Can you get Trichomonas without having sex?

It’s very unlikely. UK guidelines say that in adults, Trichomonas is passed on almost exclusively through sex. The parasite that causes it infects the vagina and the urethra (the tube you pee through), and it has to get into one of these to cause an infection.

BASHH, the UK’s professional body for sexual health and HIV care, and the sexual health charity Brook both say you can’t catch Trichomonas from hugging, sharing baths or towels, swimming pools or toilet seats.

The one recognised way to get it without sex is from mother to baby during birth.

Trichomonas (Trichomoniasis) is an STI caused by a tiny parasite called Trichomonas vaginalis. In women, it infects the vagina and urethra. In men, it usually infects the urethra.

Symptoms in women can include:

• yellow-green discharge from the vagina, which may look frothy or smell fishy
• itching, pain, soreness, swelling or redness in or around the vagina
• pain when peeing or having sex
• tummy pain

Symptoms in men can include:

• discharge from the penis
• pain when peeing, or needing to pee often
• pain or soreness in the penis, testicles or bottom, or when you ejaculate

Symptoms can start 5 to 28 days after infection, or much later, and many people never get any. It’s more common than many people think, with nearly 10,000 diagnoses in England in 2025. Read more in “How common is Trichomonas?”

Trichomonas is passed on through:

• vaginal sex without a condom
• skin-to-skin contact of the genital area
• sharing sex toys

It can pass from a penis to a vagina, from a vagina to a penis, and between women. The NHS doesn’t list oral or anal sex as ways to catch it, and UK guidelines say infection can only happen when the parasite gets into the vagina or urethra.

Condoms lower your risk, and so does washing sex toys and putting a new condom on them each time. Read more in “Can you get an STI from a sex toy?”

A few studies have looked at whether Trichomonas can spread without sex, but none has shown this happening in adults:

• A lab study found the parasite could survive for hours in samples of swimming pool water. It was a lab test, with no people involved.
• A study of schoolgirls in Zambia found Trichomonas in some who said they’d never had sex. The researchers suggested shared bathwater might explain it, but the study couldn’t prove it.

The lab study shows the parasite can survive for a while outside the body, not that people catch it that way. UK sexual health advice is clear that you can’t catch Trichomonas from towels, baths, swimming pools or toilet seats.

Not necessarily. A Trichomonas diagnosis can’t tell you when or from whom it was caught:

• Without treatment, Trichomonas can last for months or even years.
• Many people have no symptoms, and symptoms can appear long after infection.
• A test shows you have the infection now, not how long you’ve had it.

So one of you may have caught it before your relationship started, without knowing. It helps to talk openly, and for both of you to get tested and treated. Read more in “Can you get an STI in a relationship even if no one’s cheated?”

Trichomonas is treated with antibiotics, usually metronidazole, taken twice a day for 7 days or as a single dose. Your current partners, and any recent partners, need treatment too. Don’t have sex until at least 1 week after you and your partners have finished treatment.

Without treatment, Trichomonas can lead to:

• a higher chance of getting or passing on HIV
• a higher chance of bacterial vaginosis (BV)
• pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)
• inflammation of the prostate gland (prostatitis)

In pregnancy, it can cause a baby to be born early or with a low birthweight, so it’s important to get tested and treated. If you have Trichomonas, it’s also worth testing for other STIs, including HIV.

Better2Know offers:

• Trichomonas test: a urine test you can take straight away if you have symptoms, or from 14 days after sex if you don’t, with results in 5 days. You can book it at one of our clinics or order a home test kit.
• Comfort Screen: if you have discomfort or unusual discharge, it tests a urine sample for 8 infections, including Trichomonas, Chlamydia, Gonorrhoea and Mycoplasma, from 14 days after sex, with results in 2 days at a clinic, or order a Comfort Screen home test.
• Platinum Screen: our most comprehensive STI screen. It tests for 12 infections, including Trichomonas, HIV and Syphilis, from 28 days after sex, with results in 3 days. If you test before 45 days, a negative HIV result needs a repeat test. A Syphilis test in the first 3 months after sex can miss the infection, so you may need a repeat test.

Our Full Screen doesn’t include Trichomonas, so choose one of these tests if you’re worried about it. Not sure which test you need? Our Patient Care Team is available 24/7 on 020 7099 0955.

Can you get Trichomonas from a toilet seat?

No. UK sexual health advice says you can’t catch Trichomonas from toilet seats, towels, baths or swimming pools. Read more in “Can you get an STI from a toilet seat?”

Can men get Trichomonas?

Yes. In men, it usually infects the urethra, and many men have no symptoms, so they can pass it on without knowing. Men often find out they have it because a partner has been diagnosed.

How long can you have Trichomonas without knowing?

Without treatment, it can last for months or even years, and many people never get symptoms. A test is the only way to know.

Trichomonas is almost always passed on through sex, and UK advice is clear that you can’t catch it from towels, baths or toilet seats. But because it can go unnoticed for months or years, a diagnosis doesn’t mean anyone has cheated. It’s easily treated with antibiotics once it’s found.

Book a Trichomonas test at a clinic near you or order a home test kit from 14 days after sex. Our Patient Care Team is available 24/7 on 020 7099 0955.

Not in the UK? Choose your country from the selector at the top of the page for local tests and prices.

This article originally appeared on 10 January 2025 and was last updated on 30 September 2026.

Medical review. This article was medically reviewed by Dr Steve Chapman, Doctor with a wealth of clinical experience in the field of STIs, on 29 April 2025. It is general information and not a substitute for personal medical advice.

Sources

1. British Association for Sexual Health and HIV, United Kingdom national guideline on the management of Trichomonas vaginalis, 2021. https://www.bashh.org/_userfiles/pages/files/resources/tv_2021.pdf
2. British Association for Sexual Health and HIV, Trichomonas vaginalis patient information leaflet, updated October 2022. https://www.bashh.org/resources/66/trichomonas_vaginalis_tv/plain
3. NHS, Trichomoniasis, reviewed 16 July 2025. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/trichomoniasis/
4. Brook, Trichomoniasis, updated 24 September 2026. https://www.brook.org.uk/your-life/trichomoniasis/
5. World Health Organization, Trichomoniasis, 21 November 2025. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/trichomoniasis
6. UK Health Security Agency, Fingertips sexual and reproductive health profiles: trichomoniasis diagnoses, England, 2025, updated 2 June 2026. https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/sexualhealth
7. Crucitti T, Jespers V, Mulenga C, et al. Non-sexual transmission of Trichomonas vaginalis in adolescent girls attending school in Ndola, Zambia. PLoS One, 2011. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0016310
8. Pereira-Neves A, Benchimol M. Trichomonas vaginalis: in vitro survival in swimming pool water samples. Experimental Parasitology, 2008. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17949719/
9. NHS, Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), reviewed 13 May 2024. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/sexually-transmitted-infections-stis/
10. British HIV Association, British Association for Sexual Health and HIV and British Infection Association, Adult HIV testing guidelines, 2020. https://bhiva.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/HIV-testing-guidelines-2020.pdf
11. British Association for Sexual Health and HIV, UK guidelines for the management of syphilis, 2024. https://bashh.org/_userfiles/pages/files/syphilis_2024.pdf