Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted disease caused by Neisseria gonorrheae. Symptoms include pain when urinating and genital discharge, but some people may have no symptoms. Untreated gonorrhea can cause infertility and spread to other parts of the body. Testing and antibiotics are necessary for treatment.
Gonorrhea is a disease caused by a bacterium known as Neisseria gonorrheae. It is typically transmitted through sexual intercourse, although a newborn baby can also get the disease from its mother as it moves through the birth canal. The effects of gonorrhea in both men and women commonly include pain when urinating and genital discharge, although in some cases there are no symptoms and the disease can be passed on to others unknowingly. In men, signs of gonorrhea may be seen in the testicles, which become swollen and painful, while women may experience abdominal pain and heavy menstrual periods, along with other abnormal vaginal bleeding. Untreated gonorrhea can spread throughout the reproductive organs, causing infertility, and occasionally travel further through the bloodstream, leading to meningitis or an infection of the heart or joints.
Gonorrhea infections are common, especially in young people. The disease is more common in men, and the risk of infection increases with the number of sexual partners a person has, increasing even more if a person has other sexually transmitted diseases. Although the effects of gonorrhea usually show up several days after contracting the disease, in some cases it can take months for symptoms to appear and ten percent of men and 50 percent of women develop no signs but can still pass on the disease. illness. for others.
Male gonorrhea generally involves discomfort when urinating, along with a green or yellow colored discharge. One of the testicles may swell and start to hurt. Women have pain when urinating and vaginal discharge, along with a painful lower abdomen. Sometimes the vagina bleeds between menstrual periods or after intercourse, and the monthly menstrual flow can become heavier.
In both men and women, gonorrhea can infect other parts of the body involved in sexual contact, such as the anus and throat. The effects of throat gonorrhea are usually mild, with a mild sore throat being the most common symptom. If the anus and back passage are involved, there may be itching, discharge and bleeding. Occasionally one of the eyes is affected, possibly after touching an infected finger, and this can lead to conjunctivitis, where the eye becomes inflamed and weeps.
Gonorrhea is normally diagnosed by testing urine or urine samples for the presence of the bacteria Neisseria gonorrheae. Treatment involves antibiotics, and because sexually transmitted infections such as chlamydia and gonorrhea often occur together, further testing and antibiotics may be needed for any associated illnesses. A person’s sexual partners are usually tested and treated at the same time. Antibiotic treatment generally prevents the effects of gonorrhea from worsening, but using condoms during sex can help prevent disease transmission in the first place.
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