Toxoplasmosis - symptoms in women

When planning a pregnancy, it is highly advisable for a woman to consult a gynecologist and get the recommended examinations. Including, and for the presence of infections of the TORCH group.

A blood test for toxoplasmosis is one of the mandatory tests in pregnancy planning. It is designed to reveal in the blood of a woman the simplest microorganisms - toxoplasm. The source of toxoplasm are cats, or more precisely - their excrement. If there is insufficient hygiene, these microorganisms penetrate into the human body after stroking the cat or cleaning its toilet.

Signs and symptoms of toxoplasmosis in women

Toxoplasmosis in women can be of two kinds - congenital and acquired. Symptoms of acquired toxoplasmosis is a general malaise, supplemented by muscular and joint pain. However, often the disease passes asymptomatically and unnoticed for the woman herself.

Often, toxoplasmosis acquires a chronic form with periodic transitions to the acute form. Symptoms of chronic toxoplasmosis is a prolonged but insignificant increase in temperature (up to 37.2-37.7 degrees Celsius), headaches, enlargement of the spleen, liver, lymph nodes.

What is dangerous toxoplasmosis in pregnancy?

The greatest danger is congenital toxoplasmosis, when intrauterine infection of the fetus occurs. Toxoplasma can penetrate the placenta and cause illness in the child even before it is born.

Toxoplasmosis is not dangerous if a woman has been in contact with toxoplasm before the onset of pregnancy. In this case, her body has antibodies to toxoplasmosis. Danger represents the primary infection of a woman with toxoplasmosis directly during pregnancy. In this situation, the effect of toxoplasmosis on pregnancy is extremely negative, since there is a significant damage to the organs of the unborn child. A fetus affected by toxoplasma either dies due to deformities that are incompatible with life, or is born with symptoms of acute congenital toxoplasmosis - jaundice, fever, intoxication, lesions of internal organs and the central nervous system.

Prophylaxis and treatment of toxoplasmosis

The main precaution is hygiene in cooking. Since men can be carriers of toxoplasmosis and do not know about it because of the absence of symptoms, it is advisable to use antiseptic sprays during sexual intercourse, along with barrier methods of contraception.

Treatment of toxoplasmosis is indicated for women and children who have signs of the disease and it consists in taking various antibacterial drugs.