Pain after scraping

Scraping is a fairly common procedure that gynecologists assign to women after examinations. Due to the lack of information on this topic and the fact that gynecologists often do not explain in detail to their patients what the essence of such a process is, often women have unreasonable fears about pain after scraping.

[1], [2], [3]

Causes of pain after scraping

Scraping is a safe operation when conducted by an experienced technician. Complications after it are rare. We list the most common.

• Perforation of the uterus - the uterus is usually perforated with the help of any instrument, for this purpose, usually it is a probe or dilators. There are several reasons for this. First, one of the main properties of the uterus is the complexity of the expansion, therefore, due to excessive pressure, it can be pierced by an expander or probe. Secondly, because of changes in the uterus, its walls become loose, therefore, at the slightest pressure, a puncture may occur. If the perforations are not very large, as a rule, they are eliminated themselves (under the supervision of the doctor and in the implementation of the treatment complex). In case of a major injury, an operation is performed, during which the perforation is sewn.
• Tearing of the cervix - this happens when bullet forceps are caught. The laxity of the cervix can lead to a weak fixation of the bullet forceps: they can fly off and pull the cervix under tension. Treatment of cervical tearing is similar to the previous case: a small tear will heal itself, in the case of a large one, seams are applied.
• Inflammation of the uterus - occurs when the background of curettage already had inflammation and violated septic and antiseptic conditions, the doctor did not prescribe a preventive course of antibiotic medications. Because of the inflammatory process, pain after scraping is manifested. If sterility during surgery was compromised or scraping was performed too intensively, infection could occur. Since the mucous tissue of the uterus is weakened, an infection could enter it and cause damage to the ovaries and tubes. When inflammation of the appendages the patient feels severe pain after scraping in the lower abdomen. These are cutting and pulling pains after scraping, mostly the ovaries are felt. Also accompanied by severe weakness, dizziness, nausea. The menstrual cycle is broken: there is abundant or, conversely, scarce menstruation, there is no ovulation, the lower abdomen hurts constantly after scraping. As treatment, antibacterial therapy is used.
• Hematometer - when the uterine cavity accumulates blood. This happens if the cervix spasms - then there is a buildup of blood, which in the normal case was supposed to flow out of the uterine cavity. The accumulated blood becomes infected and causes pain in the patient. Treatment of hematomas is performed as a drug therapy, bougie the canal of the cervix (thus removing spasms).
• Damage to the mucous membrane (excessive scraping) - when scraping is performed by an inexperienced doctor, it could happen that his curettage actions were too strong and aggressive, which led to damage to the mucosa's growth layer, so the growth of a new mucosa is no longer possible. When the scraping operation is performed, the uterine layer of the uterus is removed - the endometrium. Do not remove all the endometrium, but only part of the functional layer. The essence - in leaving a thin growth layer, from which then a new mucous membrane will grow. Pain after curettage can occur if the structure of the endometrium is broken due to excessive curettage or inflammatory processes where the mucosal tissues are damaged. If during the operation the entire endometrium or a large part of it was removed, in this case the growth layer of thin tissues was damaged, which could lead to a disruption in their development. Adenomyosis - when the tissue no longer grows or, conversely, actively grows and grows into the muscles of the uterus.

Unfortunately, there are actually no ways to cure this complication.

When all the actions in the scraping operation were accurate and correct, the above complications are unlikely to arise. Other possible situations are incomplete cleaning of pathological formation (for example, polyp). This happens when the operation does not use hysteroscopy, and therefore the results are not checked on site. In such situations, scraping is done repeatedly to prevent the further development of pathological formation in the uterine cavity.

A normal situation is when there are spotting bloody discharge within three to ten days. With abnormally early stopping of secretions and the appearance of pain in the abdomen, you need to urgently consult a doctor. The fact is that such symptoms may indicate a spasm of the cervical canal and the formation of hematomas. Spasms can be detected using ultrasound (ultrasound) and then specialists will prescribe the appropriate treatment for you.

Symptoms of pain after scraping

In addition to the complications described above, the cause of pain after scraping can be an infection that began to develop in a favorable environment, still inflamed some time after the operation. The main symptoms accompanying pain after scraping - uterine bleeding, pain in the ovaries, fever, spasms, general weakness.

Pain in the lower abdomen after scraping

Many women experience pain after scraping. Surgical intervention leads to violations of the menstrual cycle, the occurrence of algomenorrhea. In situations where the endometrium was too far removed, in addition to the above processes, the microflora of the vagina is disrupted. Therefore, in addition to inflammatory processes in the uterine tissues, infectious diseases of the ovaries and cervix develop. The consequences are painful periods, severe abdominal pain after scraping, dizziness and general weakness.

