Gonorrhea: symptoms, management and complications

Greetings to everyone, its a wonderful day to be alive and another opportunity to learn something new. Previously, I've written on some interesting topics like syphilis, ulcerative colitis, cancer and lots more. You can access them all on my blog.

Today, I'll be writing about a disease condition very common in my society and the world at large, Its called Gonorrhea. I'll be revealing everything you need to know about this disease. Have a good read.

What is gonorrhea
Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted disease characterised by difficulty in urination, milky discharge from the genital, frequent urge to urinate, and itching around the genitals. Its a bacterial infection caused by the Gram positive bacterium Neisseria gonorrhea.

According to WHO, an estimated 106 million people between the ages of 15-49 years contract this infection yearly, through oral, vaginal as well as anal sex.

This disease mostly manifests on moist region of the body like the eyes, throat, vagina, anus, penis, cervix and fallopian tube.

The disease manifestation is somewhat subtle in women than in men, this is evident on the fact that women transmit about 60% of the disease globally. The disease can remain in some women for a long time without symptoms. It can also be mistaken for yeast infection since they both have similar symptoms. This is why women transmit it more than the men.

symptoms
While looking at the symptoms, its imperative not to undermine its occurrence in both gender as symptoms may differ.

Symptoms observed in men
Its important to note that symptoms does not manifests immediately after infection, it may take 3 to 30 days before a full blown symptoms can become visible. The most likely symptoms to encounter includes;

1. Painful urination
2. Greater urge to urinate
3. Swelling of the sucrotal sac
4. Yellowish or milky discharge from the penis
5. Swelling of the penis
6. Itching in the anus
7. Rectal bleeding

Symptoms observed in women
Unlike men, most gonorrhea infection in women are asymptomatic, hence, they are always regarded as carriers of the disease. The ones that manifests symptoms are relatively few and some of the likely symptoms include

1. Milky or watery vaginal discharge
2. Painful urination
3. Severe Pains during sexual intercourse
4. Heavy periods
5. Itching around the anus
6. Greater urge to urinate.

Management
The management of gonorrhea is relatively simple if diagnosed early. Since its a bacterial infection, most empirical antibiotics can successfully eliminate the bacteria. Some of the antibiotics used in this regard includes; ceftriaxone, doxycycline, ciprofloxacin, and cefpodoxime.

However, if the patient is pregnant, its advisable to let your healthcare provider know before commencement of treatment. This is because some antibiotics used for the treatment of gonorrhea infection can cause severe damage to the foetus.

Even after treatment, never resume sex till your health expert confirms you free of gonorrhea.

Complications
When gonorrhea is left untreated, or unattended to, it can result in severe chronic disorders. In some cases, untreated gonorrhea can cause blindness in newborns after delivery.

Consistent contraction of gonorrhea predisposes one to HIV virus, this is because a greater number of persons with HIV also have gonorrhea, hence, its easy to transmit both infections at once.

Untreated gonorrhea can also lead to infertility in men, this is because gonorrhea can damage the epididymis where sperm is temporary stored prior to ejaculation, hence, damaging the epididymis can lead to infertility in men. In women, the organ primarily damaged is the fallopian tube, this can increase the likelihood of still birth.

Conclusion

Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted disease that is common between the ages of 18 to 45 years. Any time you have an unprotected sex with an infected person, go for medical examination and possibly commence therapy regimen.

Gonorrhea might not be as dangerous as HIV, or other life threatening STDs, but it definitely needs to be taken seriously so as to avoid the likely complications that might arise subsequently.