You Can Change a Girl's Life Today: The Truth About Periods and Endometriosis.

Abstract

While endometriosis, a condition where tissue growing outside the uterus causes pain and infertility, is generally widespread among teenage girls and women, it is often misdiagnosed leading to a delay in treatment while the symptoms and damage from the disease increase. This article uses a case study to illustrate the signs and symptoms of endometriosis in a teenage girl, while also discussing many factors surrounding the issue such as the incidence, disease burden, medical research and women, reasons for diagnostic delay, and the current recommended treatments. School nurses are in the unique position to identify young girls and adolescents who are presenting with painful periods or other symptoms possibly associated with endometriosis and can become advocates for the next generation of patients.