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Ureaplasma in women has become commonplace in recent years. Medical statistics show: over the past few years, the lines “ureaplasma normal” or “conditional normocenosis” have become less and less common in patient test results forms, and the number of detected diseases caused by opportunistic microorganisms is growing year by year.
The frequency of diagnosis of “ureaplasma infection” reaches 20% in relatively healthy women. Ureaplasma in a smear taken from women at risk is detected even more often - in 30% of cases of the total number of subjects examined.
The data from pediatricians is also impressive: every fifth child becomes infected while passing through the birth canal.
In men, ureaplasma urealiticum is detected in increased quantities much less frequently than in the fairer sex. Early detection of the causative agents of the disease and proper treatment guarantee complete relief from the disease.
Read about how to recognize the disease, what indicators of ureaplasma in women are considered normal, and what the lack of adequate therapy can lead to.
Ureaplasmosis is an inflammatory pathology in the genitourinary system.. The causative agent of this disease is gram-negative bacilli Ureaplasma. The presence of ureaplasma in the body is not considered a reason for treatment or making a final diagnosis. This pathogen can be found in a completely healthy body.
According to statistics, the presence of this disease occurs more often in women than in men. In addition, ladies often become carriers of this bacterium. Ureaplasma is part of the natural vaginal environment and does not manifest itself in any way until favorable conditions for development and reproduction occur. If the patient suffers from chronic diseases of the pelvic organs, if she is planning a child or cannot get pregnant, she is prescribed a comprehensive examination for hidden sexually transmitted infections, which includes an analysis for ureaplasma.
First, you need to take a smear, after which it is examined under a microscope. A smear is taken only from the vaginal wall or from the woman’s cervical canal. But ureaplasmosis cannot be detected in the smear taken; only the inflammatory process in the woman’s reproductive system is detected. If a laboratory technician or doctor identifies a pathogenic microorganism in the smear, then a course of additional examination is prescribed.
It should also be taken into account that a superficial examination by a gynecologist is not enough to identify a pathogenic microorganism.
According to doctors, there are only two ways of contracting ureaplasmosis: sexual contact and transmission of the bacterium from mother to child. But in other cases, for example at home, there are also risks of becoming infected, although this rarely happens. Ways of infection entering the body:
It must be remembered that the presence of ureaplasma bacilli in the body does not necessarily provoke the development of ureaplasma infection.
The first symptoms appear three weeks after infection with the bacterium. In this case, the symptoms may be nonspecific, as, for example, with other diseases of the pelvic organs, and there is a need for additional tests. These signs are:
Treatment of infection consists of prescribing antibiotics that inhibit the activity of pathogens. These can be antibiotics from the tetracycline group, macrolides, and lincosamides. Therapy for the disease is prescribed comprehensively using oral medications (capsules, tablets) and local medications (vaginal or rectal suppositories). The treatment regimen may be as follows:
Only a gynecologist, venereologist or urologist can prescribe correct and effective treatment. You should not prescribe treatment for yourself. The duration of therapy is about three weeks.
Genferon or Hexicon are often prescribed as suppositories for the treatment of infection. They have an immunomodulatory, antibacterial, antiviral effect, help eliminate inflammation and eliminate symptoms. In addition, hexicon is allowed during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
The woman’s partner should also be tested for infection, even if he has no obvious symptoms. Treatment also needs to be carried out on both sexual partners, otherwise the disease will pass from one to the other and treatment of only one will not be effective.
Ureaplasmosis can also be treated during pregnancy.
It is necessary to carry out therapy before birth to avoid infection of the child.
Mandatory treatment after a detected disease is important, since over time an untreated infection can progress and provoke both male and female infertility.
We can summarize that only careful attention to your health, regular examinations with a doctor and contacting him at the slightest doubt, even without obvious symptoms, can protect you from developing such an insidious and hidden infection in your body as ureaplasmosis.
If the disease is nevertheless detected, it is important to consult a doctor in time and strictly follow all his instructions.
Often, as a result of the examination, the patient learns that he has been diagnosed with ureaplasma. Naturally, he has questions: “Where does the infection come from, is it curable, and what should I do to avoid infecting my partner?”
To begin with, you shouldn’t panic, but ask your doctor where women come from.
In fact, the bacterium belongs to the opportunistic microbes. And it can be present in the human body without causing any concern.
