Nov. 16th, 2024 - Emily Wang
You can
find the definitions and pronunciations of underlined words in the Difficult Words section!
I'm Ella the Panda, by the
way! Nice to meet you.
General facts:
Endometriosis is a disease that women and girls of reproductive age get diagnosed with all over the world. This disease is not something you can get from others. It won’t cause death, but it can be very painful for those who get it. Endometriosis happens when the tissue that lines the inner surface of the uterus starts growing in the wrong places, such as outside the uterus. The misplaced tissue from the uterus causes lesions, inflammation, and pain.
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This disease affects around 10% of women globally, around 190 million people! Even though so many people have endometriosis, many of them do not know they have it, and the worst part is that there is still no cure or way to prevent it. This disease is not easily diagnosed, and everyone may have different symptoms. Endometriosis can start anytime but is often diagnosed in women in their 20s or 30s. While there has not been much research and awareness around this topic, more and more people have begun to address these important issues.​
What are the symptoms of endometriosis?
A few of the most common symptoms of endometriosis include severe menstrual pain, chronic pelvic pain, and pain while going to the bathroom or trying to have a baby. Someone who has endometriosis usually feels intense pain and heavy bleeding during and after their period, plus trouble getting pregnant.
Did you know? Endometriosis is one of the top reasons some women can’t have babies. Those symptoms can have huge impacts on women’s lives such as missed school or work, decreased productivity and performance, and longer-term health and social impacts. After menopause (when periods stop), the symptoms might get better.
What causes endometriosis?
Doctors and scientists are still figuring out what causes endometriosis. One hypothesis that a woman or girl can get this disease is when the menstrual blood flows the wrong way it’s supposed to go. This causes it to go into places it isn’t supposed to be, like outside the uterus. This may cause some cells to grow in the wrong places. This is like when you plant seeds in your garden, but they end up growing on the sidewalk instead. Another theory is that someone may get endometriosis when some normal cells turn into other cells, such as the tissue lining the uterus.
How do doctors diagnose endometriosis?
Plus, this topic (and women’s health in general) hasn’t been researched and developed as much as other health issues.
As of now, the only way to diagnose endometriosis is through a laparoscopy. Laparoscopy is the most common way of confirming the diagnosis of endometriosis, as doctors can use this invasive procedure to look inside the body. In some cases, an MRI scan can be a way to diagnose endometriosis lesions outside of the uterus, where doctors use a special imaging machine to take pictures of the inside of the body. However, MRI scans aren’t an official tool to diagnose endometriosis yet.
As you might have noticed,
there aren’t many ways to diagnose endometriosis accurately and noninvasively. Why? One reason is that endometriosis symptoms have been thought of as normal for women.
How can we treat endometriosis?
Scientists are still working on finding a cure, but right now, there is no way to stop it from happening or make it go away completely. So, what do scientists and doctors do to treat endometriosis? The best way, as of now, is to help people feel better with medicine to relieve pain or surgery to help remove the tissue growing in the wrong places.
Difficult words:
Endometriosis: Pronounced “En-do-ME-TREE-o-sis”. Definition: A disease commonly found in women and girls of reproductive age, see the article above.
Inflammation: Pronounced: “IN-flam-ma-TION”. Definition: When a part of the body becomes reddened, swollen, hot, and painful. Caused by injuries or infection. Example: When you twist your ankle it becomes swollen and painful. Your body is reacting to something being wrong.
Invasive: Pronounced “in-VA-sive”. Definition: A medical or surgical procedure where instruments or other objects are introduced into the body.
Laparoscopy: Pronounced “lap-a-ros-ca-pi”. Definition: A surgical procedure where an instrument is inserted into someone to view organs.
Lesion: Pronounced “LEE-sion”. Definition: The area in an organ or tissue that has suffered damage from injuries or disease.
Menopause: Pronounced “Me-NO-pause”. Definition: The time during a woman’s life when menstruation stops permanently and you can no longer get pregnant. This normally happens around 50 years old.
Menstruation: Pronounced “Men-stur-a-tion”. Definition: The process where a woman discharges blood and other materials lining the uterus. This happens about once a month from puberty until menopause. Menstruation stops during pregnancy.
MRI: Stands for ‘magnetic resonance imaging’. Definition: a medical examination using magnetic resonance imaging to produce an image.
Uterus: Pronounced “YOU-ter-us”. Definition: The pear-shaped hollow organ inside a woman’s pelvis. This is where the baby grows, also called the womb.