How Is PID Diagnosed and Treated?

If you think you may have PID, you need to see your gynecological health care provider (your family doctor or nurse practitioner, gynecologist, or adolescent doctor) as soon as possible.

He or she will likely do a pelvic exam, which may reveal that you have a painful cervix, abnormal bleeding from the cervix, or pain over one or both ovaries. Your health care provider will also take swabs of fluid from your cervix and vagina, and this fluid will then be tested for STDs. A pregnancy test also will be done. Sometimes blood tests will be taken to look for signs of infection, and newer tests have been developed that can diagnose chlamydia and gonorrhea from checking your urine as well.

Sometimes an ultrasound or CAT scan of the lower abdomen is needed to take a three-dimensional picture of the reproductive organs. These are often used to diagnose a TOA or ectopic pregnancy.

If your provider diagnoses PID, you will be given antibiotics to take for a couple of weeks. It's very important that you take every dose of the medication to completely treat the infection. It's also important to be rechecked 2-3 days after you have begun treatment to make sure that you are starting to improve because PID can be difficult to treat.

Girls who have more severe cases of PID - for instance, if they have a fever or look ill - are often treated in the hospital for a few days with antibiotics given directly into a vein through a straw-like plastic catheter. Surgery is sometimes needed for cases of PID that do not get better with antibiotics or if a girl has an abscess. Ectopic pregnancies can require emergency surgery.

If you're not feeling better even after you take all your medication for PID, it's important to follow up with your gynecological health care provider. Be sure to let your provider know you're still not feeling well.

Also, it's very important that anyone with whom you've had sex be checked for STDs right away, so they can get treatment. An untreated partner is likely to give you the same STD again, even after you've been treated.

Can PID Be Prevented?

The best way to prevent STDs or PID is to not have sex. However, for those who choose to be sexually active, it's important to use protection and to have as few sexual partners as possible. Using a latex condom effectively and consistently helps protect against most STDs. However, it's very important to have regular check-ups with your doctor.

So when you're making choices about sex, be smart - and be safe.

Updated and reviewed by: Barbara P. Homeier, MD
Date reviewed: November 2004
Originally reviewed by: Neil Izenberg, MD, and Jonathan Schneider, DO