If the bacteria count does not exceed 10*4, then this is not a disease and the patient does not require treatment. But there are times when there seem to be no bacteria. But patients complain of discomfort when urinating. In this case, an additional examination is carried out and adequate therapy is prescribed.
The causes of ureaplasmosis in men and women do not differ.
The most common way of transmitting the infection is through unprotected sex. There are two types of microorganisms that are found in women and men. These are ureaplasma ureatilicum and parvum.
For a person who often changes sexual partners, there is no point in even thinking about where the infection came from. Since any of them can be a potential source of infection.
In some cases, this situation occurs. The man complains that “during the examination, my wife was found to have ureaplasma, but my tests showed no pathology.”
How can this be?
The thing is that normally an infection may be present, but not manifest itself in any way. Under certain conditions, the pathogen becomes active and begins to multiply.
The causes of pathology in women are changes in the acidity of the vaginal flora. When the number of bacilli (lactobacteria) decreases and a mixed flora begins to develop, including ureaplasma.
To the question: “Where do patients who have never had sexual intercourse get ureaplasma from?”
Moreover, in 5-25% of cases the pathogen is detected even in virgin schoolgirls.
Even a specialist cannot give a definite answer to this question. The thing is that there are other ways of penetration into the body. The possibility of infection through contact and household contact cannot be ruled out. Other causes of the disease in women are:
Among the common causes of ureaplasmosis in men are:
Routes of infection may be as follows:
In very rare cases, transmission of the infection to the fetus may occur during pregnancy. It is even less common to become infected with ureaplasma through contact between a healthy person and a sick person.
After filing complaints and being examined by a doctor, a specialist may suspect that the patient has ureaplasmosis. In order to clarify the suspected diagnosis, an additional examination of the patient is carried out. To do this, the doctor may prescribe a number of studies:
If a woman is diagnosed with:
then it is necessary to conduct a study for the presence of ureaplasma infection.
Microorganisms, destroying the cell wall, penetrate into the cell.
The incubation period for men and women is at least fourteen days.
In some cases, the incubation period for ureaplasma parvum increases to several years. Therefore, if one of the partners has a pathogen, then the other also has it.
Prophylactic and preventive treatment of the pathological process will help to quickly cope with the infection even at the stage of development of the disease. In most cases, there are no signs of the disease. Or patients feel slight discomfort when urinating and the presence of weak vaginal discharge. Moreover, such symptoms do not last long and soon disappear.
The disease becomes chronic. When the body's resistance decreases, the disease worsens. And pronounced symptoms of the inflammatory nature of the genitourinary system appear. Such manifestations may be:
If there is a concomitant infection, for example chlamydial, mycoplasma, etc., the symptoms will be more pronounced. If the patient is a carrier of ureaplasma, then the following factors can trigger the development of infection:
The causes of ureaplasmosis in women can be very diverse. But regardless of them, treatment must be carried out immediately. To prevent possible complications of the disease, therapy must be carried out without fail:
How to treat?
A feature of the treatment of the disease is an integrated approach to the prescription of medications.
Upon completion of the course of therapy, control tests are prescribed.
The effectiveness indicators of the treatment performed are as follows:
It often happens that the symptoms of the disease disappear spontaneously without treatment. True, in some people the disease never appears again, in others it relapses.
Possible reasons for self-healing from ureaplasma have not yet been fully studied and remain a mystery.
When a disease is detected, both sexual partners must be treated, otherwise it is impossible. The presence of an infection in some cases is not a disease. So the decision about the need for therapy must be made by the attending physician.
Even if the infection does not manifest itself in women, it still poses a certain danger to her health:
When a woman is affected by ureaplasma urealyticum and parvum, negative consequences may develop, the causes of which are caused by:
At the pregnancy planning stage, a woman needs to go through. This should be done because:
What should a woman do if she is diagnosed with ureaplasma infection during pregnancy? Most likely, the doctor will postpone treatment until the baby is born. As a last resort, he will prescribe immunostimulants.
Ureaplasma in the body of pregnant women is a high risk. And not only for bearing the fetus, but also for possible consequences for the health of the newborn. At the same time, very strong antibacterial drugs are used to treat the disease. But pregnant women are prescribed drugs that do not have a teratogenic and toxic effect. Such a drug is josamycin.
How to prevent the possibility of developing complications during pregnancy and the postpartum period?
And also infection of the baby at the time of birth?
After 22 weeks, antibiotic therapy is carried out with simultaneous administration of immunostimulants.
