Having intimate relationships can be very pleasant. But he’s not risk-free. And we’re not just talking about unwanted pregnancies. Relationships without proper hygiene measures on both sides can lead to an annoying infection: gonorrhea.
This sexually transmitted disease is contagious when two people have relationships without any protection and the hygienic conditions of the participants or the environment are not optimal. Learn more about this bacterial infection and undo some of the myths circulating on it.
If you’re a sexually active person, you must know what it is, the causes, symptoms, and treatment of gonorrhea. Did you know that every year more than 78 million people are diagnosed with gonorrhea? Learn what the risks are and how to protect yourself from this bacteria in your sex.
What Is Gonorrhea?
Gonorrhea is a bacterial infection caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae (from the meningitis family), which is mainly transmitted by having unprotected sex. There’s no need to get penetration. It will be enough with contact between the penis and the female genital system or the practice of oral sex so that such bacteria can camp wide when one of the two parts has this infectious bacteria.
In the case of women, it is also the circumstance that bacteria may have in their genital system for several weeks and even months and do not develop any of the symptoms. In these cases, it is diagnosed because it has generated contagion.
Today, the health authorities point out that even if it is a curable disease, strains have been found that are increasingly resistant to current treatments, which we will talk about at the end of the article. Now let’s explain the causes and origin of this STD.
Causes
Gonorrhea has a unique origin: risky sexual contact. If it also occurs during pregnancy, there is a risk of premature birth or infection in the baby’s blood, joints, or eyes.
This bacteria always looks for wet and warm areas (genital zones and mouth) and is more common if you have sex with different unprotected partners or if drugs and alcohol are consumed. Having intimate relationships with an infected person is a potential focus of STD development.
It is not a disease you should take lightly, as it can leave permanent sequelae such as infertility, difficulty getting pregnant or developing ectopic (risk) pregnancies, or chronic pelvic pain.
Symptoms of Gonorrhea
How do you know if you have gonorrhea or if a couple has infected you? This is what many wonder after having risky sex and noticing any of these symptoms.
In fact, in the case of this sexually transmitted disease, the symptoms that men may present may have to be differentiated from those known in women, especially considering that they can be completely asymptomatic and act as diffuse bacteria.
Symptoms of Gonorrhea in Men
The bacteria that cause gonorrhea have an incubation period of 2 to 14 days. At this time, it is feasible for a man to perceive mild discomfort in the urethra. If the inconvenience continues these days and is accompanied not only by an amplification but an exudation of pus, we would be facing a more unequivocal sign that it could be infected. It is also common among men to increase the feeling of urinating and the desire to urinate without urination.
When pus is expelled, usually the lips of the meatus or opening of the urethra appear red and swollen. If you’ve had sex with a man or there’s been anal penetration, these symptoms may also occur in the anus.
The practice of oral sex also has consequences, as sores appear or purifications from the pharynx, which is where the bacteria grabs.
Symptoms of Gonorrhea in Women
Unlike the man, in the case of the woman, the incubation period of the bacteria is estimated to be between 7 and 21 days, showing before some of the symptoms of the infection. Thus, it is common in women who appear more eager to urinate or increase the volume and exudation of vaginal mucus. If anal sex has been performed, the anus area will have discomfort and will also have exuded pus, even painful defecation or sex practice.
When risky oral sex has been performed, the gonococcus in the woman tends to be asymptomatic, showing only a slight redness and inflammation of the tonsils.
Prevention
Since it is a sexually transmitted disease that is generated by unprotected practice and without sexual relationship hygiene measures, it might be thought that the only 100% effective method is to use condoms or directly resort to abstinence. However, it doesn’t have to be that way.
To prevent gonorrhea can and must act both in the act of contagion and at the organism level, strengthening our resistance to the most powerful antibiotics.
Physicians recommend once the diagnosis has been confirmed, abstinence from sexual intercourse until the end of treatment. If it still happens, during sexual intercourse, always use condoms, but especially in case one of the parties has gonorrhea. In addition, out of respect for the couple, the existence of the disease must be reported.
If it is the result of it or occurs after a relationship, it is also necessary to warn the couples with whom they have come into intimate contact so that the diagnostic test can be done.
Treatment
To attack gonorrhea, the best treatment is antibiotics, even as WHO has warned that the new cedes investigated have resistance to them. In the case of pregnant women, other treatments that do not endanger the viability of the fetus and the health of the mother will have to be chosen.
In the most serious cases, the patient’s admission may be chosen for intravenous administration of treatment. All sexual partners of the person concerned should be tested and monitored to rule out contagion.