05.8.2009

ESPECIALLY FOR TEENAGERS: WHAT IS ENDOMETRIOSIS

Endometriosis is a disease that can affect any girl or woman who is menstruating.

In order to understand endometriosis you need to know how your menstrual cycle works. The tissue that lines the inside of the uterus is known as the endometrium. Each month the hormones in your body stimulate the endometrium to grow and thicken and then break down and bleed. This bleeding is your period.

In endometriosis small patches of endometrium grow outside the uterus in other areas, such as on the ovaries or on the surface of the other organs inside the pelvis. These patches of endometrium respond to the hormones in your body in the same way as the lining of the uterus. Therefore, the misplaced endometrium thickens each month and then breaks down and bleeds. Unfortunately, there is no way for this blood to leave the body so it irritates the surrounding area causing pain and the other symptoms of endometriosis.

The most common symptoms of endometriosis are period pain, backache, heavy bleeding, pain when using your bowels, pain with sexual intercourse and difficulty in becoming pregnant.

There are two main types of treatment for endometriosis: drugs and surgery.

Drug treatment is most commonly used for teenagers. Most of the drugs work by stopping your periods and drying up the patches of endometriosis. Surgery involves burning or cutting out the patches of endometriosis.

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