Health Topic

Pelvic Inflammatory Disease

Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is an infection of the uterus, ovaries, and other female reproductive organs. It is the most common preventable cause of infertility in the U.S.

Reviewed Reviewed by a registered pharmacistGeneral information

Also called: PID

Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.

About Pelvic Inflammatory Disease

Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is an infection of the uterus, ovaries, and other female reproductive organs. PID causes scarring in these organs. This can lead to infertility, ectopic pregnancy, pelvic pain, abscesses (a collection of pus), and other serious problems. PID is the most common preventable cause of infertility in the United States.

Many types of bacteria can cause PID, but it's often caused by sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Gonorrhea and chlamydia are the most common causes of PID.

You are at greater risk for PID if you:

  • Are sexually active and younger than age 25.
  • Have more than one sex partner.
  • Douche. Douching can push bacteria into your reproductive organs. It may also hide the signs of PID.
  • Have an STI and do not get treated.
  • Have had PID or an STI before.

It's not as common, but sometimes using an intrauterine device (IUD) for birth control can increase your risk for PID. However, your risk is usually only during the first three weeks after the IUD is placed inside your uterus.

If you have PID, you may have mild or no symptoms. If you do have symptoms, the most common symptom is pain in the lower abdomen (belly). Other symptoms can include:

  • Fever
  • Foul-smelling vaginal discharge
  • Bleeding between periods
  • Pain or bleeding during sex
  • Painful urination (peeing)

See your health care provider if you have any symptoms of PID or if you think you or your partner were exposed to an STI. Early treatment is important. Waiting too long for treatment increases the risk of infertility.

There is no one test for PID. To check for PID, your provider may:

  • Ask about your medical and sexual history
  • Review your symptoms
  • Do a pelvic exam
  • Order blood, urine, and imaging tests

Antibiotics are used to treat PID. You must take all the medicine, even if your symptoms go away to make sure the infection is cured. You will likely need to follow up with your provider to make sure the treatment is working.

Tell your recent sex partner(s) so they can get tested and treated. Don't have sex until you finish treatment, otherwise you can reinfect each other.

If you're pregnant, have an abscess, or your symptoms don't go away, you may need to have surgery or be hospitalized for treatment.

Treatment cannot fix any permanent damage already done to your internal organs.

If you don't get treated, complications can occur, such as:

  • Scar tissue may develop in your fallopian tubes.
  • Infertility.
  • An abscess may develop in your reproductive organs. If untreated, this could become a life-threatening infection.
  • Long-term pelvic or abdominal (belly) pain.

The best way to protect yourself against STIs is not to have sex.

If you do decide to have sex, a few ways you can lower your risk include to:

  • Practice safe sex by using a condom every time you have sex, limit your number of sex partners, and ask your partners about their sexual history.
  • Get tested for chlamydia and gonorrhea every year and ask your partner to get tested.
  • Don't douche since this can upset the balance of bacteria in your vagina.

It sits within Women, Infections and Female Reproductive System.

The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.

Research on Pelvic Inflammatory Disease

113 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.

What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.

Research currently under way

Research already completed

Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.

Where to read more

Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.

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Diagnosis and Tests

Related Issues

  • DouchingDepartment of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health

Clinical Trials

Medical subject headings

Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Pelvic Inflammatory Disease. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.

This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Pelvic Inflammatory Disease, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.