Endometriosis Symptoms, Causes and Treatment
Ryan Mutt
Endometriosis is a medical condition in females related to gynecology. It is a condition of formation of endometrial cells. Seen typically during the reproductive period of a woman it affects approximately every 1 out of 10 women. The reproductive age in women being long starting from commencement of menstruation to menopause the chances of attack get higher. Endometriosis is a state in which the endometrial tissues which are essentially located in the uterus are found in other locales inside the body. These other locales include pelvic sidewall, Pouch of Douglas, fallopian tubes, uterosacral ligaments etc in particular and anywhere inside the pelvic cavity in general. Other not so common locations are intestines, bowels, appendix, colon etc.
The worst part of Endometriosis is that it has no or very mild symptoms which make it even harder for a patient to understand if she is suffering from it or not. For those who experience symptoms of Endometriosis, the most common of them are pelvic pain during menstruation and infertility. Some patients suffer from cramps and pain during bowel movements, urination and intercourse. The intensity of pain may vary from time to time and person to person. Other symptoms of Endometriosis are diarrhea or constipation, lower back pain, lower abdominal pain, heavy or irregular bleeding during menstruation and presence of blood in urine. Some of the very rare syndromes are chest pain, headache, seizures, coughing blood etc.
Cause of Endometriosis is still unknown to doctors around the world. But of the few theories formulated after research one says that Endometriosis is caused by retrograde menstruation. But then all females having retrograde menstruation do not have Endometriosis. However retrograde menstruation causes deposition of endometrial tissues in abnormal locations thereby causing Endometriosis. Another possibility is that the primitive tissues in the pelvic cavity grow into a form of endometrial cells. Transfer of endometrial cells via surgery is another reason for development of Endometriosis in places like brain, spine, lung etc which are remote from the pelvis. The final theory states that if a woman has alterations in the immune system with Endometriosis then the body fails to determine or destroy any case of growth of endometrial cells in abnormal sites.
Diagnosis of Endometriosis is as important as the treatment. However determine a case of Endometriosis is only definite if a patient undergoes a surgery. Otherwise patients suspected with Endometriosis by nature of their pains and cramps are prescribed NSAID drug which controls the pain but has no impact on the endometrial implants. In that case medication available for Endometriosis should be resorted on.
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