Most cases of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) can be treated with antibiotics in a pill form. You will likely need to take antibiotics for about two weeks and return to your doctor for a check-up after two to three days. Take all of the antibiotics prescribed even if your symptoms stop! This is one of the best ways to reduce the chance of having long-term effects or having PID recur.

If you have a fever or pain, you should take it easy and get bedrest for a few days. Pelvic rest is important. This means that you should avoid sexual activity until your symptoms have subsided, and then use a condom for intercourse. Your sexual partners should also be examined and treated for infection, since most cases of PID are caused by sexually transmitted infections. Both partners should visit the doctor for a followup check after you have finished your antibiotics.

In some cases, treatment with intravenous antibiotics in a hospital is the safest option.

Hospitalization

In up to 10 percent of cases, the first antibiotic treatment is not successful. Your doctor may prescribe a different oral antibiotic or she may suggest you enter a hospital for intravenous (IV) antibiotics. There are also some circumstances when intravenous antibiotics in a hospital may be the best choice from the beginning.

This is the case if you:

• are pregnant
• are experiencing severe illness, nausea and vomiting or high fever
• can't tolerate oral antibiotics or follow the schedule
• have a tubo-ovarian abscess
• have an immune impairment

Your doctor may also suggest hospitalization if a condition, such as appendicitis, which might require emergency surgery, cannot be ruled out.

• Treating the consequences of PID