by Sina

Created on: January 08, 2009

Trichomoniasis or as it is more commonly known trich is a sexually transmitted disease caused by the parasitic protozoan Trichomonas vaginalis. Trichomoniasis affects both men and women but more common in women, with the primary site of infection being in the urogenital tract. The disease is transmited through penis to vagina contact through intercourse or through vulva to vulva contact with an infected partner. With any infectious disease there are symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and complications.

The symptoms of trichomoniasis are divided between men and women, with the symptoms presenting stronger in women than men. The symptoms for women include vaginitis, cervicitis, urethritis, and a yellow green colored discharge with a strong odor. Trichomoniasis is easy to detect in women simply because the disease causes so much inflammation occurs within the urogenital tract. Also the colored strongly smelling discharge is a good indication something is wrong. Men with trichomoniasis generally present asymptomatically, that is with little or no symptoms. Usually what little symptoms that do present themselves are slight burning after urination or ejaculation and irritation of the penis. But it should be noted that just because the male patient is asymptomatic it doesn't mean that they aren't a carrier and can still be a vector for the disease.

Diagnosis for trichomoniasis for women involves a pelvic exam, a taking of the sample, and identification of the parasite via microscope. The pelvic exam of a female patient with trichomoniasis often reveals sores along the vaginal and cervical walls that are indicative of infection. Again trichmoniasis usually doesn't present itself as strongly in men as it does in women, thus the trick becomes if the female of the couple is diagnosed with trichomoniasis then the doctor should assume that the partner is infected as well.

Treatment for trichomoniasis involves administering metronidazole or in some cases tinidazole. Both metronidazole and tinidazole are antibiotics that is usually prescribed for protozoans. Metronidazole is the more commonly prescribe drug in the clinical setting, with it usually being prescribed orally as 250 mg TID (three times a day) for seven days, 500 mg BID (twice a day) for 7 days or a single 2-g dose. Also, metronidazole can be prescribed through an IV with 500 mg to 2-g being administered to the patient over 20 minutes. Treatment is more often prescribed orally than intravenously since generally trichomoniasis infections present themselves strongly and diagnosis is straight forward.

Complications for trichomoniasis infections included an increased suspectibilty to HIV infection due to the inflammation of the urogential tract and consequently this makes it easier to pass to her partner. Second, infection with trichomoniasis can result in a low birth weight or early birth if the patient is pregnant.

Sources:

www.drugs.com

Clinical Microbiology Review Article: "Treatment of Infections Caused by Metronidazole-Resistant Trichomonas vaginalis

http://www.cdc.gov/std/Trichomonas/STDFact- Trichomoniasis.htm

Learn more about this author, Sina.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.