About trichomoniasis
IT’S not one of those sexually transmitted diseases often talked about, but trichomoniasis is no less irritating than other well-known STDs like HIV, and is in fact far more common than thought.
“It affects women of all ages, but it is primarily sexually transmitted, so it’s going to affect the age group that is most sexually active and for the most part that is going to be younger adult women,” said Obstetrician/Gynaecologist Dr Dwight Walcott.
Trichomoniasis or ‘trich’ as it is more commonly called, affects both men and women and is caused by the parasite trichomonas vaginalis. While it affects both genders, symptoms of the disease are often more evident in women and includes pain during intercourse and while urinating, itching, burning, redness or soreness of the genitals. Symptoms usually develop five to 28 days after infection and can come and go. The most common site of infection is the urethra and the vagina in women.
“Usually these symptoms include a yellow, frothy discharge which is offensive. There might be burning and sometimes the cervix is inflamed and have these little red dots, so we call it a strawberry cervix because of the little patches of inflammation that trichomoniasis can cause,” said Dr Walcott.
The disease is often passed from an infected person to someone who is not already infected. Not every infected person will show symptoms of the disease and unlike other STDs, trich does not necessarily have to be transmitted through sexual intercourse.
“Trichomoniasis is one of the few infections that actually can occasionally — very rarely — but occasionally, be passed through inanimate objects or what we call fomites, so theoretically you can get trichmoniasis from what people always claim like toilet seats, sometimes rags, towels, bath and swimming pools even,” said Dr Walcott.
It is not possible for trich to be diagnosed by symptoms alone and so a laboratory test would have to be done. Women are often diagnosed using a routine pap smear test. If left untreated, this sexually transmitted disease can increase the risk of getting other sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV and can make having sex very unpleasant.
“Most infections carry a risk of causing premature labour. There is always the potential that the infection could ascend and affect the amnion (the bag of water around the baby) and cause certain chemicals to produce that will predispose the
mother to premature labour and premature breakage of water,” Dr Walcott explained.
It is possible to be reinfected with trich although you might have been treated for the disease before. Using latex condoms during sexual intercourse and having your partner tested for the disease as well could help to minimise this risk. Trichomoniasis is generally treated with the antibiotic Metronidazole.
It is important to note that trich is often mistaken with other vaginitis conditions such as bacterial vaginosis and yeast infections which also cause smelly discharge and itchiness. As such, it is always important to see your health practitioner so that the proper treatment can be dispensed.
“The symptoms of trichomoniasis are fairly similar to some other vaginal infections which are more common. There is a tendency sometimes — if you make a clinical diagnosis (a diagnosis made without the support of any laboratory testing) — to label the infection as being, for instance, bacterial vaginosis because the two of them are at times so similar in their presentations,” Dr Walcott said.
