Trichomonas Vaginalis

Trichomoniasis (also called Trich) is caused by a single protozoa called Trichomonas Vaginalis. Thrich is one of the very common sexually transmitted infection and this one bothers women more than men. Pregnant women should be extra cautious about this or any other sexually transmitted infections because, they may pass on the same to their precious new borns. 

Note that, except viral infections, we do have cure for most other microbes that make us sick and Trichomoniasis is one such treatable STI.

Trichomonas Vaginalis symptoms

As said, trich shows symptoms more in women than in men. Some women and many men may not show any symptoms at all. The incubation window for the organism is estimated between 4 to 28 days. That is the duration when the microbe multiplies itself into millions of copies and starts damaging the host (your body). 

Symptoms in women include:

1. Pain during sex and/or urination
2. Foul smelling vaginal discharge that may be white, grey, yellowish or green in colour. This is sometimes referred to as Trichomonas vaginalis discharge.
3. Redness and itching around the vagina.

Symptoms in men include:

1. Pain during urination and/or after ejaculation
2. Irritation inside the penis
3. Discharge from penis (this should be a tell tale sign that something is seriously wrong inside your body, especially with the genitals).

Trichomonas vaginalis causes

Well, it’s pretty straight forward to guess what causes an STI like Trichomonas vaginalis. 

1. Sex without proper protection like a male or female condom.
2. Sex with multiple partners when you are sexually active. (This combined with unprotected sex can lead to acquiring a plethora of sexually transmitted infections including chlamydia, gonorrhea or even HIV)
3. History of Trichomonas vaginalis

Complications of Trichomoniasis

1. Pregnant women may deliver babies immaturely.
2. As the baby passes through the vaginal canal (in case of normal vaginal birth), the infection will be passed onto the baby.
3. The born baby may be underweight

Diagnosing the trich

Urine samples from women or discharge samples from may will be collected to examine it under a microscope. If the microbe ‘Trichomonas vaginalis’ is found in the urine samples, the report will be positive and you will be put on suitable medication.

If the microbe is not found in the samples and you still see the above mentioned symptoms, further testing may be needed such as the rapid antigen tests and nucleic acid amplification test.

Trichomonas vaginalis treatment

Trichomonas vaginalis treatment includes oral medication such as metronidazole or tinidazole. You may be given single large doses per day or smaller doses that are to be taken twice in a day. Important thing you need to keep in mind is, if you know who your partner was who could have given you the infection, both of you should take the medication. 

The time taken to get rid yourself of the Trichomonas vaginalis infection is about a week. But you must follow the prescription without fail. Should you miss taking your medicine for a couple of days, you must check with your sex specialist on how you should resume your prescription.

You must avoid alcohol while you are on medication, this holds like a general rule for any medication that you might be taking as alcohol may interfere with the chemicals in the medicine. Once the prescription is complete, you may be asked to go for another test after 3 weeks to make sure that your body is rid of Trichomonas vaginalis infection completely. 

If the Trichomonas vaginalis infection is left untreated, the symptoms may last for months or even years and you will be spreading the infection all through the time.