If you suspect ureaplasma, contact competent venereologists.
Ureaplasmosis very often occurs without obvious symptoms. Sometimes only analysis can identify this disease. The cause of ureaplasmosis is pathogenic microorganisms present in the human microflora. They come in 2 main types: Ureaplasma urealyticum and Ureaplasma parvum.
These single-celled bacteria are harmless when their numbers are kept within acceptable limits. Under favorable conditions, Ureaplasma urealiticum and Ureaplasma parvum begin to multiply and disrupt the integrity of healthy cells in the mucous membranes of the genitourinary system. An inflammatory process develops in the affected areas, which can lead to more serious diseases.
Most often, pathogenic bacteria are transmitted during sexual intercourse, but there are other reasons for the development of ureaplasmosis:
Ureaplasma urealiticum is more common, although the presence of any of the 2 types of bacteria in the body in large quantities indicates the need for treatment.
If ureaplasmosis is confirmed by laboratory tests in at least one sexual partner, both need to be treated.
This will help avoid relapse of the disease and prevent the development of complications, including infertility.
After all, ureaplasma urealiticum and parvum, multiplying in a woman’s body, affect not only the mucous membranes of the vagina and cervical canal. They penetrate the fallopian tubes, causing adhesions, which leads to the impossibility of conception. The growth of pathogenic microflora during pregnancy can even provoke miscarriage and premature birth.
Ureaplasmosis is often accompanied by other diseases, so it is difficult to identify symptoms unique to this disease. But there are a number of signs that indicate the need to see a doctor:
When a person complains of one of these symptoms, the doctor prescribes a microflora test and checks the patient for the presence of sexually transmitted diseases. If the result of a microflora test shows an imbalance between beneficial and pathogenic microorganisms, the doctor must conduct additional research to identify the causes of the disorders. The diagnosis of diseases of the genitourinary organs, as a rule, also includes an analysis for ureaplasma.
There are several research methods to determine ureaplasmosis. Testing for ureaplasma in men differs little from diagnosing this disease in women. In both the first and second cases we are talking about a smear from the genitourinary organs. Men donate biomaterial from the urethra. Women - from the urethra, vagina and cervical canal. But a smear for ureaplasma is not the only way to determine the presence of the causative agent of the disease. Sometimes a blood test is taken from the patient to make an accurate diagnosis.
One of the most common research methods is bacterial culture of flora. It allows you to analyze the composition of the microflora of a woman’s vagina. Based on the ratio of beneficial and harmful microorganisms, a specialist can assume the development of ureaplasmosis or other diseases. To clarify the diagnosis, additional studies are prescribed.
Material for bacteriological culture is taken during a gynecological examination. You can take a smear on the 2nd day after the end of menstruation. A few days before the test, it is recommended to abstain from sexual activity, taking contraceptives, douching and using local medications. Antibiotics and other medications should be stopped a week before your visit to the doctor. Before submitting the material, it is advisable not to shower or go to the toilet.
A more complex but reliable test for ureaplasma is the polymerase chain reaction method, which allows you to identify the bacterium even in the singular. PCR involves examining material taken from the cervical canal. Biomaterial analysis lasts up to 5 hours. During an in-depth study, ureaplasmosis in any form, including latent, can be detected. Preparing for PCR for ureaplasma does not differ from preparing for a regular smear test. But unlike bacterial culture, such an analysis can be carried out in the middle of the menstrual cycle, and not immediately after the end of the critical days.
Another type of analysis that allows you to identify the causative agent of ureaplasmosis is known as culture seeding. During the study, material is collected from the urethra, vagina and cervical canal. The contents of the smear are placed for 3 days in a special environment where pathogenic bacteria can multiply unhindered. Then the specialist evaluates the results, which will allow one to judge the presence of a particular pathogen. This type of analysis does not require special preparation. But it is better to avoid showering on the day of collecting the material so that the study of the flora is objective.
There is another type of analysis for ureaplasma, which differs from all others in the material being tested. For immunofluorescence analysis, blood is taken from a vein. It is analyzed for antibodies. Immunoglobulin DNA can confirm or deny the presence of the causative agent of the disease. The patient should stop taking antibiotics approximately 7 days before the test. No other special preparation is required for this type of research.
Did you test positive for chlamydia? Can the results be trusted if they are found in a smear? To understand this issue, you should familiarize yourself with all types of tests in such cases, and you also need to take into account concomitant diseases and infections. In the article, we will consider the harm caused by this type of infection, as well as the methods of infection by the carrier of the disease. None of the methods for determining chlamydia is 100% accurate, but some of them have the most accurate results.
