Trichomoniasis - Symptoms in Women

Trichomoniasis is one of the most common curable sexually transmitted diseases. It is caused by Trichomonas vaginalis, a single-celled protozoan that usually lives in the vagina in women and urethra in men. Research has found out that women are infected by Trichomoniasis more often as compared to men. Here are some common symptoms that women can develop on being exposed to the infection.

1. In around one-third of women, there are no visible symptoms even after being infected with the Trichomonas vaginalis parasite. This percentage is far higher in men so that as much as 60-90% of men carrying the infection can remain asymptomatic. However even during the time you display no signs, the infection is present in your body and you can re-infect your partner or go on to infect a new, healthy partner. also despite having no symptoms, if treatment for Trichomoniasis is delayed for long, a woman can go on to develop infections of the urinary tract or the reproductive system and even have problems getting pregnant.
   
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2. Among women who do present symptoms of Trichomoniasis, the most common is a frothy or foamy discharge from the vagina. This discharge may be grey, greenish or yellowish in color and is usually accompanied by a foul smell. This happens because the most common site of the Trichomonas vaginalis in women is the vaginal area and it is here that the parasites multiply. While there is some amount of vaginal discharge in healthy women, it is usually clear or even milky-white in appearance and fluid like in texture. Also there is rarely any foul smell associated with the usual kind of vaginal discharge which part of the body’s natural cleansing mechanism.
    
3. An infected woman may experience soreness in the vaginal and/or vulval area.
    
4. You may also experience itching and irritation in the vaginal area along with the unusual quantity and quality of vaginal discharge. Sometimes itching may also be present along the inner thighs.
    
5. Pain while urinating or having sexual intercourse is another major symptom of a Trichomoniasis infection.
    
6. In some cases, women suffering from trichomoniasis infections will also experience low, abdominal pain
    
7. Upon clinical examination, a woman infected with Trichomoniasis will reveal small red sores, known as ulcerations on the vaginal wall or cervix.

A woman can develop symptoms of trichomoniasis within five to twenty-eight days of exposure to the infection. If left untreated for long, a woman not only stands the risk of developing urinary tract or reproductive tract infections, but also of developing certain complications. For instance, the genital inflammation caused by trichomoniasis can increase a woman’s susceptibility to HIV infection if she is exposed to the virus. Also having trichomoniasis may increase the chance that an HIV-infected woman passes HIV to her sex partner(s). Then again pregnant women infected with Trichomoniasis are more likely to give birth to pre-term low-weight babies as compared to their healthier counterparts.

Many of the above symptoms of Trichomoniasis are quite similar to other kinds of vaginitis for instance those that are the result of yeast infections or bacterial infections. For all these reasons it is important that any suspicion of Trichomoniasis is reported to a healthcare professional and the patient undergoes the appropriate course of treatment.