Most Important Things To Know About Gonorrhea

An important aspect of a relationship is physical intimacy. By physical intimacy, we mean sex. Several scientific studies have proven that sexual intimacy at regular intervals can help you enhance your relationship. Sex strengthens the bond between couples, boosts happiness, enhances confidence and self-esteem, creates spontaneity, and above all rekindles romance.

But, are there risk factors to having sex? Of course, there are, provided you do not abide by the laws of health and nature. One of the major health issues that can cause by sex is gonorrhea. Not that it happens intentionally. Whatever the cause of the disease, the diagnosis of gonorrhea is vital and should be conducted as soon as possible. Since the disease affects males and females differently, it is imperative to consult the doctor and be careful of the symptoms.

Indeed, laymen can’t know the mechanism behind gonorrhea. Therefore, we have come up with this blog to discuss the disease, the symptoms, its causes, treatment, complications, and testing. In a nutshell, we will give you an idea about the most important things that one should know about gonorrhea.

What is Gonorrhea?

Commonly known as the clap or drip, gonorrhea is a bacterial infection, precisely a sexually transmitted disease. In simple terms, a person can get affected by it if he or she has sex with another victim of gonorrhea. The bacteria that cause gonorrhea in a person is known as Neisseria Gonorrhoeae. The most common regions where the gonorrhea bacteria targets first are generally the soft area of the body such as the eyes, throat, urethra, vagina, anus, urethra, and the female reproductive organ.

There are two best ways by which you can prevent yourself gonorrhea. First is by abstaining oneself from sex and secondly, by practicing safe sex. Here, ‘safe sex’ means engaging in a sexual act by using a condom in a monogamous relationship. When gonorrhea is detected in an early stage, it can be cured easily. However, the more you delay in diagnosing gonorrhea, the more complications develop.

According to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System, gonorrhea is a notifiable disease, meaning, it has to be notified to the doctor whenever you are infected by it. The earlier you inform, the easier it becomes for the medical authorities to plan out the treatment and the strategies for prevention.

Symptoms of Gonorrhea

You will be surprised to know that gonorrhea does not produce any symptoms at the initial stage. Even if there are symptoms, externally, they are barely visible to the human eye. However, the symptoms of gonorrhea differ in males and females. The most affected site in gonorrhea is the urinary tract. The symptoms in men include the following:

• Swelling or pain in one testicle
• White or greenish pus-like discharge from the tip of the penis, sometimes accompanied by a bad odor.
• Pain and a burning sensation while urinating

The signs and symptoms in women who are affected by gonorrhea are as follows:

• Painful urination and a burning sensation in the urinary tract
• Heavy and unusual vaginal discharge
• Pain in the pelvic and abdominal area
• Excessive vaginal bleeding during periods
• Bleeding from the vagina even when not in menstruation, such as right after sexual intercourse

It affects the other body parts as well. Similarly, there are some differences in symptoms when gonorrhea reaches other parts of the body. Let us discuss them.

• Eyes

When gonorrhea affects the eyes, one experiences severe pain in the eyes. Then, the eyes can be sensitive to light exposure, and a pus-like discharge can be emanated from the eyes.

• Joints

When it affects one or more joints, it results in extreme pain, swelling, redness in the joints, warmness, and difficulty to move.

• Rectum

In the rectum, when the bacteria of gonorrhea enter and cause havoc inside, it results in itching in the anus, discharge of pus from the rectum, straining while passing bowels, and bleeding that can be noticed on tissue paper while urinating.

• Throat

The symptoms when the bacteria enters the throat include sore throat, swelling in the throat, swollen lymph nodes, redness inside the throat, and the like.

Transmission of Gonorrhea

The basic process by which gonorrhea can be transmitted from one person to another is by having sex, it can be through oral sex, anal sex, or vaginal sex. One of the most potent ways to keep oneself away from deadly diseases like gonorrhea is by using a condom. When you use a barrier or condom, the bacteria cannot transmit through the penis or vagina to another’s the reproductive organ. However, not using these barriers properly can make you liable or develop the risk of getting affected by gonorrhea.

There are scientific pieces of evidence that have proved that kissing can help in the transmission of the diseases bacteria from one person to another. Be it French kissing or kissing through the tongue, both are susceptible to causing the desease. However, more research needs to be conducted in this aspect to prove this point. Another point to be noted here is once you are affected by it, it can contact you again. During the delivery of a baby, one can also be affected by this bacteria.

Testing for Gonorrhea

When you are infected by gonorrhea, these are how it has to be tested:

• Urine testing – Often, doctors ask you to get your urine tested to understand if you have.

• Sample testing fluid – The doctor may ask you to collect a sample from your vagina, penis, throat, or rectum to put it under the lens of a microscope in the laboratory.

• Blood testing – By collecting a blood sample, often, doctors test whether one is infected.

Treatment

In most cases, doctors prescribe modern antibiotics as a cure for gonorrhea. Generally, doxycycline and intramuscular injection of antibiotic ceftriaxone are used. To completely cure the disease, a thorough two-week treatment with a rigorous follow-up program should be followed.

Conclusion

If you think you are infected with gonorrhea or are doubtful about it, do not hesitate to communicate with the doctors of private sti clinic. Many may feel ashamed of discussing such a disease. But if it is kept untreated, it can worsen the condition and lead to something severe.