Ureaplasmosis in women
Content:
- Methods of infection with ureaplasmosis
- Symptoms of ureaplasmosis in women
- Diagnosis of ureaplasmosis in women
- Treatment of ureaplasmosis in women
- Prevention of ureaplasmosis
- Complications
- Ureaplasmosis in pregnant women
Ureaplasmosis is a disease caused by the tiny bacteria of Mycoplasmataceae, which are intermediate in size between viruses and unicellular organisms.
The similarity of ureaplasma bacteria and viruses lies in the small size of both types of pathogens, a small amount of genetic material and the presence of an incomplete cell wall.
A relationship with unicellular is the presence of the nucleus and some cellular organelles.
Ureaplasma has the unique ability to penetrate into the cell and multiply in it. For this reason, the pathogen becomes inaccessible to the human immune system and the largest number of antibacterial drugs, because the body's defenses do not destroy their own human cells, and drugs do not recognize disguised ureaplasmosis.
But among many specialists, the certainty prevails that this pathogen enters the obligatory microflora of the urinary tract and may not give any symptoms for many years. The reason for starting the pathological process may be a decrease in immunity and the acquisition of associated diseases.
Methods of infection with ureaplasmosis
Women become carriers of ureaplasma bacteria when:
- Unprotected sex;
- With a tendency to unconventional types of sex.
From this it becomes clear that the transmission of the disease is sexual.
Ureaplasmosis refers to STIs (sexually transmitted infections).
Symptoms of ureaplasmosis in women
After infection, symptoms can appear after a few days or a month. Based on this, it is impossible to say with certainty how long the incubation period will last.
While the woman remains in ignorance regarding the fact that he became a carrier of ureaplasmosis, the disease progresses. Bacteria multiply at high speeds and are secreted along with body fluids. During this period, the patient transforms from carrier to carrier.
The first symptoms appear on the mucous membrane of the urethra as a process of inflammation:
- Weak pain when urinating, which intensifies at the beginning of the process, or at the end;
- Transparent discharge from the urethra in small quantities, which are rarely accompanied by an unpleasant odor.
- Burning in the genitals.
Ureaplasmosis can begin as a sore throat if the woman is infected by a partner with oral sex. In this case, the patient treats a sore throat, suspecting an acute respiratory disease. In the future, the symptoms may be so blurred in nature that they remain invisible to the patient.
Chronization of the process occurs in a month, provided that the treatment is not carried out. The clinical picture becomes uninformative, and the disease enters a remission stage.
The presence of ureaplasmosis is often detected in the treatment of recurrent thrush and nonspecific colpitis. These diseases have a habit of exacerbating infection of STIs.
The disease is able to progress rapidly against the background of weakened immunity after:
- The course of taking antibiotics;
- Stress;
- Hypothermia of the body;
- Transferred colds.
Diagnosis of ureaplasmosis in women
Diagnosis of infection with ureaplasmosis is not a problem. But it should be remembered that the analysis for the presence of the pathogen in the body must be taken twice: in order to detect the disease and in order to verify the success of conservative treatment.
There are four main methods for the diagnosis of ureaplasma:
- . Bacteriological . Biological material (smear), which allegedly contains infectious agents, is applied to special nutrient media. The method guarantees an absolutely accurate determination of the presence or absence of contamination and the number of bacteria in one milliliter of the material, allows you to determine the degree of sensitivity of ureaplasma to antibiotics.
As the biomaterial used scraping from the cervix or urethra. The cost of bacteriological analysis is high compared to the cost of other diagnostic methods and the result becomes known within a week.
- является наиболее популярным методом диагностики наличия возбудителей уреаплазмы. PCR or polymerase chain reaction is the most popular method for diagnosing the presence of ureaplasma pathogens. This method allows you to detect genetic material in secret from the cervix or urethra, which allows you to accurately determine the presence of an infectious agent in the body. The PCR method is more readily available than the biological one, and the results are known within a short period of time.
But in this case, the degree of sensitivity to antibiotics and the number of pathogens in the material remain unknown.
- дает возможность выявить наличие антител (специфических соединений белка, вырабатываемых иммунной системой против чужеродного агента) к уреаплазме. The serological method makes it possible to detect the presence of antibodies (specific protein compounds produced by the immune system against a foreign agent) to ureaplasma. In this case, the test results can be regarded as approximate, since antibodies can remain in the body for some time after the cure of the disease.