Pain and discharge after scraping

If after the scraping operation there is severe pain and the appearance of whiteness, this is a signal that everything is not all right. If an excessive amount of the germ layer was removed, small wounds and cracks could remain on the mucosa. That became the impetus to the development of inflammatory processes and bleeding. After the operation, there may be abundant bloody discharge, with time they can be transformed to uterine bleeding. Pain in the small pelvis after scraping is accompanied by strong tingling and cramping-spasms. Isolation-whitened after curettage is usually dark brown or bloody, abundant, there are clots. At the same time, the abdomen in the lower part is very bad. Over time, leucorrhoea reduces its abundance and becomes smearing and periodic, excreted before and after the menstrual period.

Menstruation after curettage

After the curettage operation, menstruation may take a little longer (the delay will not be more than 4-5 weeks). This is a normal situation, but if the delay lasts more than three months, then you should contact the doctor.

Pain during sex after scraping

Vaginal sex is not recommended for seven to fourteen days after scraping. The point is that the cervix will be open for a while. The mucous membrane remains damaged and damaged due to scraping. At the sexual certificate or act it is possible to bring an infection and to provoke undesirable consequences.

The first period after scraping during sex may be painful. This is quite normal, only if it does not last several months. In this case, consult your doctor.

Types of curettage

Scraping is the name of the process itself, but the very essence of the operation can vary. 

Separate diagnostic scraping of the uterine cavity (WFD). First scrape the cervical canal, then the uterine cavity. After this, scraping is sent to specialists for histological examination to establish a diagnosis. In addition, when scraping is carried out, the formation (polyp, hyperplasia) is removed, because of which this operation was assigned. 

Separate diagnostic curettage under the control of hysteroscopy (WFD + HS) is a modern kind of operation such as scraping. With other types of curettage, the doctor conducts it "blindly." When hysteroscopy is used, a special device is introduced into the uterine cavity, which allows to examine the uterus, to reveal pathological formations, after which the curettage process is performed, and then the final check of the performed work is performed. With the help of hysteroscopy, the doctor evaluates how carefully he performed the procedure, whether pathological formations remained in the cavity.

Indications for curettage

Most often, scraping is performed to diagnose or to eliminate bleeding in the uterus. The operation is performed in cases when there are abnormal bleeding events that are not characteristic of the natural course of events: between menstruation, if menstruation is too abundant, when bleeding occurs during menopause, etc. Also with the help of curettage remove polyps, small formations in the lining area of the uterus. In addition, abnormal bleeding can signal the development of cancer tumors in the uterus, so with the help of curettage, it is possible to prevent cancer.

Doctors also prescribe a curettage operation if an incomplete spontaneous abortion has occurred to remove the remaining placental fragments. This happens in the hospital, use general anesthesia, less often - local anesthesia for outpatient treatment.

Carrying out the curettage operation

Most women feel the operation of scraping as a very painful procedure, because they perform general anesthesia: when the cervix expands, these sensations are similar to the birth pain. The cervix is a tiny hole in the vagina from behind, which is very sensitive, therefore, to prevent pain, anesthesia is used.

At the time of enlargement of the cervix, the doctor, using a crochet in the form of a spoon, produces a scraping of the walls of the uterus. Tissues that have been removed are collected for the study under a microscope. Sex is not recommended for fourteen days after scraping. In order to depart from the operation and recover, it will take a couple of days.

Complications for this procedure are rare, but sometimes occur when infection or development of severe bleeding occurs when the uterus wall is damaged or punctured during curettage. Symptoms - the presence of chills, constant pain in the abdomen or spasms, severe bleeding, weakness, dizziness, unusual or unpleasant smelling vaginal discharge. If any of the bottoms is identified, the doctor should be contacted urgently.

[4], [5]

Treatment of pain after scraping

After completing the curettage operation, patients without pain may experience pain in the abdomen. Pain after curettage can last from a few days to a week, until the tissues and mucous membrane are completely restored. If there is only pain, without other signs, then it can be removed with a pill of usual pain medication.

Prevention of pain after scraping

In order not to form a hematometer, and no pain after scraping, take a no-shpa one tablet two or three times a day.

To ensure the prevention of such complications as inflammation, prescribe antibiotics for acceptance in the postoperative period.