A doctor has admitted that earlier on in his career even he 'didn't know what to look for' when it came to endometriosis.
Dr Karan Rajan - who is now one of the biggest health creators on social media - has revealed what endometriosis is, what the symptoms are and why doctors miss it.
In a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Dr Rajan was talking over a clip of a woman who 'looks pregnant', but isn't.
"What you're looking at is one of the reasons why medicine misses a lot of conditions, or worse, misdiagnoses them," he said.
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"This person appears to be suffering from something known as 'endo belly', abdominal pain and bloating caused by endometriosis."
What is endometriosis?
The NHS states that endometriosis 'is where cells similar to those in the lining of the womb (uterus) grow in other parts of the body. It can have a big impact on your life, but there are treatments that can help.'
They noted that the condition 'sometimes affects organs, such as the bladder and bowel', but is 'rarely found in areas outside the pelvis, such as in the chest.'
Dr Karan added that 'the problem is that bloating isn't just a common symptom of endometriosis, but also a number of gynaecological and non gynaecological conditions.'
"So if we're just looking for gynaecological symptoms for diagnosing female health conditions, are we just catching the tip of the iceberg?
"And then missing a whole swathe of diagnoses which might present differently."
Symptoms of endometriosis
The health service says symptoms occur 'when patches of endometriosis break down and bleed during your period but cannot leave your body.'
Symptoms during your period include:
· period pain so severe that you can't do your normal activities
· during heavy periods you need to change your pads every one or two hours
· bleeding through to your clothes.
· pain when you wee or poo
Other symptoms:
· pain in your lower tummy and back
· pain during or after sex
· extreme tiredness
· pain or bleeding in other areas, such as in the chest
· shortness of breath and coughing up blood
Why do doctors misdiagnose endometriosis?
Dr Karan explained: "If we saw endometriosis and other pathologies as discrete conditions limited to the female reproductive system, only, we'd continue to miss cases, because it goes way beyond just this."
In another video, the health expert admitted that even he misdiagnosed endometriosis earlier in his career.
"The early part of my surgical career, I didn't know what to look for with regards to endometriosis, and I'd also classify myself as someone who couldn't fully understand what endometriosis was," he said.
"It was only when I found this weird, dark chocolate colored lesion on an ovary, and I was looking at the appendix, which looked normal, I called for the gynaecologist to come in and scrub in, and they were like, 'oh, that's probably endometriosis.'
"Over the years, I came across more patients with endometriosis, either incidentally, or we discussed them as part of another case."
Anish Vij