Gonorrhea information
Posted by admin on September 9, 2008
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What is gonorrhea?
This is one of the widespread bacterial sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The wit of our doctors blames the bacterium neisseria gonorrhoeae or gonococcus as you may find in other health books.
This is a coffee-bean-shaped form of bacteria occurring in pairs. The bacterium is easily distinguished with the aid of a laboratory microscope and appropriate stains. The organism grows and multiplies on mucous membranes.
Which parts does it affect?
The bacterium infects the mucous membrane of the cervix, uterus, and fallopian tubes of women and the urethra, mouth, throat, and rectum of both men and women.
Because the signs of gonorrhea often go disregarded, an individual can develop serious health complications before they recognize they are infected.
How common is gonorrhea?
Every year, roughly about five hundred thousand people and above in the US are infected with gonorrhea. About seventy five percent of all reported cases in the US are found in individuals between the ages fifteen to twenty nine years.
The highest rates of contagion are usually found in fifteen to nineteen year old women whereas in men the ages are between twenty to twenty four years. It is more common than syphilis.
Mode of transmission
Gonorrhea is transmitted through irresponsible intimacy with infected persons. This can be during vaginal, anal, or oral intercourse and can be transmitted even if there are no signs or symptoms of disease.
Since the bacteria can live for up to four hours outside of the body, people can also get infected from careless contact, although this is uncommon.
The bacteria can be transmitted to different areas of the body through infected hands, or by sharing clothing such as using washcloths of infected individuals soon after they have used them.
It can also be passed from an infected mother to her newborn during vaginal childbirth. The bacterium is contained in the pus, a cream yellow discharge from the infected parts.
Symptoms or signs of gonorrhea
It can be present in an individual without producing symptoms. Ninety percent of women may have no symptoms at all and even when a woman does have them, they can be confused with urinary tract infections or vaginal infections.
Often, the first indication a woman is infected may arise when a partner is diagnosed.
In women, symptoms may include:
- Excruciating sexual intercourse
- Hemorrhage after sexual intercourse
- Bulge or tenderness of the vulva
- Sore pain
- Burning during urination
- Yellowish-greenish discharge from the vagina
- Pain in the pelvic or abdominal area
- Fever
- Strange vaginal bleeding
Symptoms in men can also go unnoticed, and they may include:
- Burning during urination
- Yellowish-white discharge from the penis
- Fever
- Puffy or painful testicles
For both genders, gonorrhea disease may also occur in the throat, causing a slight sore throat or no symptoms at all.
It may also occur in the rectum, causing pus-like or bloody discharge, anal itching, soreness, bleeding, and sometimes pain when the stool crawl out of the body.
How soon do the signs show after infection?
If symptoms emerge, they usually appear in women within ten days and in men within two to five days, but can take as long as thirty days to facade.
You can spread the disease to others if you practice unsafe intercourse even without showing the signs.
Diagnosis
Your doctor will take a scrub of the infected cervix, vagina, rectum, urethra, or throat and this will be analyzed by a lab test.
Treatment
Gonorrhea infections are treated with usage of antibiotics.
However before one can even be treated, they must be courageous enough to go for diagnosis.
Once you are treated you will also need to follow –up treatment and an examination. Although it is generally easy to treat, some of these organisms are becoming resistant to antibiotic drug treatment.
Even if symptoms are calmed, it is imperative to take the entire prescription to make sure the infection is gone.
If you find out that you are infected with it, you should also notify your sex partner or partners so that they can be treated, even if they do not show up any symptoms.
This will reduce the risk of them experiencing complications and will reduce your risk of recurrence. You should not have sex with them or him or her until you complete your treatment, and your partner(s) are tested and receive their treatment.
Effects of untreated gonorrhea
In males
If gonorrhea is untreated in males, the gonococcus spreads to the other parts including the prostate, seminal vesicles and epididymis, a thing that often causes sterility.
In females
If untreated, it may progress to the fallopian tubes, causing intense pain and inflammation of these tubes might result to sterility. In extreme cases, it may result to pelvic inflammatory disease.
Greater complication to both parties may be seen if the organism finds the way to the bloodstream and then to the heart. Here the valves may be damaged.
Gonorrhea arthritis with high fever and intense pain results if the bacterium affects the joints as well.
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