Reproductive Health

In today’s world, there are many health problems that women have to deal with. It is not really known why women are quite prone to diseases just like children. Amongst others, pelvic inflammatory disease is a chronic disease of the female reproductive health.What is pelvic inflammatory disease?Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is an infection of a woman’s reproductive organs. This infection spreads upwards from the cervix to the uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries and the surrounding parts in such a way as to interfere with the fertility of women and eventually lead to a fatal condition.There are certain breeds of bacteria that can infect the fallopian tubes, thereby causing inflammation. When this happens, normal tissue can become scarred and block the normal passage of an egg (ovum).Pelvic inflammatory disease is so critical that it can make you become infertile if you have been infested with it since the fallopian tubes would be totally blocked.On the other hand, if your fallopian tubes are partially blocked, an egg (ovum) may implant itself outside the uterus, and this can cause a dangerous condition that is called an ectopic pregnancy. This pregnancy can cause internal bleeding and even death, if quick actions are not taken to handle it.More so, scar tissue may also develop elsewhere in your abdomen and cause pelvic pain which can last for months or years.The two most commonly involved bacteria that cause PID are those of the sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea caused by a bacteria called neisseria gonorrhea and chlamydia.Symptoms of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease1. Illness
2. Severe pain
3. Fever
4. Abnormal urine bleeding
5. Painful urination
6. Foul smell from the vaginalIt is possible to have no obvious symptoms, but one will appear ill.Medical DiagnosisPID is not easy to be diagnosed, but it is advisable to seek medical attention, if there are any risk factors for the disease. Sidob test can be carried out on the vaginal discharge.The following are often observed when an examination is carried out on PID.1. A temperature greater than 101 degree F (38.3 degree Celsius)
2. Abnormal vaginal discharge
3. Tenderness of the lower abdomen
4. Tenderness when cervix is moved
5. Tenderness in the female organsIt is very advisable to go for medical consultation in any case of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). Failure to treat this disease on time can lead to what is known as sterility in women.

The exact causes of the increase in reproductive problems are presently unknown. However, in parallel with the increase there has been a rise in the manufacture and use of many chemicals, Greenpeace says in its report.It has been estimated that every year around 100,000 different types of chemicals are produced and used around the world. The use of chemicals also led to the inevitable contamination of the environment and consequently, also to human exposure. Many chemicals have been found to contaminate human tissues and even the developing fetus in the womb is exposed to a multitude of chemicals which pollute the human body.Although not proven beyond doubt, there is increasing evidence of possible link between the synonymous rise of the reproductive health problems and the rise of our exposure to many chemicals.According to the Greenpeace report, the presence of many man-made chemicals at current environment levels may already be negatively impacting the reproductive health of wildlife and humans. The ground for such a hypothesis draw on a number of lines of evidence, including laboratory studies on effects of chemicals in animals, direct measurements of chemical exposure in humans (including presence of chemicals in body tissues) and the finding of correlations between level of exposure to chemicals and incidence of certain disorders.Laboratory studies have shown beyond any doubt that certain chemicals are capable of causing reproductive disorders in animals. Of particular concern in this regard are persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and other pervasive hazardous chemicals which known to be toxic to reproductive health and/or disrupt the hormones (endocrine) system.While some of these chemicals, especially the internationally-recognized POPs, have been banned or severely restricted, other reproductive toxicants and chemicals that disrupt the endocrine system (endocrine disruptors) remain in use by industry and, in many cases, may still be foud as ingredients or additives in a variety of household products.