Gonorrhea: drugs, causes, diagnosis, symptoms, etc. • hello healthy

Gonorrhea

Gonorrhea is a venereal disease caused due to a bacterial infection and can be transmitted from person to person. It's usually also caught when you have sexual contact with an infected person, or come into contact with their bodily fluids. Gonorrhea, or commonly known as gonorrhea, can also be transmitted from mother to child.

Gonorrhea can mostly affect the urethra, rectum, or throat. In women, gonorrhea can also affect the reproductive organs.

How common is this sexually transmitted disease?

Not many people realize that they have this venereal disease, because this disease rarely shows any symptoms. This sexually transmitted disease occurs most often in people who are sexually active because it is spread during sexual contact

But in fact, this condition can also affect babies. This condition can be managed by reducing your risk factors. Please discuss with your doctor for more information.

Symptoms of gonorrhea

This condition usually will not show immediate symptoms when first infected. Symptoms of gonorrhea usually appear about 10-20 days after infection.

When symptoms start appearing, you better get treatment as soon as possible. If left untreated, gonorrhea can lead to rash, fever, and eventually joint pain.

Unfortunately, not everyone is aware of the symptoms that arise from this sexually transmitted disease. Some even suffer from this condition, but without showing the symptoms that are there and are usually called nonsymptomatic carrier aka non symptom carriers. There are two different symptoms in women and men.

Symptoms in men

Most of the men may not realize the symptoms that he has gonorrhea, because some men do not get the symptoms.

The most common and first recognized symptom is a burning or burning sensation when urinating. After that will be followed by other symptoms in the form of:

Frequent urination
Discharge of pus from the penis (fluid droplets) that are white, yellow, cream or greenish in color)
Swelling and redness of the opening or foreskin of the penis
Swelling or pain in the testicles
Persistent sore throat

Once treated, the infection may remain in the body for several days. In rare cases, gonorrhea can cause damage to the body, especially the urethra and testes. Pain can also be felt up to the rectum.

Symptoms in women

Some women find it difficult to identify the symptoms of gonorrhea, because the symptoms that appear are similar to other infections.

Symptoms of sexually transmitted diseases in women initially do not form clearly, such as vaginal yeast infections in general. Therefore, some women guess the infection they have. The following are some of the symptoms that appear in women:

Vaginal discharge (watery, creamy, slightly greenish)
When urinating, there is a sensation of pain and burning sensation
Frequent urination
The appearance of spotting or bleeding when not menstruating
Pain during sexual intercourse
Pain is also felt in the lower abdomen or pelvic pain
Swelling of the vulva
Burning or burning sensation in the throat (when you have had oral sex)
Fever

In children born with gonorrhea, symptoms usually appear in the eyes. There may be signs and symptoms not listed above. If you have concerns about a particular symptom, consult your doctor.

Don't ignore constipation which can be a symptom of gonorrhea

Constipation is not a common symptom of gonorrhea. However, constipation can be a symptom of a gonorrhea infection that has already attacked the rectum (anus) area.

If bacteria begin to invade and infect the anal area, symptoms that may include anal itching, constipation, pain during bowel movements, and a foreign discharge from the anal canal (which can be accompanied or without bleeding). If not treated promptly, gonorrhea infection in the rectum or anus can lead to abscess formation (pus-filled lumps) in the anus.

This infection of the anus is more common in men who have sex with men through anal sex. If you experience these symptoms as mentioned above, immediately consult a doctor to get the right treatment as soon as possible.

When should I see a doctor?

You should call your doctor if you have any of the following symptoms:

Hot sensation when urinating
The presence of discharge such as pus from the penis, vagina, or rectum
If your partner has been diagnosed with this disease

Causes of gonorrhea

The cause of gonorrhea is bacteria Neisseria gonorrhoeae. These bacteria are attracted to the mucous membranes of your body or to warm, moist areas of your reproductive tract, such as the cervix, uterine tubes, and fallopian tubes in women, and in the urethra in women and men.

In this environment, bacteria can grow and reproduce. Bacteria Neisseria gonorrhoeae The cause of gonorrhea is often transmitted from one person to another during sexual contact, including during oral, anal, or vaginal intercourse.

Risk factors for gonorrhea

Women and men aged 25 years who are sexually active are at risk of developing this condition. In addition, there are many other risk factors for gonorrhea, such as:

You are sexually active
You have a new sex partner
You have multiple sex partners
You've been diagnosed with gonorrhea before
You have other sexually transmitted infections

Gonorrhea complications

Quoted from the Mayo Clinic, untreated gonorrhea can cause dangerous complications, such as:

1. Infertility in women

In women, untreated gonorrhea can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease and can damage the fallopian tubes. The fatal impact, gonorrhea can cause infertility and increase the risk of ectopic pregnancy, in which a fertilized egg develops outside the uterus.

2. Male infertility

In men, gonorrhea that is left untreated can cause epididymis - pain in the testicular area that is at risk of infertility. If not treated quickly, gonorrhea will cause problems in the prostate and cause injury to the urethra, which will cause difficulty urinating.

