What are the causes pelvic inflammatory disease?

Arianna was a young woman in her twenties. She had always been conscious of her health, so when she started feeling pain and discomfort in her lower abdomen, she immediately made an appointment with the doctor.

After a few tests, Arianna's worst fears were confirmed: she had pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). Her doctor explained that PID usually occurs when bacteria from the vagina travels up into the reproductive organs and causes inflammation and infection. He also told her that PID could be caused by having unprotected sex, douching too often or using intrauterine devices (IUDs).

Arianna felt embarrassed at first as she knew what some of the possible causes were. But then it quickly changed to anger - why hadn't anyone warned her about this before? Wasn't it irresponsible not to tell women about something so serious?  She vowed to spread awareness on this subject whenever possible.

She decided to focus on preventing others from going through what she did by talking openly about sexual health, encouraging people to get tested regularly for STIs, advocating for better access to contraception, and educating young people on how they can protect themselves against infections like PID.

In time Arianna found comfort in knowing that even though she suffered from PID herself now, maybe one day no one else will have to go through it because of all the efforts put into spreading awareness and taking proactive measures against it.