What are the symptoms of pelvic inflammatory disease?

Pelvic inflammatory disease is a common gynecological disease. Many female friends will encounter this disease, but they do not know how to identify it. The symptoms of pelvic inflammatory disease are actually obvious, such as persistent abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, etc. Patients should take this type of discomfort seriously and check their physical condition in time.

Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is a group of diseases caused by inflammation of the female upper reproductive tract, including endometritis, salpingitis, tubo-ovarian abscess and pelvic peritonitis. Most of the symptoms are mainly pain, accounting for more than 90%. Because the pelvic organs are mostly controlled by visceral nerves, the pain sensation is often not accurately located, and the inflammation itself is not confined to a certain pelvic organ. Therefore, it is sometimes difficult to determine clinically the exact location of the inflammation, whether it is the fallopian tube or ovary, etc. Sometimes, inflammation localized near the fallopian tube and ovary is called adnexitis.

[Natural defense function of the female reproductive tract] The anatomical, physiological, biochemical and immunological characteristics of the female reproductive tract have a relatively complete natural defense function to resist the occurrence of infection; although there are certain microorganisms in the vagina of healthy women, they usually maintain an ecological balance and do not cause inflammation.

1. The labia majora on both sides close naturally to cover the vaginal opening and urethral opening.

2. Due to the action of the pelvic floor muscles, the vaginal opening is closed and the front and back walls of the vagina are tightly attached, which can prevent external contamination. The normal vaginal microflora, especially Lactobacillus, can inhibit the growth of other bacteria. In addition, vaginal secretions can maintain macrophage activity and prevent bacteria from invading the vaginal mucosa.

3. The internal os of the cervix is ​​tightly closed, and the endocervical mucosa is covered by a single layer of tall columnar epithelium that secretes mucus. The mucosa forms wrinkles, ridges or pits, thereby increasing the surface area of ​​the mucosa. The endocervical canal secretes a large amount of mucus to form a jelly-like mucus plug, which serves as a mechanical barrier to upper reproductive tract infection. The mucus plug contains lactoferrin and lysozyme, which can inhibit pathogens from invading the endometrium.

Clinical manifestations

The clinical manifestations may vary depending on the severity and extent of the inflammation. In mild cases, there are no symptoms or mild symptoms. Common symptoms include lower abdominal pain and increased vaginal discharge. The abdominal pain is persistent and worsens with activity or sexual intercourse. If the condition is serious, fever or even high fever, chills, headache and lack of appetite may occur. If the disease occurs during menstruation, there may be increased menstrual flow and prolonged menstrual period. If there is peritonitis, digestive system symptoms will appear, such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal distension, diarrhea, etc. Urinary tract infection may cause symptoms such as urgency, frequency and pain when urinating. If an abscess is formed, there may be a lower abdominal mass and local compression and irritation symptoms; if the mass is located in front of the uterus, bladder irritation symptoms may occur, such as difficulty urinating and frequent urination. If it causes cystomyositis, there may also be urinary pain. If the mass is located behind the uterus, there may be rectal irritation symptoms. If it is outside the peritoneum, it may cause diarrhea, tenesmus and difficulty defecation. If there are symptoms and signs of salpingitis and right upper abdominal pain at the same time, perihepatitis should be suspected.