Home » The false myths of endometriosis | The HuffPost

The false myths of endometriosis | The HuffPost

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Biserka Stojanovic via Getty Images/iStockphoto

Three million in Italy, one hundred and seventy-six million in the world. This is the number of women with endometriosis with a full-blown diagnosis. If we count the missed or late diagnoses, the number can be considered much higher. Endometriosis can strike from the onset of the first menstruation until the menopause; it affects 10-15% of women of reproductive age and affects about 30-50% of women who are infertile or who have difficulty conceiving.

A widespread disease, therefore, yet little known, for a long time a real taboo that women themselves were afraid to talk about, victims of a legacy of beliefs from past eras that led many of them to live the disease in solitude. Bearing the weight of physical suffering, misunderstanding and serious emotional and psychological repercussions.

Recently, the media spotlight on endometriosis has turned on, also thanks to the outing of showbiz women, and it is good that we finally talk about the disease, taking care, however, to promote correct information. Since 2007, the Italian Endometriosis Foundation has been committed to disseminating correct information on the disease through a community that is a place of meeting and comparison where women can find listening and answers to doubts and questions.

In fact, there is still too much confusion about endometriosis and, in the era of the rage of fake news, it is more than ever necessary to unhinge false myths that increase uncertainty and discomfort in women suffering from endometriosis and in those who, while showing symptoms, do not they are still aware of it.

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It is important to clarify the many misconceptions in circulation because endometriosis is not endometrium, it cannot be cured with hormonal treatments, pregnancies or the removal of the uterus; endometriosis does not always cause infertility. The endometrium is a mucous membrane that lines the inside of the uterine cavity; when this mucosa occurs outside the uterus we are in the presence of endometriosis.

What about the symptoms? Chronic pelvic pain, swollen belly, pain during ovulation and menstruation or in sexual intercourse, chronic physical fatigue: these are alarm bells of the disease and yet often, even today, they are dismissed simply as menstrual pain or stress. A question of head, but also of habits and lack of attention, of backwardness. This shows how much there is still to be done in Italy, and in the world, on the implementation of gender equality.

Nothing more false. Women are not crazy and endometriosis is real: the emotional, psychological and sexual implications are a consequence of the disease, not the cause. However, these are factors that deserve attention and respect as they significantly affect the lives of women, causing situations of great discomfort in the life of a couple, in social relationships even in work.

Furthermore, we cannot underestimate the economic impact that this situation determines. A study carried out by the Foundation shows in Italy a loss of 33 million working days with an annual social cost of 6 billion euros.

What to do? Research and early diagnosis are the main allies of women. It is not true that endometriosis cannot be cured: caught in time, the disease can be treated adequately, and also managed with a controlled diet, allowing the patient to live a full life. This disease affects our young women, we should feel compelled to protect them as best we can.

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The research activity carried out by the Italian Endometriosis Foundation has made it possible to discover the congenital origin of endometriosis and to develop advanced, non-invasive early diagnostic tools that are in the validation phase, but a big gap persists to be filled: today we they count on average 8/9 years of delay in diagnosis, years in which the disease progresses and risks becoming chronic. A long and expensive path, which can be avoided, in which physical suffering is combined with the worsening of psychological and social repercussions.

Research, support, care are the keywords of our business in which information plays a crucial role in helping women to learn about endometriosis and deal with it in the right way. Free from false myths and unfounded feelings of guilt.

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