Ureaplasma urealyticum
What is ureaplasma?
Possible symptoms of ureaplasma
Risk of having symptoms
Treatment
What is ureaplasma?
Ureaplasma is a particularly small bacterium belonging to the family Mycoplasmataceae (commonly known as Mycoplasma). There are seventeen identified species, most usually found in the respiratory and urogenital tracts. Some strains originally classified as Ureaplasma urealyticum may now be classified as Ureaplasma parvum.
U. urealyticum is commonly found in the genital flora of sexually active men and women. It is found in about 70% of sexually active humans, and is usually commensal (harmless and symptom-free). You have a high chance of being infected with it if you have unprotected sex with someone who has had other sexual partners, and your chances of infection increase exponentially with the number of different partners.
Even if you have no symptoms, you can still pass the microorganisms in your genitals to your partner(s). This is why so many adults are infected - the infected source person has no symptoms, and usually the person they infect also shows no symptoms.
You are STRONGLY advised to have a pathology test if you have any symptoms, because there is a chance you may have, and be passing on, another more serious disease to your partner(s).
Possible symptoms of ureaplasma
- For most people, Ureaplasma remains in the genitals and has no effect or symptoms.
- A continual dull ache or pain around the genitals or lower abdomen.
- Burning or pain when urinating.
- Ureaplasma has been associated with a number of diseases such as non-specific urethritis (NSU) and sterile pyuria.
- Whether Ureaplasma can cause infertility, chorioamnionitis, stillbirth, premature birth, and, in the perinatal period, pneumonia, bronchopulmonary dysplasia and meningitis is contentious.
- Prostatitis (inflammation of the prostate gland) causing more frequent urination or reduced urine flow.
- Inflammation of testicles, urethra, epididymis, fallopian tubes, other areas of the body depending on where the infection was received.
- Fatigue.
Risk of having symptoms
- The older you are when you get your initial Ureaplasma infection, the more likely that you will suffer a mild pain, an NSU or some other symptoms.
- If your immune system is weak, there is an increased chance of suffering from the above symptoms.
Treatment
If you are suffering any symptoms, it is important to provide a urine sample for testing by a pathology lab. This will rule out the possibility of infection by a more dangerous bacteria / protozoa.
Conventional medicine usually treats a U. urealyticum infection with antibiotic doxycycline or streptomycin. Of course both partners must be treated, and outside of a strictly monogamous relationship there is a high chance of re-infection. It requires a strong course of antibiotics, and there is a possibility that your digestive and other beneficial bacteria will be devastated, with a risk of development of IBS and other problems.
The natural home remedy approach to treating Ureaplasma urealyticum is to leave them alone - in a healthy person they are a commensal - in other words, they should cause no problems, and most sexually active people have them. If your symptoms are serious AND a test has confirmed a U. urealyticum infection and no other infections or causes, a natural antibiotic such as colloidal silver may be able to contain the bacterial overgrowth. Usually the symptoms improve or resolve over a period of weeks or months, and an improvement in the strength of your immune system may also contain the infection.