5 Dangerous Conditions That Can Affect Your Uterus
The women’s uterus, also called the womb, is a muscular organ that is responsible for periods, pregnancy, and childbirth. There are a lot of health issues that can cause pain, bleeding, and discomfort in the uterus. If you have noticed such symptoms, you should visit a doctor as soon as possible in order to avoid more serious complications. In this article, we gathered five dangerous conditions that can affect your uterus.
1. Endometriosis
Endometriosis is a quite common condition that affects many women all over the world. If a woman is diagnosed with endometriosis, it means that the inner lining of her uterus that is called the endometrium starts to grow outside the uterus. Due to the fact that endometriosis may develop asymptomatic at the initial stages, early diagnosis is uncommon.
Then the disease becomes advanced, it can affect not only the uterus but other pelvic organs as well. The endometrium can grow on the ovaries, fallopian tubes, intestines, and even the bladder. At this stage, it can cause severe pain, especially during sex and periods. Timely and proper endometriosis treatment is essential because it can lead to infertility.
2. Adenomyosis
Adenomyosis is the opposite of the endometriosis condition that also involves the endometrial tissue. In this case, the endometrium grows through the uterine walls. It can either be located in one particular area of the uterus or affect the whole uterus. The most common symptoms of adenomyosis include:
- Severe cramps during the periods
- Heavy blood flow during the periods
- Bloating
- Pressure in the pelvic area
Due to the fact that adenomyosis can’t be diagnosed with the help of a regular pelvic exam, many women don’t even suspect the underlying cause of their discomfort in the uterus. That’s why it is essential to visit your gynecologist regularly.
3. Uterine fibroids
Uterine fibroids are non-cancerous tumors that develop in the uterus. Many women can have fibroids and even not suspect this because they can be asymptomatic. However, large or multiple uterine fibroids can cause pain, bloody discharge, and pressure in the pelvic area.
Due to the fact that their occurrence is mostly managed by high estrogen levels, fibroids can decrease in size or even disappear after menopause when the estrogen levels decrease. But you should know that uterine fibroids can interfere with the women’s ability to get pregnant. In this case, your gynecologist may prescribe you medication or surgical treatment.
4. Uterine polyps
As well as uterine fibroids, polyps are benign tumors that grow inside the uterus. However, in five percent of cases, they can turn into cancerous growths. To stay on the safe side, it is recommended to remove polyps in order to avoid dangerous complications.
Most often, uterine polyps develop in perimenopausal women or overweight women. They grow inside the uterus but in the most advanced cases can protrude through the cervix that can lead to bleeding during sex. Despite the fact that polyp removal is a surgical procedure, it doesn’t require any special recovery.
5. PID
Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is a condition that affects women’s reproductive organs. It develops when the infection penetrates the uterus and infect the uterine tissues. In most cases, PID occurs as a result of an untreated sexually transmitted disease. The most common symptoms of PID are:
- Abnormal vaginal discharge (yellow or green)
- Unpleasant vaginal odor
- Severe pelvic pain
- Frequent urination
- Fatigue
- Fever
- Bleeding between periods
If left untreated, PID can lead to ectopic pregnancy or even infertility. That’s why timely and proper PID treatment is essential. PID can be treated with the help of antibiotics. However, medication can’t cope with scarring and damage to fallopian tubes that can occur at the advanced stages of the disease.
