Trichomoniasis is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The parasite that causes can be passed from one person to another during sexual intercourse.
Unlike most STDs, the parasite can live for about an hour on damp towels, washcloths, and bathing suits. If someone uses these towels or washcloths or puts on the bathing suit, the disease may be passed on that way. The good news is that trichomoniasis is curable.
How Does a Girl Know She Has It?
A girl with trichomoniasis can get vaginitis, which is the medical term for inflammation of the vagina. A girl who has trichomoniasis will usually have vaginal discharge that can be gray or yellowish green, and may be foamy. This discharge may have a foul odor, and a girl's vagina may feel very itchy.
A girl with trichomoniasis may find it very painful to urinate. Trichomoniasis can also cause an achy abdomen and pain during sexual intercourse.
How Does a Guy Know He Has It?
In most cases, guys won't notice any symptoms. However, a guy who has trichomoniasis may notice some temporary irritation inside his penis or a mild burning feeling when he pees.
Symptoms usually appear 5 to 28 days after a person has been exposed.
What Can Happen?
Trichomoniasis by itself isn't very dangerous to a person's health, but it can be uncomfortable. It can also make someone more susceptible to getting other STDs. In pregnant women, trichomoniasis can cause the baby to be born early or to be born with a low birth weight.
If a patient has trichomoniasis a doctor will typically also test for gonorrhea and chlamydia because these STDs sometimes occur together.
How Is It Treated?
If you think you may have trichomoniasis or if you have had a partner who may have trichomoniasis, you need to see your family doctor, adolescent doctor, or gynecologist. He or she will do an exam and swab the vagina or penis for secretions, which will then be tested.
Doctors usually prescribe antibiotics for people who are diagnosed with trichomoniasis. Sexual partners should be treated at the same time, and people being treated should not have sex until they have finished their treatment and no longer have symptoms.
It's better to prevent trichomoniasis than to treat it, of course. The only way to completely prevent infection is to not have any type of sexual intercourse (called abstinence). People who choose to have sex should use a latex condom every time. This is the only birth control method that will help prevent trichomoniasis.
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