It's important to see your doctor as soon as you notice any symptoms that might be symptoms of PID.

If your doctor suspects you have PID, you'll be started on

 

 

 

 

 

antibiotics
These medications are used to help your immune system fight infection. There are a number of different types of antibiotics that work in different ways to get rid of bacteria, parasites and other infectious agents. Antibiotics do not work against viruses.

 

 

 

 

 

antibiotic pills right away. A delay in treatment, even by a few days, can make your PID more severe. This can increase your risk of getting serious long-term problems.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Ross J.
United Kingdom national guideline for the management of pelvic inflammatory disease.
February 2005. Available at http://www.bashh.org/documents/118/118.pdf (accessed on 30 April 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

¹

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Pelvic inflammatory disease.
Available at http://www.cdc.gov/std/PID/STDFact-PID.htm (accessed on 30 April 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

²

You may be able to stay at home while you're taking the pills. About 3 in 4 women with PID can stay at home for treatment.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Pelvic inflammatory disease.
April 2009. Available at http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/healthscience/healthtopics/pelvic/ (accessed on 30 April 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

³

PID may be caused by more than one type of infection. So your doctor will prescribe at least two antibiotics, to work against the different types of bacteria.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Pelvic inflammatory disease.
April 2009. Available at http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/healthscience/healthtopics/pelvic/ (accessed on 30 April 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

³ You'll probably be given the pills for 14 days.

If you've had a contraceptive coil (IUD) fitted, you might need to have it removed. This depends on how bad your PID is. If it is mild, your doctor might decide that you can leave it in place.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
Management of acute pelvic inflammatory disease.
March 2009. Available at http://www.rcog.org.uk (accessed on 30 April 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

⁴

Your symptoms may go away before the infection is cured. Even so, it's very important that you finish taking the medication, to make sure the infection is completely cured.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Pelvic inflammatory disease.
April 2009. Available at http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/healthscience/healthtopics/pelvic/ (accessed on 30 April 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

³ If you don't take all the pills, the infection might come back.

Your doctor will want to see you again, a few days after starting treatment. This is important because they can make sure the medication is working. If you haven't gotten better, you may need to go to the hospital for tests or more treatment.

About 1 in 4 women with PID have to stay in the hospital during treatment.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Pelvic inflammatory disease.
April 2009. Available at http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/healthscience/healthtopics/pelvic/ (accessed on 30 April 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

³

You may need to go to the hospital because:

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Pelvic inflammatory disease.
Available at http://www.cdc.gov/std/PID/STDFact-PID.htm (accessed on 30 April 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

²

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
Management of acute pelvic inflammatory disease.
March 2009. Available at http://www.rcog.org.uk (accessed on 30 April 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

⁴

In the hospital, you'll probably be given antibiotics by a drip (also called an IV or an

 

 

 

 

 

intravenous infusion
When a medicine or a fluid, such as blood, is fed directly into a vein, it's called an intravenous infusion (or IV). To give you an intravenous infusion, a nurse, technician or a doctor places a narrow plastic tube into a vein (usually in your arm) using a needle. The needle is then removed and the fluid is infused (or dripped) through the tube into the vein.

 

 

 

 

 

intravenous infusion). Then, when your condition improves, you'll be given antibiotic pills or capsules to take by mouth.

If you go to the hospital, you may also need to have a laparoscopy. This is an operation to help your surgeon see inside your

 

 

 

 

 

pelvis
Your pelvis is the area between your hips.

 

 

 

 

 

pelvis, to get a good view of your reproductive organs.

You might need this operation to confirm that you have PID and not another condition. Other conditions that could be mistaken for PID include:

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Ross J.
United Kingdom national guideline for the management of pelvic inflammatory disease.
February 2005. Available at http://www.bashh.org/documents/118/118.pdf (accessed on 30 April 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

¹

A laparoscopy can also help your surgeon see how much damage the PID has done to your reproductive organs. Your surgeon may find an abscess in your pelvis. They can then use surgical instruments to drain away fluids or cut through scar tissue, during the same operation.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
Management of acute pelvic inflammatory disease.
March 2009. Available at http://www.rcog.org.uk (accessed on 30 April 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

⁴

Most cases of PID are caused by

 

 

 

 

 

sexually transmitted infection
An infection that is spread by people having sex is called a sexually transmitted infection (STI) or a sexually transmitted disease (STD). Examples are HIV, gonorrhoea and syphilis.

 

 

 

 

 

sexually transmitted infection. So it's important that the sex partner you have now, or your recent sex partners, get checked for signs of infection.

Even if your sex partner has no symptoms, they may still have

 

 

 

 

 

gonorrhea
Gonorrhea is an infection you can get by having sex without a condom. If you're a man, it can cause pain in the tube (the urethra) inside your penis and give you a milky discharge from your penis. If you're a woman, it may not cause you any pain or irritation, but it can damage your tubes and ovaries, making you infertile.

 

 

 

 

 

gonorrhea or

 

 

 

 

 

chlamydia
Chlamydia is an infection you can get by having sex without a condom. It can cause pain or discomfort and discharge from your sexual organs. If you're a woman, it can also cause infertility or a painful infection inside your body.

 

 

 

 

 

chlamydia. This means your sex partner will need to be treated to avoid passing the infection back to you again.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Pelvic inflammatory disease.
April 2009. Available at http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/healthscience/healthtopics/pelvic/ (accessed on 30 April 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

³

You'll need to avoid having sex until you and your partner have both finished taking the antibiotics.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
Management of acute pelvic inflammatory disease.
March 2009. Available at http://www.rcog.org.uk (accessed on 30 April 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

⁴ This is to stop you from passing the infection back and forth between you.

Unfortunately, even if you have successful treatment, this will not undo any damage that the infection has already done to your reproductive organs. Studies show that in women who have PID:

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Ness RB, Soper DE, Holley RL, et al.
Effectiveness of inpatient and outpatient treatment strategies for women with pelvic inflammatory disease; results from the Pelvic Inflammatory Disease Evaluation and Clinical Health (PEACH) Randomized Trial.
American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 2002; 186: 929-937.

 

 

 

 

 

⁵

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Ness RB, Trautmann G, Richter HE, et al.
Effectiveness of treatment strategies of some women with pelvic inflammatory disease: a randomized trial.
Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2005; 106: 573-580.

 

 

 

 

 

⁶

Your chances of getting these problems depends on how much damage your PID did before you started treatment.

There's also a risk that you will get PID again. About one-third of women who have PID will get it again. And each new infection means you're more likely to become infertile.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Pelvic inflammatory disease.
April 2009. Available at http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/healthscience/healthtopics/pelvic/ (accessed on 30 April 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

³

There are things you can do to protect yourself against PID.

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