What is endometriosis and what are the symptoms of endometriosis?

Endometriosis is a painful, chronic disease that affects 5 1/2 million women and girls in the USA and Canada, and millions more worldwide. The word endometriosis means a problem with the endometrium or the lining of the uterus. Basically, endometriosis causes tissues from the lining of the uterus to rapidly spread from fallopian tubes up to pelvic areas. Several organs can be affected due to this abnormal growth of endometrium such as outer surface of the uterus, abdomen, ovaries, vagina, bladder, cervix, bowel, rectum, and pelvic cavity, etc.

The primary symptoms of endometriosis can be pain during the sexual intercourse, infertility, painful urination, excessive pain during the monthly periods, painful bowel movements, extreme fatigue, allergies, yeast infection and higher chemical sensitivity.

Normally, every month when you have your period, the uterine endometrial lining comes out in your menstrual flow. If you suffer from endometriosis then all the misplaced tissue in your viscera responds to the menstrual cycle in the same way that the tissue of the uterine lining does: each month the tissue builds up, breaks down, and sheds. Menstrual blood flows from the uterus and out of the body through the vagina, but the blood and tissue shed from endometrial growths has no way of leaving the body. This results in internal bleeding, breakdown of the blood and tissue from the lesions, and inflammation and can cause pain, infertility, scar tissue formation, adhesions, and bowel problems.

Laparoscopy is actually used by the medical practitioners to diagnose the symptoms of endometriosis. This medical procedure is helpful in finding out the exact affected areas, size as well as the level of damage happened due to endometriosis.