“To prevent is better than to cure” as the old saying goes, but to prevent you need to know first. This is precisely one of the problems of the’endometriosis: we don't talk enough about it, yet it affects 1 woman out of 10 and represents the 30% of the cases of female infertility.
These are quite high numbers for a phantom desease, an invisible illness because we often underestimate the symptoms. All this because of poor awereness, and because in 2020 unfortunately some topics are still taboo.
Endometriosis, as the word itself suggests, affects the endometrium or the mucous membrane, that internally lines the uterus, and that is subject to various changes over the 28 the uterine cycle days, ending with, menstruation, starting a new uterine cycle.
The endometrium is essential for the implantation of embryo, but the body spends a lot of energy to keep it working, therefore every month the surface layer flakes off and is expelled with the blood flow. Only when the egg cell is fertilized does a signal arrive at the endometrium, which indicates the arrival of the embryo so the body does not expel it.
Those affected by endometriosis live not only a physical problem, but a psychological too because the diagnosis maybe comes after a long and expensive journey. In these women, endometrial cells accumulate outside the uterus causing chronic inflammation harmful to the female reproductive system., which is manifested by severe chronic pain, both pelvic and intestinal, that persist beyond the menstrual period, often accompanied by blood loss preventing the performance of daily activities.
To date, the causes are still not very clear, it could probably depend on the uterine contractions that occur during menstruation and allow fragments of the endometrium to pass outside the uterus. It is good in these cases to contact a specialist and not to underestimate any symptoms, doing more checkups is always advisable to avoid any doubt and to intervene with the right therapy or, if necessary, with surgery without affecting the female reproductive system.
That's why prevention and controls are key, but even more important is awereness: to know and to talk about it to everyone, so that endometriosis is no longer a ghost affecting the lives of millions of women.
SOURCES:
https://www.salute.gov.it/portale/donna/dettaglioContenutiDonna.jsp?language = Italian&id=4487&area=Salute donna&menu = pathology&fbclid=IwAR3rrwwOkHpLjwc4vdLgiuSPoRMaQfVM81ndW9D0UAzO6nnODPILXFbNlqQ