Gonorrhea is an infectious disease caused by bacteria that are sexually transmitted from body to body. The infection affects both women and men equally. Most often it affects the urethra, rectum or throat. In women, the infection may also spread to the cervix.
Prevention of gonorrhea is considered relatively easy, as the disease is usually transmitted sexually. However, newborns can also be affected if the infection is diagnosed in the mother. In newborns, bacteria most often affect the eyes.
Gonorrhea is a fairly common disease that in most cases causes no symptoms, which is why many people are not even aware that they have a bacterial infection.
In order to minimize the risk of contracting a disease such as gonorrhea, prophylaxis is carried out using one of the following alternative methods:
- abstinence from sexual intercourse;
- use of latex condoms during sexual contact;
- observance of the principle of mutual monogamy (intimate relationship with a single partner).
All three of these methods can equally be used to prevent other sexually transmitted infectious diseases.
Symptoms
The patient does not always immediately know that he has contracted an infection, therefore, in order to prevent a possible disease, doctors recommend that you familiarize yourself with background information on the topic "gonorrhea" in advance. The causative agent, the mechanism of transmission, symptoms, prevention, treatment - all this is described in sufficient detail and in an accessible language for a non-specialist. The information presented will be especially useful if you still find yourself showing signs of malaise. Most often they appear in the genital tract.
If the genital tract is infected
Diagnosis of gonorrhea in men can be based on the following symptoms:
- painful urination;
- unusual discharge from the glans penis that looks like pus;
- pain or swelling in one testicle.
In women, the disease can manifest itself as follows:
- increase in vaginal discharge;
- painful urination;
- Vaginal bleeding between periods, particularly after vaginal intercourse;
- abdominal pain;
- pelvic pain.
If other parts of the body are infected
If you suspect you have a disease such as gonorrhea, preventive measures taken afterthe occurrence of characteristic symptoms, will already be useless. Although the infection is more commonly found in the genital tract, it can also affect:
- Rectum. In this case, itching in the anus, purulent discharge from the rectum, spots of bright red blood on the toilet paper and sudden difficulty in emptying the intestines (the need to strain and push, constipation, other functional disorders) are considered signs of infection.
- Eyes. If gonorrhea affects the eyes, there is pain, sensitivity to light, and purulent discharge from one or both eyes.
- Throat. Symptoms of pathology are sore throat and swollen lymph nodes in the neck.
- Bundles. If one or more ligaments are infected with bacteria (septic or infectious arthritis), the affected areas may become warm, red, swollen and extremely painful, especially with movement.
When to see a doctor
Sign up for a medical consultation if you have one or more of the above symptoms of an infection. Even if the signs of illness have a different cause, gonorrhea is ubiquitous in the modern world - preventive measures recommended by a qualified doctor will help you find peace of mind.
Contact a specialist even if your partner has been diagnosed with an infectious disease. Since gonorrhea can be asymptomatic, you should be checked by a doctor even if there is no suspicion of infection. Lack of adequate treatment due toasymptomatic disease will lead to re-infection of your partner.
Reasons
Pathology is caused by bacteria called "gonococci", more precisely - Neisseria gonorrhoeae. These harmful microorganisms can travel from person to person during sexual contact, including oral, anal and vaginal sex.
Risk factors
Prevention of gonorrhea in men and women may not be effective enough if patients are at risk. Circumstances that increase the likelihood of contracting an infectious disease include:
- young age;
- appearance of a new partner;
- frequent change of partners;
- gonorrhea diagnosed in the past, even if completely cured;
- presence of other untreated sexually transmitted infections.
Complications
In the absence of timely treatment, the disease can lead to the development of serious complications, including:
- Female infertility. If left untreated, the infection can spread to the uterus and fallopian tubes and thus cause pelvic inflammatory disease. The latter, in turn, leads to the appearance of scars on the fallopian tubes and pregnancy complications, and subsequently to infertility. Pelvic inflammatory disease is a very serious disease that requires immediate treatment.
- Male infertility. If the specific prophylaxis of gonorrhea is ignored and the man does notdue attention to the state of one's he alth, epididymitis develops - an inflammatory process in a small folded tube (epithelium) in the back of the testicles, where the seminal canals (epididymis) are located. Such inflammation can be easily removed with appropriate therapy, but ignoring the ailment can lead to male infertility.
- Spread of infection to ligaments and other parts of the body. The bacteria that causes gonorrhea can enter the bloodstream and infect other areas of the body, including the ligaments. As a result, skin rashes, fever, skin sores, pain, swelling and stiffness of the ligaments are observed.
- Increased risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. Gonorrhea increases the patient's vulnerability to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), leading to the dreaded diagnosis of AIDS. If a patient is diagnosed with gonorrhea and HIV at the same time, he is almost 100% likely to transmit both infections to a sexual partner.
- Complications in children. If a mother is diagnosed with gonorrhea, prevention in children becomes an equally important task. Newborn babies born through natural childbirth are at risk. In them, the infection can cause blindness, damage to the skull, and the development of other infectious diseases.
