[Question #12268] Ureaplasma Parvum
9 months ago
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Awoke one night with signs and symptoms of infection. Frequent Urination, Seriously painful dysuria , trouble urinating with only small amounts of dark orange to cola coloured urine and smelt like Sulphur. I was back and forth to the toilet. Then only once had pus discharge after urine stream. Got tested at local GUM clinic for Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, Syphillis and HIV, plus urethral swab for NGU. All negative. Urine dip stick showed clear also. Still had frequent urge to urinate and uncomfortable feeling in urethra. New symptom was testicles kept moving up and down on their own constantly. Like being hot and cold but wasn't temperature related. You could literally see them moving. Discharge was perfectly clear only after doing strenuous activities (never had this before). Did a multiplex sti test for multiple bacteria (Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, Mycoplasma Genitalium, ureaplasma Urealiticum, Ureplasma Parvum, Gardnerella, Trich, Herpes 1&2, HIV, Syhillis, Hep B&C) All negative . I've since tested numerous times (12+) until the last one picked up Ureaplasma Parvum. Still have some symptoms now and then. Frequent urge to urinate, Clear Discharge with strenuous activity but not always. Pain in perineum, general uncomfortable feeling in urethra (itching) and some stinging after urination again not always. Some mornings my urethra is stuck together until 1st urination and 1 clear mucus thread in urine when looking at in the light. Finally i leak a clear fluid after ejaculation for a good few hours, even after urinating. (Ive always had this).
9 months ago
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I've also had my mid stream urine cultured that picked up Klebsiella Pneumonia, but didn't on a repeat test. No treatment. A first void urine culture showed small concentration of white blood cells but no bacteria. No Treatment. MicroGen QPCR and NGS picked up Enterococcus Faecilas at medium levels (other bacteria were low) and lower level in semen. Treated with 1 week amoxicillin. Not retested since. Semen Culture showed moderate growth of Acintobacter Johnsonii , retest was clear with scanty growth of less than 10^3, doubtful significance. Another semen NGS showed low bacteria load, with top being Staphylococcus, Corynebacterium, Stretococcus and Finegoldia Magna. No Treatment.
My partner has frequent urination and leukocytes in her urine but always negative cultures. Been treated with amoxicillin, Nitrofurantion and others. but urine still seems to read leukocytes most of the time. We had a daughter in 2022, and 9 days after birth was taken into hospital with pre orbital cellulitis and conjunctivitis. This cleared with IV Antibiotics (cefotaxime) topical Chloramphenicol which cleared it, but were also advised to add Erythromycin. All swabs negative for gonorrhea and chlamydia, but come back with growth of normal skin bacteria. Not sure NHS would have checked for Ureaplasma.
9 months ago
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Does this all stem from the Ureaplsma Parvum? Symptoms fit those described on the Ureaplasma Reddit page, but many doctors i have spoken to since positive test class Ureaplsma Parvum as a normal urinary track bacteria that does not warrant treatment. I know this is your belief also. What else could be causing this? Prostate infection in me? What further testing should i follow? Should me partner test and treat Ureaplsma Parvum to clear her unresolved symptoms?
9 months ago
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My partner is my only vaginal sexual partner ever.
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
9 months ago
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Greetings. If you saw a transient reply about reposting a shorter question, don't worry about it. I'll have some brief comments for you soon. However, after a quick scan of your message, my main reply is that you almost certainly have no STD, and that's the only area we address on the forum -- not other genitourinary infections and other health problems when STD isn't an issue. Also, you are correct that Ureaplasma parvum is a normal bacteria in the urinary tract and almost certainly not the cause of your symptoms.
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HHH, MD
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
9 months ago
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Welcome to the forum. There's a lot of information here and I'm not sure I have absorbed all the details. (The character limit in the initial question window is intended to limit the length of the user's question.)
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It's only in your most recent follow-up comment that you give any sexual history. Have there been other (non-vaginal) sexual exposures -- oral or anal sex for example? With male or female partners? How recently?
Your test results are conclusive for all STDs for which you were tested. As per my initial reply above, it is true that U. parvum is entirely normal and doesn't require treatment. The large majority of your symptoms are not typical for STD either, but some of them fit with prostatitis. I am also confident your partner's symptoms are unrelated to yours, and so are your daughter's past orbital cellulitis.
