By Catherine Egwuom

Two medical experts have called for early diagnosis, increased public awareness and affordable treatment for endometriosis, a condition affecting about 10 per cent of women and girls of reproductive age worldwide.

The experts made the call in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Lagos.

The condition occurs when tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside it, causing inflammation, pain and, in some cases, infertility.

According to WHO,  endometriosis can significantly affect women’s quality of life, while diagnosis is often delayed because symptoms vary and can resemble other conditions.

Dr Adegboyega Adeyemi, Consultant, Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department, Apapa General Hospital, said endometriosis was difficult to diagnose because its symptoms were not specific.

“Painful period and painful sex are warning signs that you need to be examined properly,” Adeyemi said.

He said that laparoscopy was the most important diagnostic method, but the procedure was expensive, invasive and required specialised skills that were not widely available.

Adeyemi said that treatment was expensive and danazol, a drug used in some cases, was scarce and could cause side effects, including voice changes, acne and hot flushes.

He said endometriosis could cause severe menstrual and sexual pain, affect women’s daily activities and be associated with infertility.

Adeyemi said women with endometriosis could experience persistent lower back pain and other non-specific symptoms, making the condition difficult to identify without a high index of suspicion.

He said women experiencing infertility could face additional financial challenges because in-vitro fertilisation, which he mentioned as an option, was very expensive.

“The practical measure that the government and healthcare providers should adopt is to improve early diagnosis,” he said.

Adeyemi urged the government to expand health insurance coverage to accommodate diagnostic procedures, medicines and treatment for women living with endometriosis.

Dr Qudus Lawal, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Edo, said endometriosis was commonly diagnosed late, with the average time to diagnosis estimated at about 12 years globally.

“Menstrual pain is not normal until a doctor has deemed it so. So if a woman has a menstrual pain, seek medical attention,” Lawal said.

He said that severe menstrual pain affecting daily activities required medical assessment, adding that symptoms could be mistaken for other conditions.

Lawal said that laparoscopy was required for definitive diagnosis, but its high cost and limited availability restricted access to the procedure.

He said that awareness remained low among the public and some healthcare workers, calling for increased education about the condition.

The consultant said that endometriosis could affect women’s quality of life, cause chronic pelvic pain and infertility, and sometimes be discovered during surgery.

Lawal said endometriosis symptoms could extend beyond menstrual pain, with cyclical abdominal pain and symptoms resembling irritable bowel syndrome sometimes associated with the condition.

He said some women with endometriosis had no obvious symptoms, with the condition sometimes discovered during surgery, and urged increased awareness among healthcare workers and the public.

Lawal urged the government to improve awareness, increase the number of skilled specialists and expand health insurance coverage for diagnosis and treatment.(NAN)(www.nanews.ng)

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Edited by Olawunmi Ashafa