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Toxoplasmosis: Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment

What is toxoplasmosis

Toxoplasmosis: symptoms, diagnosis and treatment Toxoplasmosis is an infectious disease which is caused by a parasite single celled, known as Toxoplasma gondii. Commonly, this infection is transmitted to human beings, when they stay in contact with pets like cats or with uncooked or poorly cooked meat.

It is predicted by the United State Centers for Disease that nearly 60 million citizens of United States may suffer from Toxoplasmosis parasite. Besides , a very few of them show symptoms of having that infection, and the reason for that is the internal strong immune system keeps those parasites from causing illness.

What are the toxoplasmosis symptoms in humans

In fact, these are majority of the people who have toxoplasmosis but they are unaware of having this disease. General symptoms of toxo are fluke symptoms, including swollen lymph nodes, aching of muscles and several pains that may last from some days to few weeks.

If the immune system of a healthy person is normal, he cannot get infected again from toxo. Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite, that in most of the cases attacks cold blooded species humans, and animals , and infects them causing disease named toxoplasmosis.

What is toxoplasmosis treatment

Once toxoplasmosis diagnosis is confirmed, your doctor should discuss everything about toxoplasmosis. You should know that what are possible toxoplasmosis treatments for your regarding this disease. You can then ask for your doctor to start your treatment immediately. Because a small delay in treatment may lead to several other problems for you. If you are not a pregnant woman then it is not compulsory for you to start treatment. The symptoms of toxoplasmosis go away after one week or so. The major problem occurs if you are pregnant because in this condition you are bearing a small baby and toxoplasmosis can affect your baby also. For pregnant ladies or people who have not strong immune systems, there are several drugs available for them to treat the toxoplasmosis urgently.

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There are many antibiotics that can eliminate toxoplasmosis infection completely from your body so you don’t worry if you are pregnant as well as toxoplasmosis patient. Drugs that are used most commonly include sulfadiazine (Microsulfon), Daraprim (pyrimethamine) and folic acid. Don’t you know what kind of diet is important? You must include folic acid foods in your pregnancy diet! Some people have HIV and they will need the long treatments in order to save them from toxoplasmosis and to abolish the parasites.

If you are a pregnant woman, they you can take leucovorin (Wellcovorin) and spiramycin (Rovamycine) drugs. Besides this, there are several other drugs which can be used for the treatment of pregnant women having toxoplasmosis.

What causes toxoplasmosis

How a person becomes patient of toxoplasmosis. There are different ways for acquiring the parasite and that causes this infection.

  • If you making contact with cats and cat feces. It might possible that your pet animal contains various germs and when you play with your pets; these bacteria viruses may transfer in your body. So stay away from cats if you are pregnant.
  • If you eat meat that is not cooked properly, you can face this disease.
  • Drinking milk from infected goat or cow.
  • Blood transfusion from person who is already affected with toxoplasmosis.

 

Cats and pregnancy

If you are a pregnant woman or you have weak immune system, there are various techniques that you can adopt in order to avoid toxoplasmosis. One major thing is that you can also protect your cats from getting infection with toxo. Always try to keep your cats indoors and give them dry and canned cat special food. You cats may get infection of toxoplasmosis by eating raw as well as undercooked meat, infected with parasite. They can also become infected by eating rodents and birds that are infected. If you allow your cat to go outside, do not allow it to go to your bed or any furniture in your house. Mostly it is very difficult to keep them off from your beds or pillows etc because they are very close with you, so it is better to not allow them outside the house. Do not let your cats to come inside your kitchen when you are cooking. Also, do not welcome any new cat in your house that might have fed raw food. After handling your cats, wash your hands properly with soap.

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Unborn child against toxoplasmosis

How can toxoplasmosis affect your newly born baby? If you are pregnant or you have planned to become pregnant in future then you should take tests to check toxoplasmosis infection because if you do not take notice then this infection can be transferred in your baby as well. Sometimes, this disease does not show any symptom. Most babies do not show any symptoms after their birth but with the passage of time they can develop very severe symptoms such as blindness, loss of brain and disability of brain condition.

Delores C. West is a compassionate healthcare professional with a focus on women's health and wellness. As a certified nurse-midwife, Delores is dedicated to providing comprehensive care to women throughout their reproductive journey. With a warm and nurturing approach, she empowers her patients to make informed decisions about their health and well-being. Delores's expertise in women's health makes her a trusted resource for individuals seeking personalized and compassionate care. Connect with her on LinkedIn to learn more about her commitment to women's health and wellness.