Gonorrhea | That's what we need to know

18.05.2022

Gonorrhea Is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by a bacterium - Neisseria gonorrhoeae. This common sexually transmitted infection is prone to warm, moist areas of the body, including the urethra, eyes, throat, vagina, anus, female reproductive tract, including the fallopian tubes, cervix, and uterus.

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Gonorrhea can affect people of any age and gender, but it is especially common in young people aged 15 to 24 years.

Untreated gonorrhea can lead to long-term health problems and, in some cases, infertility. But treatment with antibiotics can cure the infection and reduce the chance of complications.

How is gonorrhea transmitted?

Gonorrhea is transmitted through oral, anal or vaginal sexual contact and also a pregnant woman with gonorrhea can transmit the infection to the baby during childbirth.

Symptoms of gonorrhea

In most cases, gonorrhea does not cause symptoms. If detected, the symptoms may be related to different areas of the body, although the symptoms associated with the genital tract are usually manifested:

Signs and symptoms of gonorrhea in men include:

Painful urination
Purulent discharge from the penis
Pain or swelling in one testicle

Signs and symptoms of gonorrhea in women include:

Large amount of vaginal discharge
Painful urination
Vaginal bleeding between menstrual periods (eg bleeding after vaginal intercourse)
Abdominal or pelvic pain

Gonorrhea can also affect the following areas of the body:

Rectum. Signs and symptoms include: anal itching, purulent discharge from the rectum, blood stains (bright red) on toilet paper, painful bowel movements.
eyes. Gonorrhea, which affects your eyes, can cause eye pain, sensitivity to light, and purulent discharge from one or both eyes.
Throat. Signs and symptoms of a throat infection may include sore throat and enlarged lymph nodes in the neck.
Funds. If one or more joints are infected with bacteria (septic arthritis), the joints may be warm, red, swollen, and extremely painful, especially during movement.

Gonorrhea and pregnancy

If you are pregnant and have gonorrhea, you may pass the infection on to your baby during childbirth. This can lead to serious health problems in the baby. If you are pregnant, talk to your doctor about proper examination, testing, and treatment. Treating gonorrhea as early as possible will make your child's health problems less likely.

Risk factors

Sexually active women under the age of 25 and bisexual or homosexual men are at risk for developing gonorrhea.

Other risk factors include:

Having a new sexual partner
If you have a sexual partner who has other partners
Having more than one sexual partner
History of gonorrhea or other sexually transmitted infection

Complications

Untreated gonorrhea can lead to serious complications such as:

Infertility in women. Gonorrhea can spread to the fallopian tubes and fallopian tubes and cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). PID can cause tubular scarring, increase the risk of pregnancy complications and infertility, it requires urgent treatment.
Infertility in men. Gonorrhea can cause inflammation of the appendix of the testicle - epididymitis. Untreated epididymitis can lead to infertility.
An infection that spreads to the joints and other areas of the body. The gonorrhea-causing bacteria can spread through the bloodstream and infect other parts of your body, including the joints. Possible consequences are fever, rash, skin ulcers, joint pain, swelling and tightness.
Complications in infants. Babies infected from their mothers at birth may develop blindness, scalp sores, and infections.

Diagnosis

Tests for gonorrhea

Urine examination. This will help you identify the bacteria in your urethra
Smear examination. An examination of your throat, urethra, vagina, or rectum is done to identify the bacteria.
Blood test

If you think you may have gonorrhea, it is important to avoid any sexual activity until you get a negative test result.

Is gonorrhea curable?

Yes, the right treatment can cure gonorrhea. Antibiotics are used to treat gonorrhea. It is important to take all the medicines prescribed by your doctor to fight the infection.

Treatment of infection is complicated by the presence of resistant strains. If the symptoms do not decrease despite the treatment, it is necessary to visit the doctor, review the treatment plan and monitor the dynamics of the laboratory.

Prevention

To reduce the risk of gonorrhea:

Use of condoms during intercourse
Abstinence from sexual contact If the partner has symptoms of infection
Screening for sexually transmitted diseases

To prevent re-infection with gonorrhea, it is recommended to abstain from sexual intercourse until complete clinical-laboratory cure.

If in doubt On gonorrhea or the presence of another sexually transmitted infection, if you are infected, if you have passed on an infection, or if you want to be screened for the presence of risk factors (for the purpose of prevention), Laboratory "Synevo" Offers Then Studies: