inflammatory disease (PID).

Your doctor or nurse will first talk with you about your symptoms, and then do an internal examination. This shouldn't be painful, though you may feel some discomfort.

During the examination, the doctor will look for tenderness in your pelvic region and for an abnormal vaginal discharge.

The doctor will usually take swabs from inside your vagina and cervix and send them to a lab for analysis. But a swab test can't be relied on to diagnose PID, because some women with PID have a negative swab result.

You may also have an ultrasound scan. A scan can pick up severe PID but will not show mild disease, so it's possible to have a normal scan and still have PID.

If pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is found early, antibiotics taken by mouth can treat it. You'll probably be asked to take them for at least 2 weeks.

In more severe cases, you may need to stay in hospital so you can be watched closely and given antibiotic injections.

If you think you might have PID, always see your doctor or nurse, because the sooner you're treated, the better. Once you're given treatment, make sure you take all of your antibiotics and finish the whole course.

Your partner(s) should be treated too, and you should avoid sex until your treatment is completed.

Most cases of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) are caused by a bacterial infection. The bacteria spread from the vagina or the cervix up into the reproductive organs above.

Many different types of bacteria can cause PID, but most cases come from a chlamydia or gonorrhoea infection.

Sometimes the cause of the infection isn't known. In these cases, the trigger may be bacteria that normally live in the vagina and do no harm. Now and then these bacteria get past the cervix and into the reproductive organs.

If pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) isn't treated, it can lead to serious problems, including:

• pelvic abscesses
• long-term pelvic pain, or pelvic pain that keeps coming back
• reduced fertility or infertility
• ectopic pregnancy

The best way to lower your risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is to practise safer sex. That means using a condom every time you have vaginal, anal or oral sex.

If you have been diagnosed with pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), you should get tested for all STIs, including:

• chlamydia
• gonorrhoea
• syphilis

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