WHAT IS GONORRHEA?
Gonorrhea is a curable sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by a bacterium called Neisseria gonorrhoeae. These bacteria can infect the genital tract, the mouth, and the rectum. In women, the opening to the uterus, the cervix, is the first place of infection.
The disease, however, can spread into the uterus and fallopian tubes, resulting in pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). PID affects more than 1 million women in this country every year and can cause infertility in as many as 10 percent of infected women and tubal (ectopic) pregnancy.
Gonorrhea is spread during sexual intercourse. Infected women also can pass gonorrhea to their newborn infants during delivery, causing eye infections in their babies. This complication is rare because newborn babies receive eye medication to prevent infection. When the infection occurs in the genital tract, mouth, or rectum of a child, it is due most commonly to sexual abuse.
In the United States, the highest reported rates of infection are among sexually active teenagers, young adults and African Americans. However, any sexually active person can be infected with gonorrhea.
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF GONORRHEA?
Most women who have gonorrhea have NO symptoms. When a woman does have symptoms, they most often appear within 10 days of getting the STD.
When women have symptoms, the first ones may include:
- Painful or burning sensations when urinating
- Vaginal discharge that is yellow or bloody
- Bleeding between menstrual periods
- Heavy bleeding with periods
- Pain during sex
Any genital symptoms such as discharge, burning during urination, or pain during sex should be a signal to stop having sex and to see a doctor right away. Women with gonorrhea are at risk of developing serious complications from the infection, whether or not there are symptoms.
Men and women with an anal infection might have symptoms that include discharge, soreness, bleeding, or itching of the anus, and painful bowel movements. Infections in the throat may cause a sore throat but usually cause no symptoms. With an eye infection, symptoms may include redness, itching, or discharge from the eye.
More advanced symptoms, which may indicate development of PID, include cramps and pain, bleeding between menstrual periods, vomiting, or fever.
Men have symptoms more often than women, including :
- Pus from the penis and pain
- Burning sensations during urination that may be severe
- Symptoms of rectal infection include discharge, anal itching, and occasional painful bowel movements with fresh blood on the feces.
HOW IS GONORRHEA DIAGNOSED?
Doctors or other health care workers usually use three laboratory techniques to diagnose gonorrhea: staining samples directly for the bacterium, detection of bacterial genes or DNA in urine, and growing the bacteria in laboratory cultures. Many doctors prefer to use more than one test to increase the chance of an accurate diagnosis.
The staining test involves placing a smear of the discharge from the penis or the cervix on a slide and staining the smear with a dye. Then the doctor uses a microscope to look for bacteria on the slide. You usually can get the test results while in the office or clinic. This test is quite accurate for men but is not good in women. Only one in two women with gonorrhea have a positive stain.
More often, doctors use urine or cervical swabs for a test that detects the genes of the bacteria. These tests are as accurate or more so than culturing the bacteria, and many doctors use them.
The culture test involves placing a sample of the discharge onto a culture plate and incubating it up to 2 days to allow the bacteria to grow. The sensitivity of this test depends on the site from which the sample is taken. Cultures of cervical samples detect infection approximately 90 percent of the time. The doctor also can take a culture to detect gonorrhea in the throat. Culture allows testing for drug-resistant bacteria.
CAN GONORRHEA CAUSE PROBLEMS IN PREGNANCY?
Yes, A pregnant woman with untreated gonorrhea may be at risk for miscarriage, preterm delivery, or having her water break too early. If a pregnant woman has gonorrhea, she may give the infection to her baby as the baby passes throught the birth canal during delivery. This can cause blindness, joint infection, or a life-threatening blood infection in the baby. Treating the newborn's eyes with an anitbiotic immediately after delivery can prevent serious eye infections. Treatment of gonorrhea as soon as it is found will reduce the risk of these health problems. All sex partners of pregnant women must also be treated for gonorrhea. Pregnant women should talk with their doctors for testing and treatments that are safe for them.
