Gonorrhea

What is Gonorrhea?
Gonorrhea is a bacterial infection caused by the bacterium Neisseria Gonorrhoeae. This bacterium grows and multiplies easily in the warm, moist areas of the reproductive tract, including the cervix, uterus, and fallopian tubes in women, and in the urethra in both women and men. Gonorrhea is a very common infectious disease. The CDC estimates that more than 800,000 persons in the United States get new Gonorrhea infection each year.

What are Symptoms?
If symptoms occur, they usually appear two to five days after infection, but can take as long as 30 days to appear. Most women who are infected with gonorrhea have no symptoms. When symptoms do occur, they include a painful or burning sensation when urinating, increased vaginal discharge, pain during intercourse and/or vaginal bleeding between periods.
Some men with gonorrhea may have no symptoms at all. If a man does have symptoms, they may include a burning sensation when urinating, a white or yellow discharge from the penis, or itching and redness at the tip of the penis. Rarely, men with gonorrhea get painful or swollen testicles.

Complications of Untreated Infection
In women, an untreated infection can spread into the uterus or fallopian tubes and cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). It can cause permanent damage to the fallopian tubes, uterus, and surrounding tissues. The damage can lead to chronic pelvic pain, infertility, and potentially fatal ectopic pregnancy (pregnancy outside the uterus).
In pregnant women, the infection may be given to the baby when passing through the birth canal during delivery. This can cause blindness, joint infection, or a life-threatening blood infection in the baby.
In men, gonorrhea can cause Epididymitis, a painful condition of the ducts attached to the testicles that can lead to infertility.
Rarely, untreated gonorrhea can spread through the blood to the joints in both men and women. This can cause an inflammation of the joints which is very serious. In addition, individuals with gonorrhea can more easily contract HIV if exposed.

How is gonorrhea transmitted?
Gonorrhea is spread through contact with the penis, vagina, mouth, or anus. Ejaculation does not have to occur for gonorrhea to be transmitted or acquired. Gonorrhea can also be spread from mother to baby during delivery.
People who have had gonorrhea and received treatment may get infected again if they have sexual contact with a person infected with gonorrhea.

Testing
The Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) is a simple urine test used to detect the gonorrhea bacterium. The urine test has been proven to be more accurate than the swab, which requires a pelvic exam for women and a urethral swab for men. The urine test is also painless and non-invasive, unlike the swab. First morning urine is recommended for this test, but the specimen is acceptable if the patient has not urinated for at least 1½ to 2 hours before it is collected. It is very important that first void urine (the first part of the urine stream) be collected for the specimen. It is recommended that the test be taken at least 5 to 7 days after a contact of concern, although many individuals with gonorrhea will have positive results within 3 or 4 days of infection.

Treatment
Gonorrhea is a bacterial infection that can be cured with antibiotics. Several different antibiotics can be prescribed, such as, suprax, rocephin, ofloxacin, cefixine, ceftriaxone, tetracycline, ciprofloxacin(cipro), penicillin. Upon beginning antibiotics, the infection is usually cured in about 10 to 14 days. It is always a good idea to repeat the gonorrhea test in order to ensure the infection has in fact been cured.