Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID)

Background: One in 10 women with PID becomes infertile. PID can cause scarring of the fallopian tubes. This scarring can block the tubes and prevent an egg from being fertilized. The term PID comprises all sorts of inflammatory processes occurring within the upper female genital tract, including the uterus, cervix, fallopian tubes, surrounding pelvic tissue, and the ovaries. These tissues become inflamed, swollen, irritated and can lead to scarring and infertility.
The most common symptoms of PID are fever, chills, lower abdominal or pelvic pain, vaginal discharge, irregular menstrual bleeding or pain, nausea, vomiting, and pain upon urination. However, some patients report no symptoms or intermittent symptoms. Usually a blood test will confirm an elevation of white blood cells and bacterial culture of the vaginal discharge will come back positive. Normal course of Western treatment would be antibiotics for 7 to 10 days.

PID is a condition of damp heat (infection), blood stasis, and stagnation of energy in the liver channel and the belt vessel. We will start by looking at symptoms and ask questions related to the discharge and location and type of pain the patient is experiencing. A treatment protocol would be developed after an accurate diagnosis is made.
A study published in the Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine in March 1989, showed that out of 95 patients with chronic PID that used acupuncture and moxibustion as a course of treatment had an 88.4% reduction in symptoms and felt cured. This effective rate was superior to the control group using antibiotics. Research has also shown that acupuncture can affect changes in serum concentrations of IgG, IgA and IgM which are immune system markers (Wozniak et al., 1994). Other studies noted the decrease in ESR value, a strong marker of inflammation.
Acupuncture will increase the immune system’s ability to fight the infection and decrease inflammation in the reproductive tract and reduce pain. It will also help prevent adhesions and scarring in the pelvic cavity.
Chinese herbs would be individualized and tailored to increasing the function of the immune system and to remove the bacteria that is present in the reproductive tract. Herbs will also be prescribed to resolve the dampness, clear the heat, moderate the immune system, and encourage blood flow.