3. Gonorrhea can spread to the blood or joints

The bacteria that cause gonorrhea can spread through your blood vessels and infect other parts of your body, including your joints. This condition can be life threatening.

4. Increase the risk of getting HIV / AIDS

Not only that, people with this condition may be more susceptible to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Patients with HIV and gonorrhea infections are more likely than people to transmit the HIV virus itself to other people.

5. Complications in infants

Babies who contract gonorrhea from their mothers during childbirth can experience blindness, scalp wounds, and infections.

Diagnosis and treatment of gonorrhea

The information provided is not a substitute for medical advice. ALWAYS consult your doctor.

How is gonorrhea diagnosed?

To diagnose that you have gonorrhea bacteria, your doctor will analyze a sample of cells collected by a urine test to help determine the bacteria in your urethra.

The doctor may also use a test kit, such as taking a tissue from the throat, urethra, vagina, or rectum which is also used to see what types of disease bacteria are present.

How to treat gonorrhea?

Gonorrhea can be treated using oral or injection antibiotics. If you have this condition your partner should also be treated at the same time to avoid infection and further spread of the disease. Even if you feel better, you will still need to follow instructions and use all of your antibiotics.

If you and your partner have been proven to have gonorrhea, it is important that you only use your own medications. Everyone's medication is prescribed based on their own needs.

If you are using someone else's medication, this can make the infection more difficult to treat. If your condition doesn't get better with antibiotics, your doctor may give you an injection of a stronger antibiotic or a combination of antibiotics. After that, you will need to do some follow-up to monitor your progress.

If your baby was born while you have gonorrhea, your baby should receive medicine immediately after birth to prevent infection. Gonorrhea affects children in the eye area first. If eye infections occur, they can be treated with antibiotics.

Types of antibiotics to treat gonorrhea

Here are some types of gonorrhea drugs in the form of antibiotics that are used to cure gonorrhea.

Ceftriaxone (rocephin), is an antibiotic drug that is used simultaneously with azithromycin to inhibit the growth of bacterial cell walls that have reached the blood.
Azithromycin (zithromax, zmax) is an antibiotic used to inhibit bacterial growth
Cefixime and cephalosporins are these antibiotics used as substitutes when ceftriaxone is not available. This drug inhibits bacterial cell wall synthesis and is used in conjunction with azithromycin. Both are used when the patient has no complications.
Doxycycline is an antibiotic drug that inhibits protein synthesis which can promote bacterial growth. Doxycycline is used for 10 to 14 days at a dose of 100 mg in addition to a single dose of ceftriaxone to treat pelvic inflammation (PID).
Erythromycin is an antibiotic ointment that is recommended for use in newborns to prevent conjunctivitis (inflammation of the conjunctiva of the eye).

Observe the doctor's prescription

If you are given a single dose of an antibiotic, be sure to use the antibiotic according to your doctor's advice. Skipping doses or not taking the drug completely will make this genital infection not go away.

Patients whose symptoms do not improve may be due to another gonorrhea infection or treatment failure. It is possible that certain bacteria from this sexually transmitted disease have become resistant to antibiotics and can no longer be killed by the antibiotics. So, the patient needs another antibiotic to cure the infection.

Some people who have gonorrhea can also get chlamydia. Therefore, the treatment of this disease also includes antibiotics which are effective in treating chlamydia.

Duration of treatment

The length of time it takes for gonorrhea to completely heal will depend on many things. For example, how long you had gonorrhea before being diagnosed and the severity of the disease (seen from the symptoms and risk of complications). These two factors will also help your doctor determine the type, dose, and duration of drug administration for you.

If detected at an early stage (e.g. only the urinary tract has been infected), symptoms will begin to subside within 24 hours and gonorrhea can resolve in about two days after treatment - although, again, you should continue to take your medication until the time limit is set. by a doctor.

If detected too late, the duration of treatment until recovery will certainly take longer. The reason is, the infection may have spread widely in the body and increase the risk of complications.

Home treatment of gonorrhea

While there are no home remedies for you to manage sexually transmitted diseases, the following lifestyle can help you cope:

Use condoms when having sex
Have your partner checked for sexually transmitted infections
Don't have sex with someone who has unusual symptoms
Avoid or limit sexual contact with uninfected partners
Use all of the antibiotics prescribed by your doctor

Prevention of gonorrhea

To reduce the risk of infection with this venereal disease, please take the following precautions:

Use condoms properly every time you have sex
Don't change sex partners
Limit sexual contact with uninfected partners
Prevent by doing the HPV vaccine before age 26 years
If you think you are infected, avoid sexual contact and see a doctor

Symptoms in the genital organs such as vaginal discharge or burning sensation during urination as well as pain or rash should be a sign to stop having sex and consult a doctor immediately.

If you are told that you have gonorrhea or another sexually transmitted disease and are receiving treatment, you should let your partner know so they can see a doctor and be treated as well.