Before visiting the doctor
If you have any suspicions, you should first of all consult a therapist. If the disease has already caused complications, the doctor will redirect you toappropriate professionals.
Because medical consultations are often limited in duration, it is best to prepare for your clinic visit well in advance. The following measures are recommended:
- Check if there are any rules or restrictions you need to follow before visiting your doctor. In some cases, experts require advance adherence to a certain diet or a temporary waiver of any activity or bad habits.
- Make a detailed list of all the symptoms you are experiencing - even if these sensations, discharge or other signs of illness do not seem to be directly related to the reason for your visit.
- Please list on paper all the medications you are currently taking. Vitamin or mineral complexes and other biologically active food supplements should also be added to this list.
- Write down the questions you want to ask the specialist.
Questions to the doctor
Because the consultation is strictly timed and often not long enough, prepare the questions you plan to ask the therapist in advance. It is advisable to rank them from most important to least important. If the main topic of your visit is the treatment and prevention of gonorrhea, questions might sound like this:
- Is gonorrhea causing my symptoms?
- What tests do I need to take?
- Should I get tested for other sexually transmitted infections?
- Do I needpartner to be tested for gonorrhea as well?
- How long should I wait before resuming sexual activity?
- How to prevent this disease in the future?
- What complications of the infection should be feared?
- I'm pregnant. How is gonorrhea prevented in newborns?
- Is there an alternative to the medicine you prescribed?
- Can I see themed printed materials? Or would you recommend specific internet sites?
- How do I know if I need to come back after my therapy ends?
Of course, you can supplement this approximate list with any other questions that concern you. And even more so, do not be shy to ask the doctor what seemed incomprehensible to you in his explanations.
What to expect from a doctor
If you are concerned about suspected gonorrhea, prevention, treatment and diagnosis should be recommended by your doctor. To make such recommendations, the specialist will first ask you his own questions. These usually include the following:
- When did you first start experiencing the symptoms of an infectious disease?
- What is the nature of the signs of the disease? Do they last - or do they happen from time to time?
- How intense are the symptoms?
- Have you been exposed to a sexually transmitted infection?
Before taking
Even if you are nottold what can and cannot be done before seeing a doctor, experts recommend refraining from sexual contact until visiting a therapist. Notify your partner that you have found signs of an infectious disease so that he can contact the clinic in a timely manner and undergo the appropriate examinations.
Diagnosis
To know for sure whether the prevention of gonorrhea has been effective or if harmful bacteria are still present in your body, the doctor must analyze the cell sample. Cell samples are collected in one of two ways:
- Urine analysis. A standardized test can detect the presence of bacteria in the urethra.
- Smear the affected area. A swab from the throat, urethra, vagina or rectum allows you to collect microorganisms, the nature of which will later be determined by specialists in the laboratory.
Especially for women, some pharmaceutical companies produce kits for diagnosing gonorrhea at home. The kit includes materials for self-swabbing from the vagina. The collected secretions, along with samples of the cells of the vaginal epithelium, are also sent to a specialized laboratory for analysis. As a rule, such kits include questionnaires in which you can specify how the consumer wants to receive information about the test results. Sometimes the results of the study are available online, but in most cases, manufacturers suggest that consumers simply call a toll-free hotline.
Adult treatment
Prevention of gonorrhea in women and men does not always produce the desired effect. In case of infection with harmful microorganisms, the doctor prescribes antibiotic treatment. Considering that recently new strains of gonococci resistant to traditional medicines have appeared, many experts recommend the use of the antibiotic ceftriaxone in the form of an injection simultaneously with azithromycin or doxycycline. The last two antibiotics are taken orally.
According to the results of recent studies, it can be concluded that the use of gemifloxacin or injection of gentamicin together with oral azithromycin is characterized by high efficiency. This option is especially relevant for patients allergic to ceftriaxone.
Treatment of children
If a mother is diagnosed with gonorrhea, prevention and treatment of the disease in newborns begins immediately after they are born. To prevent the development of infection in the eyes of young children, special drops are instilled. If the disease still affects the eyes, they switch to antibiotic treatment.
Prevention of gonorrhea
Take your own steps to protect yourself from getting a bacterial infection:
- Use a latex condom during intercourse. Without a doubt, abstinence from intimate relationships is perhaps the only sure way to completely prevent the disease. However, for a full existence, a person needs a stable sex life. Toto protect yourself from the dangers that every sexual intercourse entails, you need to use latex condoms. This rule applies not only to vaginal sex, but also to anal and oral sex.
- Ask your partner to be tested for sexually transmitted infections.
- Do not have sexual contact with anyone who is clearly suffering from the specific symptoms of an infection - especially a potentially life-threatening disease like gonorrhea. Prevention is summarized as follows: if your partner complains of painful urination or a rash on the skin of the genitals, refrain from intimate relationships with this person.
- If you are at risk, get regular check-ups at the clinic.
- During traditional sex, it is advisable to use spermicides along with a latex condom.
