Recurring Vaginitis and Trichomonas Infection

QUESTION: Help! I have a recurring vaginitis. The employee health nurse
feels sure that it is a "trichoma" infection, but my normal cleaning routine
isn't helping. Can you?
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ANSWER: Trichomonas vaginitis is a vaginal infection that can be a problem to
get rid of. Unlike most other vaginal infections, which are bacterial,
trichomonas is caused by a protozoa, a microscopic one-celled animal.
A trichomonas infection is a sexually transmitted disease, although women
can become infected through nonsexual contact as well. If you have the
infection, your sexual partner usually has an undiagnosed case also. If you
take medication and your sexual partner does not he will remain infected and
after you have conquered your infection, may reinfect you. If he gets
treatment, and you don't clear up your infection, you will transmit the
disease back to him. Doctors have a descriptive term for such situations,
calling them "ping-pong" infections. This may be occurring in your case.
The usual first-line treatment for trichomonas is one dose of an oral
drug called metronidazole. If the partner is treated at the same time as the
infected woman, a single dose is 95% effective. However, if you fall in the
other 5%, the only recourse is to try a seven-day course of lower doses of
metronidazole, and perhaps, in addition, a topical drug called clotrimazole.
In any case, this is not the time for self medication and trial and error
treatment. You deserve to see a physician, obtain a careful and correct
diagnosis, and receive the appropriate treatment. A discussion with your
partner is in order as well.