Overview
Gonorrhea/ gonorrhoea is a common sexually transmitted disease(infection). It is characterized by painful sensation on urination and white or yellow discharges. Most of the time, there are no symptoms.
If gonorrhea happens to occur during pregnancy state, it is crucial to let your doctor or gynaecologist know. Proper assessment and evaluation must be done, and drugs administered to treat it. It is necessary that it be treated before childbirth because this condition can be transmitted from the mother to the child during delivery. Babies who contract gonorrhea in this way can become blind.
It is necessary to get tested before embarking on treatment. Self-diagnosis and self-treatment is not advised, especially with antibiotics. This is due to the recent waves in antibiotic resistance.
Causative Agent & Risk Factors
Causative agent for gonorrhea is Neisseria gonorrhea bacterium.
Risk Factors ;
- Age. Being 25 years or less.
- Failure to use protection during sex.
- Previous history of STDs.
- Multiple partners
Transmission
- Congenital gonorrhea. This kind passes on from mother-to-child during childbirth.
- Sexual contact. Through unprotected sex, a healthy uninfected individual can contact gonorrhea from an infected person. It is not necessary for ejaculation to occur so that the bacteria is transmitted.
Signs & Symptoms
Most often, this condition is symptomless but when they occur, the following symptoms present:
In men;
- White, green or yellow discharge
- Pain or burning sensation on urination
- Painful, swollen testicles
- Swollen foreskin
In women;
- Increased discharge from vagina, that appears to be unusual
- Bleeding in between the periods
- Pain during urination
- Pin in the lower abdomen
Diagnostic Tests
Earlier diagnosis contributes to good prognosis of the disease.
The condition is easily treatable.
Diagnosis involves;
- Clinical examination. The clinician performs a pelvic exam, among other examinations.
- Patient history-taking. Apart from symptoms, also ask about sexual history.
- Lab testing;
- Urine tests to check for Neisseria gonorrhea bacteria in the urethra.
- Swabs. Throat swab, urethral swab, vaginal or rectal swab. Generally, a swab of the affected are is collected and cultured.
- At-home testing kits. Samples are sent to labs, and results are obtained after a shot while.
Treatment & Management
Use antibiotics.
According to CDC- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention- a single dose of 500 milligrams of ceftriaxone, intramuscularly, is recommended.
For patients who are allergic to ceftriaxone, an alternative regimen is gentamicin injection with azithromycin that is taken orally.
Additional prescription drug, doxycycline, is used to clear co-infection with chlamydia, if at all it exists.
Gonorrhea infection is cleared up 7-14 days, post-treatment with antibiotics.
Complications
In women and people assigned female at birth;
- Gonorrhea can cause blindness in babies born to infected untreated mothers
- Spreading to uterus and oviducts
- Can cause pelvic inflammatory disease, which can lead to infertility.
In men and people assigned male at birth;
- Epididymitis. This refers to inflammation of the epididymis/ vas deferens- a tube that carries sperm. This can lead to infertility.
- Scarring of the urethra
- Testicular inflammation
- Impotence
- Inflammation and pain in the prostate gland
Ways of Prevention
- Avoid getting involved in sexual activities where there is a risk of becoming infected
- Utilize barrier methods such as condoms during sex
- Get tested for gonorrhea, to prevent transmitting to your partner just in case you have it