Having multiple sex partners could result in multiple problems.

Between July 2002 and June 2003, the Polk County Health Department reported out of 914 Polk county residents, 75, or nine percent, tested positive for trichomoniasis, an parasitic infection acquired during sexual intercourse.

Symptoms of trichomoniasis are more common in females than males. Women may experience irritation or itching in the vaginal area. It may also cause a yellow discharge or a foul odor.

Males may experience penile itching or discharge, said Boua Cam, center manager of Planned Parenthood.

Both may experience pain while having sexual intercourse, she said.

Some symptoms may not appear for six months or at all, said Marc Shulman, staff physician at Thielen Student Health Center.

Planned Parenthood and Thielen Student Health do not check for trichomoniasis routinely. Both centers only check when symptoms appear. Therefore, if students are showing symptoms of trichomoniasis, they need to seek medical attention immediately.

“[Students who suspect they have trichomoniasis] definitely want to get treated because the symptoms multiply and get worse,” Cam said.

If trichomoniasis goes undetected, it can have long-term effects on the body.

Both males and females may suffer from chronic infection, leading women to develop pelvic inflammatory disease and males to develop infections of the prostate, both of which can result in low fertility, Shulman said.

Because trichomoniasis is an infection and not a disease, it is easily treatable by using antibiotics, Cam said.

Women will need to undergo a pelvic exam while men will need take a sperm DNA integrity check. Abstaining from sex after diagnosis until treatment is finished helps prevent re-infection from occurring, she said.

“The best [prevention] is by abstinence or, of course, by condom,” Shulman said.