VIRGINAL DISCHARGE AND SEXUALY TRANSMITED INFECTION

VIRGINAL DISCHARGE AND SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTION
Author’s Name
Institute Affiliation
Virginal discharge is a common symptom that has been observed by doctors in their duties. The discharge can be either pathological or physiological. Although sometimes the virginal discharge makes women to seek medical attention and tests for sexually transmitted infections (STI), the discharge is not a clear indication of the presence of a sexually transmitted disease (Mitchel, 2014). Thus, virginal discharge can be due to various reasons other than STI’s. In my practicum session, I attended to a patient who experienced abnormal virginal discharge. The discharge was discolored and with an awful odor.
Furthermore, she was experiencing a lot of pain every time she urinated. In addition to this, she suffered abnormal urge urinate. At first, I thought that the discharge and the other symptoms were consistent with a urinary tract infection. However, after further analysis, I found out that indeed she had Trichomonas vaginalis. A sexually transmitted infection (Stoppler & Shiel, 2017). When at first I told her that it was urinary tract infection it was easy for both of us. However, she was heartbroken to learn it was an STI. It affected her, and it was difficult to convince her that everything was going to be alright. Finally, when she settled down, we went through the medication and how she was going to be affected in short as well as the long term. For the short term, I advised not to take any alcohol during the first two days of treatment.

Furthermore, she would experience discomfort and stomach disturbance since the disulfiram medication will react with the acid in her stomach (Spence & Melville, 2007). However, the long terms impact of the diagnosis might make her to distrust men and create a barrier between her and her potential lovers. By her medical records and history from her teacher, the patient was allergic to sulfur, so I avoided any medication that contained it. In addition to this, the records showed that she had earlier been diagnosed with another sexually transmitted infection. Thus, there was a need to do a follow-up and counsel her of the different ways she can protect herself in the future.
References
Mitchel, H. (2004). Vaginal discharge-causes, diagnosis, and treatment. BMJ, 328(7451), 1306-1308.
Spence, D., & Melville, C. (2007). Vaginal discharge. BMJ: British Medical Journal, 335(7630), 1147.
Stoppler, M. and Shiel, W. (2017). Vaginal discharge (symptoms causes, and treatment. Medicinehealth: Women Health Centre. Retrieved from; https://www.emedicinehealth.com/vaginal_discharge/article_em.htm#what_are_the_causes_of_vaginal_discharge.