From the practice of examining infected people, chlamydia alone is rarely identified. Together with them, it is possible to identify mycoplasmas and ureaplasmas. This follows from the fact that both of the latter microorganisms belong to the same family - Mycoplasmataceal. There are about 100 species of Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma. The most common 6 types pose a danger to humans. Let's consider only Ureaplasma urealiticum, the other 5 are classified as mycoplasmas.
Symptoms of the presence of these microorganisms have identical manifestations and similar methods of analysis. Ureaplasma Ureaplasma urealiticum is a type of mycoplasma and is a bacterium that lives in the upper layers of the genitourinary tract and does not penetrate into the deeper layers. These bacteria can live in the body unnoticed and not manifest themselves.
Only when their health is weakened do they provoke diseases of the genitourinary organs. And the pathogen can only be identified after testing. The presence of bacteria is used to judge a disease called Ureaplasmosis. If there is this type of ureaplasma, treatment will not necessarily follow. Patients who self-healed were observed.
The third species is Chlamydophila pneumoniae - the main areas of damage are observed in the respiratory system. The disease - pneumonia - has become widespread.
How to decide which method to use? Is a positive result from one method reliable? A venereologist, andrologist, urologist or gynecologist will help resolve this issue. There is no point in taking all types of tests, it will not be cheap..jpg» alt=»» /> The well-known preliminary analysis is taken at the first suspicion of infection and for a basic regular check. The name of this method is bacterioscopy or microscopic examination of a smear. To ensure the reliability of the readings, this method is complemented by a blood test for antibodies using the PCR method and bacteriological culture. The principle of sampling differs between men and women.
In men, material is taken from the urethra. The depth of extraction reaches up to three centimeters, which explains the residual pain after the procedure. When examining the prostate gland, tests are prescribed after stimulation of the prostate. Before going for tests, you need to complete the following preparation:
How to determine normal readings for the stronger sex by analysis? Let's decipher the values in the analysis:
In women, taking samples from the vagina is accompanied by three points. At each of the supposed points, chlamydia may be present, but not at others. The principle of research in the laboratory is based on staining the biomaterial followed by analysis under a microscope. Women may also experience slight pain and discomfort in the urethra after the harvesting procedure. Sharp pain indicates ongoing inflammation. The listed smear indicators in men are also inherent in the female body, but a number of others have been added:
A smear is not reliable evidence of the presence of chlamydia
The basis of the PCR research method is to place the samples taken on a nutrient medium for growing. Based on the results of microbial development, the presence of chlamydia is judged. The main advantages of the method are the accuracy of the indicators. However, if the laboratory technician is insufficiently experienced, the specifics of the procedure may not be taken into account. The advantages of this method include:
The rarity of use is due to the fact that there is a long waiting period for results, which is not always useful for the person being examined. But its accuracy justifies the time spent waiting and the high cost of work.
Even such an accurate method cannot provide guaranteed confidence in the accuracy of the result. If chlamydia is detected, it is necessary to retake the analysis in different laboratories and draw final conclusions based on a combination of different methods. By doing this, we can eliminate the frequent errors of clinic personnel who take samples and directly conduct the examination of biomaterials.
Types of pathogens such as mycoplasma, ureaplasma and chlamydia pose a danger to the development of the fetus in pregnant women. And treatment during pregnancy introduces a negative factor into the health of the unborn child. If couples are planning a baby in the future, it is recommended to be examined for the presence of these bacteria in the body. Treatment is carried out with drugs that pose a danger to the fetus and may result in its loss. Also, a child becomes infected at birth when it passes through the birth canal of women.
It is important that the presence of infections before pregnancy can be detected by the symptoms that appear during colds, flu and other factors that weaken the immune system. Manifested in the following signs:
Treatment of chlamydia with certain drugs during pregnancy is avoided due to possible complications:
A smear cannot be a reliable indicator of chlamydia. A biochemical blood test method is used together with a smear to most likely confirm negative indications of the disease. If blood tests in women are positive, examinations of men using the same method may be negative. This is due to several factors:
To accurately detect the disease, PCR and ELISA methods are used. Both partners need to undergo treatment. If the second does not have an indication for chlamydia, then he undergoes mandatory preventive treatment to prevent re-infection of the partner.