TrichomoniasisOverview

Trichomoniasis ("trich" or the ping pong disease) is a parasitical sexually transmitted disease caused by the parasite Trichomonas vaginalis that affects both men and women. It can be transmitted from one person to another via sexual contact. It can also be transmitted from mother to child during birth and the infection may persist up to 1 year. Approximately 2 to 17% of female offspring of infected women acquire infection.
Trichomoniasis is most common in young sexually active women. In the United States there are approximately 5 million new cases reported annually. The World Health Organization estimates that 180 million new cases of trichomoniasis occur each year all over the world.
Trichomoniasis is commonly associated with co-infection with other STDs, especially Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

Trichomoniasis has an incubation period ranging between 4 up to 28 days.
In females, vaginitis is the most common manifestation of infection. Other symptoms include a heavy, yellow-green or gray vaginal discharge, discomfort during intercourse, vaginal odor, and painful urination. Irritation and itching of the female genital area, and on rare occasions, lower abdominal pain also can be present. In about two-thirds of infected females, there is edema, inflammation, cell hypertrophy and metaplasia (the change in the type of adult cells in a tissue to a form abnormal for that tissue).
Men are usually asymptomatic. When they present symptoms these include a thin, whitish discharge from the penis, mild burning after urination or ejaculation, painful or difficult urination, inflammation of the prostate gland, pain and inflammation of the scrotum, intermittent frothy or pus-like discharge from the urethra (the canal through which urine and semen are discharged), usually early in the morning.

TREATMENT

Trichomoniasis is treated with antibiotics. Metronidazole is commonly used. It is usually administered in a single dose. When taking metronidazole you should avoid alcohol immediately after treatment, because a chemical reaction causing nausea and vomiting can result. Side effects include nausea, headache, and abdominal cramping. Seizures and neurological damage have been reported in some people taking metronidazole, though these cases are rare. Pregnant women should consult a physician before taking metronidazole. Both sexual partners should be considered infected and treated at the same time, even if one has no symptoms.

COMPLICATIONS

Left untreated, trichomoniasis can increase the risk of contracting HIV. Infection with trichomoniasis during pregnancy may cause a woman to deliver a low-birth-weight or premature infant.

PREVENTION

As with other STDs the surest way to avoid becoming infected with Trichomoniasis is to refrain from sex. Barring total abstinence, condoms remain the best and most reliable protection against this and other sexually-transmitted diseases if used consistently and correctly. Other barrier methods of birth control, like the sponge or the cervical cap, do not provide protection from STDs.