Do You Recognize These 5 Symptoms of Trichomoniasis?

Trichomoniasis is an STD and likes to lurk around spreading bacteria about so it's imperative that you recognize these 5 symptoms of Trichomoniasis so you can start treatment.

Trich is the most common cause of vaginitis and can infect both sexes. By law it doesn't have to be reported to the health department so there is guesswork involved with reporting numbers. There are different strains that exist and can vary in their ability to cause disease. It can take a range of three to twenty-one days for the organism to produce an illness.

Half of the women infected will contract the mild strain that gives no symptoms allowing the organism to sit there and thrive. The other half receives no therapy and the infection will persist for months before any treatment. Trich has the ability to live in the vagina for years if it is not treated. Women who are not sexually active for some time would not know they have it unless by a lucky break; a pap smear or one of its symptoms.

There are more ways to contract Trich than sexually. The trichomoniasis organism has been found in hot tubs and poorly chlorinated swimming pools. It can survive about 48 hours in vaginal secretions on damp towels and clothing such as bathing suits. Contracting trich in one of these ways is uncommon yet still possible.

What are the symptoms of trichomoniasis?

1. Foul smelling discharge
2. Yellowish green thick or frothy discharge
3. Burning and itching
4. Discomfort during sex and urination
5. Lower abdominal pain

Unlike the other STDs (syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia) trichomoniasis is not dangerous by itself. But this quick swimming organism can spread other bacteria around as it moves around the vagina. Bacteria can be spread up to the cervix and fallopian tubes.

This parasite rarely causes any symptoms in men and since a man probably doesn't know he's infected he doesn't get treatment. Then he infects his partner. If the woman gets treated and the man doesn't it creates a cycle of re-infection. This is why both sexes must be treated at the same time.

To accurately diagnose trich, the vaginal ph will be measured. With trich the ph is always elevated, usually from 6.0 to 7.5; the whiff test will be positive for some women, not all. But the traditional test used is the wet prep test which will reveal the telltale swimming organisms.

Doctors routinely prescribe metronidazole or Flagyl. There are several ways it can be used; a one-time treatment orally or tablets taken 3 times per day for a week. Most people prefer the single dose to get it over with quickly. This medicine also comes in gel form for vaginal use. It is effective but not as potent as the oral medication and reoccurrence rates are higher when using the gel.

You can protect yourself from STDs by using a condom with spermicidal but the best protection is sexual abstinence. As for other ways of contracting trich, placing your clothing in the microwave to nuke for a while has been said to help but there isn't scientific research to prove this yet.