STD: The Facts
The following information was provided in part by the Medical Institute for Sexual Health. For more information please visit their website at www.medinstitute.org.

NOTE: If you have been sexually active or you think you may have been exposed to a sexually transmitted disease, see your physician for a complete medical exam.
Trichomonas
  • Trichomonas is a parasite that causes genital infection. It causes more new infections each year than any other sexually transmitted disease (with the exception of human papilloma virus). Both men and women get it.
  • You get it from contact with infected body fluids during sexual intercourse
  • Most infected people—especially, infected women—don't have symptoms, so they can't tell. Even without symptoms, infected people can pass trichomonas to every person they have sex with. When people with trichomonas do have symptoms, they may notice a thin watery vaginal discharge, vaginal irritation, pain during sex and burning when going to the bathroom.
  • Trichomonas infection can be treated with oral medication, but the medication often causes side effects. When someone is infected, both the person and his/her sex partners should be treated.