00:00Hello there, welcome to the final week of June when we talk about various forms of contraceptions.
00:06And today, we're going to talk about something a little bit unusual called IUCD or the coils.
00:19Exactly what is IUCD? It stands for intrauterine device or intrauterine contraceptive device.
00:28In short, most people call it the coil.
00:31Actually, the concept of this dated back thousands of years ago when the traders from Arabic nomads
00:38actually realised that by putting some stones or actually some foreign materials into the uterus,
00:47then the chances of pregnancy is reduced quite significantly.
00:51It's because it disrupts the whole menses.
00:54So, with that concept, it is initially used in animals such as camels.
01:01And only in the 1920s, in Germany, the whole idea emerged.
01:07When initially, some metal is put into the uterus and later on, plastics.
01:14And only towards the 60s, during the sexual revolution, copper coil is being used.
01:21In the modern day, the actual use of coils actually constitute about 18-19% of the vast majority of people
01:31who use it for contraception.
01:33Interestingly, in our part of the world, like Vietnam, China, Malaysia and Southeast Asia,
01:40it is a lot more common in the Western world.
01:42But, with the awareness comes up, it becomes a lot more popular.
01:48In fact, there are two types.
01:50It's either the copper coils that actually constitute hormones,
01:54and the copper coils that constitute no hormones.
01:58And it's inserted into the uterus, and that itself, the copper itself, is quite toxic to the sperms,
02:05and will prohibit the actual formations of fertilisations, or the progressions of the embryo.
02:15So, obviously, that begs the question, is it safe?
02:19Let's talk about short-term complication.
02:21That's constitute infection.
02:24If a woman has got sexually transmitted infections, such as chlamydia or gonorrhea,
02:28that might provoke some sort of sepsis infection.
02:31So, therefore, it's always good to check the absence of such infections.
02:37Sometimes, insertion itself can cause cramps or irregular bleeding,
02:41and all these are quite minor.
02:44In a more long-term impact, sometimes, the actual coil itself might migrate,
02:50or it might get broken when it's removed and caused retained foreign bodies inside the uterus.
02:57And also, sometimes, itself, might cause perforations of the uterus.
03:03Of course, all these are quite rare,
03:05because it is such a common form of contraception being used.
03:10One question everyone always asks is that,
03:13after the removal of the actual coil, will it be still reversible?
03:20The answer is yes,
03:21because the efficacy is as good as sterilisation, which is 99%,
03:26but the reversibility is good.
03:29Sometimes, people worry about,
03:31after the removal of the coil itself,
03:34it might even induce irregular or delayed menses.
03:39Of course, that can happen,
03:40and that itself might even cause problems with delayed pregnancy.
03:47For the following week,
03:49we will venture into the new part of the second part of 2025.
03:55We'll be talking about something completely reversal of contraception,
03:59which is how to enhance the conception,
04:02and how to enhance pregnancy.
04:04So, stay tuned for next week's Putting Dr. G on the Spot.
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