Table of contents:
- What is endometriosis?
- Endometriosis characteristics and symptoms
- Is there anything I can do to treat endometriosis?
When you often feel excessive pain around the pelvis, especially when you are menstruating, you may think the cause is that premenstrual syndrome (PMS) aka premenstrual syndrome. Be careful, this complaint should not be underestimated because you could be at risk of endometriosis. Wow, what are the symptoms of endometriosis that women need to be aware of? Find out the complete information below.
What is endometriosis?
Endometriosis is a disease that attacks the female reproductive organs, where an abnormality occurs because the endometrial tissue that is supposed to grow in the uterus actually grows outside the uterus.
Every month there is a thickening of the woman's uterine wall (endometrium) in preparation for conception. If there is no fertilization, the endometrial lining on the uterine wall will shed and come out as menstrual blood.
In cases of endometriosis, the tissue actually grows outside the uterus and then sheds like during menstruation. However, the blood is trapped instead, unable to get out because it is not in the uterus. This causes irritation and inflammation that eventually gives rise to a series of endometriosis symptoms.
Endometriosis characteristics and symptoms
Detecting the symptoms of endometriosis as early as possible is important to prevent the disease from getting worse and causing complications such as difficulty having children. Typically, the symptoms of endometriosis are:
- Back pain
- Very painful menstrual pain
- Menstruation is irregular, often accompanied by excessive bleeding
- Pain during sex
- Pain during bowel movements and urination
- There is blood in the urine and feces
- It's hard to get pregnant
- Digestive disorders such as bloating, diarrhea, constipation, and nausea, especially during menstruation
There may be other signs and symptoms of endometriosis that have not been mentioned. For that immediately consult a doctor if you complain of pain in your reproductive organs.
Is there anything I can do to treat endometriosis?
Unfortunately until now there has not been found a cure for this disease. However, you can control the symptoms of endometriosis and the pain that appears.
- Take pain relievers like ibuprofen or naproxen. However, not all cases are successful with just taking this drug.
- Hormone therapy which aims to reduce the levels of estrogen in your body that can trigger the development of endometriosis.
- Take birth control pills to prevent the endometriosis from getting worse and to relieve pain.
- Laparoscopic surgery to diagnose and remove endometrial tissue. You do this by making a small incision in the abdomen to remove the growth of endometriosis tissue. For those of you who want to get pregnant, this operation will increase your chances of getting pregnant, although it cannot be fully guaranteed.
All considerations taken to reduce pain from this disease depend on your age and health condition. Treatment for women who are still in their fertile period and planning to become pregnant is certainly different from women who no longer wish to become pregnant.
In addition, you can actually do a healthy daily lifestyle to relieve various symptoms of endometriosis.
- Exercise regularly to relieve menstrual pain.
- Maintain a healthy diet, avoid fat to limit estrogen production.
- Take supplements to supply nutritional needs in the body. Calcium, magnesium and B vitamins can help reduce estrogen levels in the body. However, always consult a doctor before taking any supplements.
In fact, endometriosis can be prevented from an early age, as long as you are aware of complaints in your body and do not hesitate to contact your doctor immediately when you feel symptoms of endometriosis.
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