Many women, being pregnant, do not even know that among many other laboratory tests, they have been given a blood test for TORCH infection.
This abbreviation was formed from the first letters of the infections that are most common in pregnant women. So, the letter "T" means toxoplasmosis, "R" (rubella) - rubella, "C" (cytomegalovirus) - cytomegaly, "H" (herpes) - herpes. The letter "O" means other infections (others). These, in turn, are:
- hepatitis;
- chlamydia;
- syphilis ;
- gonococcus;
- listerosis.
Not so long ago, HIV infection, as well as enterovirus infection and chicken pox were added to this list.
Than the given infections threaten the baby?
TORCH infection with current pregnancy is not a rarity. That's why doctors pay great attention to their diagnosis and treatment.
Since TORCH infections develop in pregnant women at different times, their consequences can vary greatly.
- Thus, when a woman is infected with a woman during conception, or in the first 14 days after the fertilization of the egg, the death of the embryo is almost inevitable. In this case, a woman, perhaps, does not even know that she was pregnant. If it persists, then there is a high probability that the infant will have congenital diseases.
- With the development of TORCH-infection at a period of 2-12 weeks, as a rule, spontaneous abortion occurs and pregnancy is interrupted. In some cases, while maintaining pregnancy, the fetus is born with malformations of the organs.
- In the interval of 12-25 weeks, as a result of these infections, inflammatory diseases of the organs develop, and developmental defects called false (deformation of organs) are formed. Often, these children are delayed development.
- Infection of a woman after 26 weeks with these infections leads to premature birth. Typically, a born baby has neurological symptoms that have varying degrees of severity.
Diagnostics
Diagnostics plays an important role in the fight against these infections. However, many women do not know at what time of the current pregnancy it is necessary to donate blood for analysis on TORCH infection.
It is best to do the test before the pregnancy, in order to be treated beforehand in case of an infection. If a woman is already pregnant, then the analysis must be at least 3 times during the entire pregnancy. This is due to the fact that in some cases, antibodies in the disease may not be detected immediately. Their absence can not completely guarantee the absence of the disease, since antibodies appear in the bloodstream after a certain time. Even the identification of the pathogen does not provide an opportunity to distinguish the acute form of infection and carriage. That is why when analyzing the blood of a pregnant woman for TORCH infection, the indices can be normal.
Treatment
When TORCH infections are detected in a pregnant woman, the treatment is appointed immediately. It is conducted, as a rule, in a hospital, under the strict control of doctors for the condition of a pregnant woman.
To treat such diseases, antibiotics and antiviral drugs are used, which are prescribed by the attending physician. As you know, with rubella, there is an increase in body temperature. Therefore, a woman is shown bed rest.
Thus, in order to prevent the development of these diseases, every woman, even when planning a pregnancy, should undergo an examination for TORCH infection. If they are found, it urgently needs to undergo a course of treatment, after which you can start planning a future pregnancy.