Ovaries are the most important organ in the reproductive system of a woman. It is on them that the course of pregnancy and the birth of a healthy child depend. Each month during the menstrual cycle in the ovaries, the egg matures. If the fertilization does not occur in the uterus and pregnancy does not occur, then the next one-month cycle repeats again.
In addition to eggs, the ovaries produce female hormones, which are responsible for the state of the whole organism, the appearance of primary female characteristics. Every woman should know what the ovaries look like, what role they play, and where they are.
Many girls complain that they have ovaries after sex. To begin with it is necessary to be defined, in what place there are painful sensations. If the pain occurs in the lower abdomen, the cause is not necessarily the ovaries. There may be many causes, for example, inflammation in the abdominal cavity, appendicitis, bowel disease. Ovaries are located in the lower organs of the small pelvis, one being just below the other. They are the same in form, but differ in weight - the right is always slightly larger than the left.
The main role of the ovaries
The main task of the ovaries is the production of oocytes, one of which can subsequently be fertilized. If conception does not occur, the ovaries perform their work anew. This continues until the woman has a menopause. Scientists have discovered that the stock of eggs was born to a woman even in the period when she herself was an embryo. At the time of birth, the girl contains about one million eggs, and by the age of fifty there is not one. Therefore, the probability of becoming pregnant decreases closer to 40 years.
During ovulation, the ovaries increase in size, at this point the egg leaves the follicle. Ovaries perform three main functions:
- Generative. With this function, egg cells form;
- Vegetative. Girls have primary sexual characteristics( female genital organs are formed), and secondary signs( the appearance of mammary glands, hair growth, etc.);
- Hormonal. In the body of a woman there are estrogens, progesterones and male hormones androgens. Androgens play an important role in the formation of muscle mass, progesterones help pregnancy safely flow after fertilization of the egg, and estrogens help the egg mature.
Dysfunction in the ovaries is dangerous for a woman's health. Dysfunction of the ovaries, first of all, is expressed in violation of the monthly cycle and failure of the hormonal background. If dysfunction is not cured in time, infertility may occur.
Causes of soreness in the ovaries
Causes of pain in the lower abdomen may be as follows:
- If the infection gets into the ovary, an inflammatory process begins to develop in it. At the initial stage of the disease, treatment can quickly get rid of the infection and the consequences can be avoided. If untimely therapy occurs, the chronic course of the disease occurs and then infertility is possible. The main symptom is frequent pain in the lower abdomen, which can give back.
- Inflammation of the appendages. Symptoms are similar to the first option, but pain is more likely to occur with hypothermia, greater physical exertion.
- The appearance of a cyst on the ovary. The cyst is a formation with a dark brown liquid inside. At the initial stage of the appearance of the cyst, there are practically no symptoms. As she grows, the woman begins to feel periodic pain during menstruation, malfunctions of the menstrual cycle.
If the cyst is not detected and removed in time, it can burst and spill the contents into the abdominal cavity. In this case, a woman is threatened with peritonitis.
When a cyst occurs, often there is pain in the ovaries during sex. The cyst is treated only surgically, no drug treatment will save the woman from a cystic vesicle.
When diagnosed, the cyst can be confused with the yellow body, in ultrasound images they look almost identical. In this case, the doctor will wait and wait and send the patient to repeat ultrasound in a couple of months. The yellow body usually disappears on its own, and the cyst on the contrary slightly increases in size during this time.
Removing the cyst early in the process will help preserve the organ and improve its functionality. If the cyst has grown to a menacing size, it blocks the blood flow to the tissues of the ovary and it is necessary to remove it. The main sign of the cyst may be the appearance of nausea and vomiting.
- In rare cases, the ovary can burst during ovulation. After this, the blood enters the abdominal cavity and infection may occur. Pain at this point is sharp and strong. If the diagnosis is confirmed with the ultrasound machine, the woman will need urgent surgery.
- After prolonged treatment for infertility, the organs may change in size. Usually this happens after stimulation of the ovaries and appearance of small cysts on them.
- When having sex, the ovaries are ill even when tumors appear on them. Large lesions can be detected by a gynecologist on examination, the smaller ones are determined in the ultrasound picture. Conducting laparoscopy will help simultaneously diagnose the disease, and immediately cure it.
The most common cause of pain after intercourse is ovarian dysfunction. This is a kind of hormonal disease, in which the hormonal functions of the body are disturbed. This can occur as a consequence of the inflammatory process on the genitals, chronic diseases of the uterus and cervix, obesity, a malfunction in the thyroid gland.
With dysfunction, a woman not only notices problems in her sexual life in the form of painful sensations, but also many other disorders:
- The stomach is very painful during menstruation;
- Menstrual cycle failure in the form of too frequent or rare blood loss;
- There is no ovulation and as a consequence of the problem with conception;
- Nervous disorders and breakdowns.
If a few symptoms are found, a woman should immediately call a gynecologist. Doctors for accurate diagnosis will conduct the following diagnostics:
- Cervical biopsy;
- Will write out the direction for the following tests: giving blood to sugar, determining the level of hormones in the blood, bacterial culture of the flora from the vagina.
- Study on the apparatus of ultrasound of pelvic organs;
- Determine the correctness of the adrenal and thyroid gland;
- Exclusion of the presence of candidiasis and chlamydia, as these are diseases that primarily provoke ovarian dysfunction.
After a thorough diagnosis and revealing the reasons for the pain after the sex, the gynecologist proceeds to the selection of the treatment regimen. First of all, it is necessary to restore the menstrual cycle if there are failures in it. This is done through a course of hormone therapy. Treatment is long, at least three months. Further, the cause of poor health - inflammation, infection, cyst or dysfunction - is eliminated. In some cases, medical treatment is costly, sometimes surgical intervention is required. Whatever the reason, the sooner the treatment is started, the better.
