Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)

Pelvic inflammatory disease is an irresistible and provocative infection of the upper female
genital tract that can prompt scar formation
Symptoms
Most females with PID manifest no symptoms but when they appear, they vary from acute to
most severe forms. Possible signs and symptoms may include the following; pain in the pelvic
area, fevers, languor(fatigue), bleeding and spotting between periods, irregular menses, pain in
the rectum and the lower back, throwing up, frequent micturition and unusual vaginal discharge.
Causes and risk factors
The cause of infection could be parasitic, fungal, or bacterial but often involves multiple
bacteria. Further, sexually transmitted bacteria such as chlamydia and gonorrhea are the most
common causes of PID.
Apart from a sexually transmitted disease, other risk factors that increase the risk of PID
infection include; entry of bacteria during childbirth, abortion or a miscarriage, placement of an
intrauterine device into the uterus, spread of the infection from the appendix to the
pelvis(appendicitis) and an endometrial biopsy.
Women who are sexually active under 25 years, use a douche, have multiple sexual partners or
do not use barrier contraceptives are most likely to develop PID or related symptoms.
Chancroid
Chancroid is a sexually transmitted infection that causes painful open sores, or chancroids, to
develop in the genital area. It can also often cause the lymph nodes in the groin to swell and
become painful. Having chancroid also increases the risk of developing other STIs because the
sores compromise the skin barrier and immune system.
Symptoms
Some people do not show visible signs of this disease. Chancroid manifests itself in various ways
and the common manifestations are painful, red-colored bumps in the genital region that become
ulcerated and more painful in men than in women. Additional symptoms include; inflammation
of the urethra, abnormal vaginal discharge, pain and bleeding of the open sore and/or dysuria
which is caused by urethritis.
Risk factors
The most predominant risk factor of chancroid is through contact with the open sores of a person
woo has chancroid
Prevention
Ways to reduce the risk of developing chancroid include: limiting or reducing the number of
sexual partners, or total celibacy, using protection during sexual contact or intercourse at all
times, regularly checking the genital region for signs of abnormal bumps, sores, or swollen
lymph nodes, talking with sexual partners about testing for STIs or their STI status before
engaging in sexual contact.
References
Mitchell, C. M., Anyalechi, G. E., Cohen, C. R., Haggerty, C. L., Manhart, L. E., & Hillier, S. L.
(2021). Etiology and diagnosis of pelvic inflammatory disease: looking beyond
gonorrhea and chlamydia. The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 224(Supplement_2), S29-
S35.
Passos, M. R. L. (2018). Chancroid. In Atlas of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (pp. 135-149).
Springer, Cham.