Doctors usually prescribe a single dose of Ceftriaxone to treat gonorrhea. If you have gonorrhea and are pregnant or are younger than 18 years old, your doctor can prescribe the best and safest antibiotic for you.
Gonorrhea and chlamydial infection, another common STD, often infect people at the same time. Therefore, doctors usually prescribe a combination of antibiotics, such as ceftriaxone and doxycycline or azithromycin, which will treat both diseases.
If you have gonorrhea, all of your sexual partners should get tested and then treated if infected, whether or not they have symptoms of infection.
In untreated gonorrhea infections, the bacteria can spread up into the reproductive tract, or more rarely, can spread through the blood stream and infect the joints, heart valves, or the brain.
The most common result of untreated gonorrhea is PID, a serious infection of the female reproductive tract. Gonococcal PID often appears immediately after the menstrual period. PID causes scar tissue to form in the fallopian tubes. If the tube is partially scarred, the fertilized egg may not be able to pass into the uterus. If this happens, the embryo may implant in the tube causing a tubal (ectopic) pregnancy. This serious complication may result in a miscarriage and can cause death of the mother.
Rarely, untreated gonorrhea can spread through the blood to the joints. This can cause an inflammation of the joints which is very serious.
If you are infected with gonorrhea, your risk of getting HIV infection increases (HIV, human immunodeficiency virus, causes AIDS). Therefore, it is extremely important for you to either prevent yourself from getting gonorrhea or get treated early if you already are infected with it.
HOW CAN I PREVENT GETTING INFECTED WITH GONORRHEA?
There are steps you can take to keep from getting this STD:
• Don’t have sex. The best way to prevent gonorrhea or any STD is to practice abstinence, or not having vaginal, oral, or anal sex.
• Be faithful. Have a sexual relationship with one partner who has been tested for gonorrhea and is not infected is another way to reduce your chances of getting infected. Be faithful to each other, meaning that you only have sex with each other and no one else.
• Use condoms. Protect yourself with a condom EVERY time you have vaginal, anal, or oral sex. Condoms should be used for any type of sex with every partner. For vaginal sex, use a latex male condom or a female polyurethane condom. For anal sex, use a latex male condom. For oral sex, use a dental dam. A dental dam is a rubbery material that can be placed over the anus or the vagina before sexual contact.
• Know that some methods of birth control, like birth control pills, shots, implants, or diaphragms, will not protect you from STDs. If you use one of these methods, be sure to also use a latex condom or dental dam (used for oral sex) correctly every time you have sex.
• Talk with your sex partner(s) about STDs and using condoms. It’s up to you to make sure you are protected. Remember, it’s YOUR body! For more information, call the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at (800) 232-4636.
• Talk frankly with your doctor or nurse and your sex partner(s) about any STDs you or your partner have or had. Talk about any sores or discharge in the genital area. Try not to be embarrassed. Being honest could save your lives.
• Have regular pelvic exams and GET SCREENED. Annual screening for gonorrhea nd chlamydia is now recommended for all sexually active women younger than 26 years old. and for older women who have new or multiple sex partners or other risk factors. Many tests for STDs can be done during an exam. Ask your doctor to test you for gonorrhea and other STDs. The sooner an STD is found, the easier it is to treat.
• If you are pregnant, get tested for gonorrhea. Get tested as soon as you think you may be pregnant.
WHERE CAN I GET MORE INFORMATION?
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
National Institutes of Health
31 Center Drive, MSC 2520
Bethesda, MD 20892-2520
http://www.niaid.nih.gov
National Library of Medicine
MEDLINEplus
8600 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20894
1-800-338-7657
http://medlineplus.gov
National STD and AIDS Hotline
1-800-227-8922 or 1-800-342-2437 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week)
American Social Health Association
P.O. Box 13827
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-9940
http://www.ashastd.org
Source:
Department of Health and Human Services
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
WHAT CAN HAPPEN IF GONORRHEA IS NOT TREATED?
HOW IS GONORRHEA TREATED?
Last Updated: October 05, 2009