You say your initial care was at an NHS GUM clinic. It would make sense for you to continue with a GUM specialist, although perhaps seeing a urologist might be reasonable at this point, if not already in such care. (I'm not entirely clear on the distribution of expertise for problems like yours between the GUM and urology specialties.)
I hope these comments are a little bit helpful. Let me know if anything isn't clear.
HHH, MD
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9 months ago
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Hi Doctor, Only other exposures are 3 cases of non protected oral sex all over 15 years ago, and one case of protective oral from sew worker around 6 years ago. I was drunk so possible the condom wasn't totally intact, but didn't notice anything at the time. I've had symptoms for over 9 years. They seem to come and go, or are always present but minimally. I did have suspected prostate problems in the past (sore testicles), and had to take medication for 1 week. Not sure what exactly, and no tests were carried our other than doctor office examination. Regarding Ureaplasma Parvum what does normal bacteria mean? Could it grow out of control and lead to infection, like some skin bacteria can do, if so what would symptoms be? Can this bacteria infect prostate? How could I of contracted this or can it present from birth? Finally, should my partner be informed of Ureaplasma Parvum positive result?
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
9 months ago
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Thanks for the info about your past sexual exposures. There is no possibility they have anything to do with your current problems.
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Here comes more information than you might be expecting about U. parvum. Once in a while I write what I call my "blog-like" forum replies; these comments are intended to make this a thread one to which I can refer future questions from users concerned about U. parvum or U. urealyticum.
All body cavities and our insides (intestines, the throat, the entire genitourinary tract), and the skin body wide are occupied by hundreds or even thousands of various bacteria. Some of them are well known (staph, strep, corynebacterium and uncountable others on the skin), E. coli and related bacteria in our intestines, etc: -- the human microbiome. Most such bacteria have not even been identified. As you already know about skin bacteria, the large majority are harmless, indeed often critical to our health -- even if sometimes they can cause infection. U. parvum, U. urealyticum, and several others in the group called mycoplasmas are among the known bacteria in the human urogenital microbiome. That's all. U. parvum is not known to cause inflammation/infection and does not need treatment.
You did not contract it recently. Almost certainly it is always there in small amounts and only intermittently detected by testing. And by the way, we share our microbiomes with our intimate contacts. You can be confident your wife's genital bacteria are pretty much the same as yours. In that sense, specific bacteria in our microbiomes can be sexually transmitted. That doesn't make them abnormal or worrisome. There's no reason to discuss your UP test result with your partner, but also no reason not to do so.
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9 months ago
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Thanks for all the information and timely replies, its very much appreciated. As a final follow up, U Parvum Colonization growth or relocation to bladder isn't known to cause UTI symptoms, more specifically Sterile Leukocyturia, frequent Urge/ Urination and Urine sediment in females/Males? Ureaplasma Parvum doesn't cause prostatitis in males? As a commensal Ureaplasma Parvum can be naturally acquired from birth, and any symptoms we currently show are due to other issues, unrelated to STD'S. A urologist would possibly be my next best point of call? Looking at the Ureaplasma reddit page, it seems quiet a few suggest their symptoms relate to ureaplasma, but further to your last reply, I guess these could potentially be due to the unrecognized bacteria that are yet to be identified and any treatment actually treating these bacteria as well as decreasing the Ureaplasma colonization enough to test negative. Thankyou for your time and very informative replies. Best regards.
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
8 months ago
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Correct: U. parvum has never been known to cause UTI or prostatitis. Even if identified when such problems are found, it doesn't necessarily imply causality.
Be very wary about using Reddit or other sites used primarily by people with or concerned about particular health problems. Personal testimony about what people think causes their problems is among the least reliable of all health information. What people believe is often plain wrong, no matter how strongly they feel about it. I would advise sticking only with professionally run or moderated online sites (like this one).
---Establishment of the human microbiome begins during vaginal delivery, with massive exposure to the mother's genital microbiome. Your mom's vaginal bacteria were the first components of your own microbiome body wide and the dominant ones in your first days of extrauterine life; obviously that could include UP and other genital mycoplasmas. Whether that explains some instances when UP is detected later in life isn't known; the microbiome is continually changing and evolving.
That completes the two follow-up exchanges included with each question and ends this thread. Thanks for the thanks; I'm glad to have helped.