- – метод прямой иммунофлюоресценции, и ИФА – иммунофлюоресцентный анализ так же помогают определить присутствие антител к возбудителю и так же расцениваются как ориентировочные показатели. AIF is a direct immunofluorescence method, and an ELISA immunofluorescence assay also helps to determine the presence of antibodies to the pathogen and is also regarded as indicative indicators. Diagnostics using ELISA and PIF is relatively inexpensive, but the accuracy of the results does not rise above 70%.
Tests for ureaplasma should be taken before the morning toilet and during the absence of menstruation.
After completion of treatment, it is necessary to pass a control analysis no later than one week.
Treatment of ureaplasmosis in women
The treatment tactics of ureaplasmosis is well developed, but sometimes the patient is completely cured only after a second course of treatment. This is due to the fact that ureaplasma parasitizes both inside and outside human cells, and it is not uncommon to combine it with other infections of the urinary organs.
A treatment plan is drawn up for each woman individually, depending on the nature and severity of the disease.
The acute stage of ureaplasmosis is successfully treated with antibacterial drugs.
The subacute form requires a combination of drugs of general and local action.
For the treatment of chronic ureaplasmosis, a treatment plan is drawn up from general and local drugs and immunomodulators.
The purpose of conservative treatment is the complete destruction of the causative agents of ureaplasma. If treatment does not help eliminate pathogens without a residue, doctors try to bring the body into a state in which the cases of relapse are minimized and the severity of symptoms decreases.
Rules for the treatment of ureaplasmosis:
- Treatment is carried out only by a gynecologist and in strict accordance with the treatment plan.
- Not only a woman should be treated, but also her permanent sexual partner.
- Doctors advise against sexual intercourse with a partner, but protected sex is allowed.
- Dieting at the time of treatment is not necessary, but recommended.
- Refusal to smoke and take alcohol is required.
- It is necessary to strictly follow the treatment plan, without missing a medication and without neglecting the recommendations and prohibitions of the doctor.
In the treatment of ureaplasmosis, there are three main approaches:
1. Antibacterial therapy is carried out only if the causative agent's sensitivity to drugs is precisely known. Drugs are prescribed in the maximum allowable dose and there should be several of them, since one particular therapeutic drug for ureaplasmosis has not yet been invented.
In modern medicine, three groups of drugs are used:
- Fluoroquinolones (Ciprofloxacin and Moxifloxacin);
- Macrolides (Azithromycin, Josamycin, Clarithromycin). The most preferred are Josamycin and Clarithromycin, since the first is highly effective against ureaplasma, and the second causes a minimum of side effects. Azithromycin gradually loses its position due to the fact that the pathogen produces stable properties to its components;
- Tetracyclines (doxycycline);
In combination with antibacterial drugs in the appointment include drugs metranidozolovogo series and antifungal drugs.
You can assign drugs in different forms: tablets, suppositories, powders or emulsions.
2. Immunotherapy involves the appointment of immunostimulants to the patient, some of whom prefer two drugs from the interferon group: Cycloferon and Neovir.
Increased immunity is necessary because ureaplasmosis occurs on the background of reduced immunity (local and general).
3. Regenerative therapy is carried out with the inclusion of adaptogens (Estiphan), antioxidants (Antioxycaps), urinary organs mucosal regenerative drugs (Methyluracil), biostimulants (Plasmazole, aloe extract), enzyme preparations (Wobenzim) into the treatment plan.
The duration of the treatment process is 10-14 days.
The results of the treatment are evaluated using laboratory tests two weeks after the completion of treatment. If the treatment is successful and the woman's body is freed from the causative agents of ureaplasma, she only needs to be careful in the future and undergo preventive examinations twice a year.
With positive test results (in the presence of ureaplasma in the biomaterial even after treatment), it is recommended to repeat the course of treatment.
Prevention of ureaplasmosis
Ureaplasmosis refers to STIs, which are widespread among the population, so measures of its primary (prevention of infection) and secondary (increased immunity) prevention are becoming more and more popular.
