At least one woman in ten suffer from endometriosis. For World Endometriosis Day on March 28, we take a look at this still little-known chronic disease in this videographic. VIDEOGRAPHIC
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00:00At least one woman in 10 suffer from endometriosis, still a poorly understood disease.
00:17The endometrium is the tissue which lines the inside of the uterus.
00:22It thickens during the menstrual cycle before breaking down and being evacuated by period
00:27blood unless there is a pregnancy.
00:30For women suffering from endometriosis, the tissue grows outside the uterus, spread particularly
00:35by period blood.
00:37It leads to lesions on other organs such as the ovaries, fallopian tubes, intestines,
00:43bladder and in rare cases the lungs.
00:47The lesions are inflammatory and sensitive to hormones produced by the ovaries.
00:52With each new menstrual cycle they grow and bleed.
00:56The lesions can also join certain organs together.
00:59All these conditions can produce intense pain during periods or sexual intercourse as well
01:05as digestive problems and a multitude of other symptoms.
01:10Common treatments involve long term use of the contraceptive pill to stop periods with
01:15specific treatment of the pain and in some cases surgery for the most severe lesions.
01:26For more information visit www.FEMA.gov