9 Things You Must Know About Trichonomiasis By Brittany Klann

Sexually Transmitted Diseases are nothing to play around with. Many people are not very educated about the different kinds of sexually transmitted diseases and the damage that they can not only do to themselves but to their sexual partners too. I’m going to inform you of what trichomoniasis is, who it affects, the symptoms, and how to treat it. Hopefully, you will have a better understanding of the sexually transmitted disease and will be able to identify it, if you were unfortunate to be exposed to it.

1. Most importantly, what is trichomoniasis? Trichomoniasis is an infection with an infectious parasite that is called Trichomonas vaginalis which is caused during sexual intercourse.
2. This sexually transmitted disease affects both men and women, but women are the more commonly affected. More specifically older women.
3. Men that get tichomoniasis are affected in the urethra in the penis.
4. Women can be affected either in the urethra or the vagina.
5. If men were to get this sexually transmitted disease they would experience a burning sensation after urination or ejaculation. They also could experience itching or irritation on the inside of the penis.
6. Women will also experience itching or irritation, along with redness and soreness of the urethra or vagina. Urination of an infected woman would produce an unusual smell and an appearance of clear, white, yellowish, or greenish discharge.
7. Some people may not even know they are infected by this sexually transmitted disease because it is possible to not show any symptoms and still have it. They are however still able to pass it along to anybody they are sexually active with.
8. Pregnant women who have trichomoniasis need to worry about the possibility of having an early birth and a low birth weight in the baby. Low birth weight for a baby is considered less than 5.5 pounds.
9. Doctors are not able to diagnose the trichomoniasis with just the symptoms; they have to run tests in a lab to find the trichomonas vaginalis parasites. They then will prescribe an oral antibiotic, either known as metronidazole or tinidazole, to treat the infection.

A sexually transmitted disease like trichomoniasis is treatable but still is not a good thing to have. It is very important to either use latex protection or avoid sexual intercourse to prevent the infection from moving from person to person. Although trichomoniasis is not one of the more serious sexually transmitted diseases, it is still important to avoid getting it or treating it if you are exposed to it, because it can increase your risk of getting HIV. It can happen to either men or women and can vigorously spread if someone has multiple sexual partners. Getting a sexually transmitted disease can be embarrassing and you may not want to go to the doctor and admit that you have the disease.  By not getting checked out by the doctor, you could cause damage to yourself and possibly to many other people too.