What tests should men take to check for trichomoniasis?

Male patients are also a high-risk group for trichomoniasis, especially for men with promiscuous sex life, the probability of suffering from trichomoniasis is very high. When a man feels itchy glans penis or swollen foreskin, he should consider whether he has trichomoniasis. After suffering from trichomoniasis, he must go to the hospital for diagnosis and treatment in time to effectively avoid infecting his partner. What are the tests for men when checking whether they have trichomoniasis?

1. How to detect male trichomoniasis

Hanging drop method

For male patients, urethral secretions before the first urination in the morning or the sediment of the first urine in the morning are used for hanging drop microscopy. The secretions are mixed with physiological saline on a glass slide and examined under a high-power microscope (100× or 400×). If oval, flagellar, and motile parasites are seen, the diagnosis can be made. Another important finding of hanging drop microscopy is the presence of a large number of neutrophils in vaginal secretions.

Trichomonas culture

This method is more sensitive than direct microscopy. Incubate the culture in an anaerobic environment for at least 48 hours. If negative, continue to culture for 7 days and check regularly.

Since male trichomoniasis is almost always transmitted from the female partner, and vaginal trichomoniasis testing for women is both convenient and accurate, they should be encouraged to undergo this test.

2. Symptoms of trichomoniasis in men

Male patients with urethral trichomonas often have a history of sexual intercourse with women infected with trichomonas. Symptoms are generally mild or even absent. The main clinical manifestations are varying degrees of urethral itching and discomfort. Symptoms often worsen during urination. In severe cases, posterior urethritis, cystitis, prostatitis, and epididymitis may occur, with purulent secretions and difficulty urinating. Most male trichomonal urethritis is self-limiting, which may be caused by the anti-trichomoniasis components in male prostatic fluid. In addition, glansitis may also occur, manifested as papules, erythema, blisters, and erosions on the glans.

3. Male trichomoniasis infection source

After women are infected with vaginal trichomonads through swimming, bathing, sexual intercourse, etc., they parasitize in the vagina. Then they cause urethral infection, and then through sexual intercourse, they infect men. In addition to trichomonal urethritis, it can also cause cystitis and prostatitis. The source of infection is trichomonas patients and carriers. It is mainly transmitted directly through sexual intercourse, and can also be transmitted indirectly through public baths, swimming pools, toilets, etc. It causes female trichomonal vaginitis, and then causes urethral purulent. The cause of trichomonal urethritis is that through sexual intercourse, trichomonas enter the male urethra, causing male trichomonal urethritis and prostatitis. Some scholars are skeptical about whether pure Trichomonas can cause urethritis. Many scholars know that Trichomonas can be found in urethral secretions, and they also know that there are other pathogens, such as common fungi, Chlamydia trachomatis, and Mycoplasma. Therefore, Trichomonas can only cause disease when there are other pathogens.