Primary prevention of ureaplasmosis is exactly the same as measures to prevent other sexually transmitted infections (STIs):
- Refusal of promiscuity and sexual promiscuity;
- It is advisable to have a permanent sexual partner in whose state of health you are absolutely sure;
- The use of barrier methods of contraception during sexual intercourse (condoms);
- The use of condoms for oral sex (as the causative agent of ureaplasma may be present in the oral cavity);
- Douching the vagina and treating the external genitalia with antiseptic drugs (for example, chlorhexidine) after casual sex and analyzing STIs after a week.
Secondary prophylaxis is an increase in immunity by:
- Personal hygiene;
- Observance of the correct mode of the day;
- Hardening;
- Course tricks of complex vitamins;
- Regular examination by a gynecologist;
- Benchmark analysis on STIs after unprotected sex.
Complications
The causative agent of ureaplasma is able to parasitize both inside the cell and beyond. Due to this fact, and the fact that the disease very often occurs in a chronic form, ureaplasmosis is expressed by imperceptible symptoms. Patients are more likely to seek help only when the following complications have already occurred:
- Secondary infertility, which is a consequence of a prolonged inflammatory process in the cervix and fallopian tubes. Even after adequate treatment of ureaplasmosis, the doctor may find that the fallopian tubes are impassable for the eggs.
- Cystitis (inflamed bladder) and chronic urethritis (chronic inflammation of the urethra) result from an ascending infection.
- Ascending pyelonephritis is detected when pathogens rise above the bladder to the kidneys.
- Vaginosis is a complication that causes discomfort and pain during intercourse.
- Violation of the regularity of the menstrual cycle.
- Adnexitis is an inflammatory process that engages the uterus (ovaries, fallopian tubes, ligaments).
- Ooritis - inflammation of the ovaries.
In addition to the above, bacteria ureaplasma can damage the shell and structure of the egg, making it impossible to conceive a healthy child.
Ureaplasmosis in pregnant women
Ureaplasmosis, as an independent disease, was isolated in the mid-twentieth century, when there was no doubt that it could contribute to miscarriage (missed abortion, miscarriage) and the development of severe lung disease in the fetus.
But one cannot say with certainty that the presence of Mycoplasmataceae bacteria is a guarantee of the occurrence of complications during pregnancy. Miscarriages and pathologies of fetal development are more often observed with a combination of the presence of the disease and reduced immunity, as well as a long course of ureaplasmosis and its massive colonization in the urogenital tract. For this reason, ureaplasma is considered opportunistic infection.
Nowadays, doctors recommend planning pregnancy in order to avoid complications. In preparation for such a responsible step, a woman should undergo a full examination, including tests (smear and blood) for the presence of infections. The timely detection and treatment of ureaplasmosis can avoid many undesirable consequences for both the mother and the child.
When a pregnancy occurs before the examination has been completed, the gynecologist will refer the pregnant woman for testing in the following cases:
- A history of infertility, missed abortion or miscarriages.
- There are signs of a complication of current pregnancy with suspected fetal infection.
- Inflammatory process of the urogenital organs of unknown origin.
- Planned testing.
Independently ureaplasmosis can not be detected, since the only symptom is vaginal discharge in small quantities. As long as a pregnant woman remains in the dark about her condition, the fetus may experience a developmental delay, impaired blood circulation in the umbilical cord and placenta for no apparent reason.
Treatment of ureaplasmosis during pregnancy requires strict indications and it begins in the second trimester (after the onset of 13 weeks gestation), when the chorion has already formed in the fetus (the chorion is subsequently converted into the placenta).
An effective drug against ureaplasma pathogens is josamycin from a number of macrolides. Together with him prescribed drugs that increase immunity, vitamins and adaptogens (from the word adaptation).
When following the recommendations of a doctor in good faith, in 97% of cases the disease disappears without a trace. In the remaining 3%, a second course of treatment is required.
Objectives of treatment of ureaplasmosis during pregnancy:
- The destruction of pathogens from the patient's body;
- Reducing the number of Mycoplasmataceae bacteria to a minimum.
- Relief of symptoms.
If ureaplasmosis is detected, there is no need to panic. This is not a sentence for the child and mother. With timely detection and treatment, a woman can safely rely on a positive outcome.
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