Sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea and chlamydia can have long-term health consequences for women. Sexually transmitted diseases can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, an infection of the uterus or fallopian tubes that affects around 750,000 women each year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Pelvic inflammatory disease increases your risk of infertility, which affects between 10 and15 percent of women with the disease, the CDC reports. Drinking alcohol doesn't normally make symptoms worse, unless you drink while taking certain antibiotics to treat the disorder.
Causes
Bacterial or parasitic infections such as trichomoniasis cause pelvic inflammatory disease. Infections move upward from the vagina to the uterus and then into the fallopian tubes, where they can cause scarring, dilation and distortion of the tubes. A large percentage of ectopic pregnancies---pregnancies which implant outside the uterus, usually in the fallopian tubes-- occur because of pelvic inflammatory disease, according to the CDC. Normal alcohol consumption of one drink a day for women does not worsen the symptoms of bacterial infection, although drinking very large amounts of alcohol daily can weaken your immune system and make it easier for bacteria to take hold and cause infection.
Symptoms
Symptoms of pelvic inflammatory disease include fever, lower abdominal, back or pelvic pain, pain with urination or difficulty urinating, diarrhea, nausea or vomiting, foul-smelling vaginal discharge, irregular menstrual bleeding or pain during intercourse. The only symptoms that worsen when consuming alcohol are nausea, vomiting and cramping, which can increase if you drink alcohol while taking certain antibiotics.
Antibiotics and Alcohol
Alcohol can increase symptoms when taken with metronidazolene, one of the antibiotics often used to treat pelvic inflammatory disease and trichomoniasis or bacterial vaginosis, an infection of the vaginal tract. Drinking alcohol with metronidazole can cause violent nausea, vomiting, cramping and headache. Avoid alcohol consumption for three days after finishing this medication.
Alcohol and the Risk of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease
Drinking alcohol does not appear to increase your risk of developing pelvic inflammatory disease. An 18-year Swedish study of 7,393 women reported in the February 2004 issue of "Fertility and Sterility" found no correlation between heavy alcohol use and an increase in the development of pelvic inflammatory disease compared to women who drank little alcohol.
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) - CDC Fact Sheet
- New York State Department of Health: Trichomoniasis
- Fertility and Sterility: Effects of Alcohol Consumption on Female Fertility During an 18-Year Period
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism: Alcohol and the Immune System
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Pelvic Inflammatory Disease Treatment Guidelines
