Key Points
- Most people with healthy immune systems recover from toxoplasmosis without treatment.
- Talk to your healthcare provider about treatment options if you are pregnant or immunocompromised (have a weakened immune system).
Treatment Options
Healthy people
People with healthy immune systems who are not pregnant often recover from toxoplasmosis without treatment. If you are sick and need treatment, a healthcare provider can treat you with a combination of drugs such as pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine, plus folinic acid. There are no medications known to completely eliminate the parasite from the body.
Pregnant women, newborns, and infants
Healthcare providers can treat toxoplasmosis in pregnant women, newborns, and infants.
People with ocular (eye) disease
If you have ocular toxoplasmosis (an eye infection from the Toxoplasma parasite), an ophthalmologist (eye doctor) can treat you. They will decide if you need treatment based on the following:
- Size of the eye lesion
- Location of the lesion
- Whether the lesion is active or not
People who are immunocompromised
Healthcare providers will treat people who are immunocompromised until their health improves. Some people, such as those with HIV, may need to take drugs for the rest of their lives, or as long as they are immunosuppressed.