What is gonorrhea?

We explain what gonorrhea is, what are the symptoms of this sexually transmitted disease and the treatments to fight it.

What is gonorrhea?

Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted disease that causes infections of the genitals, throat and rectum . This disease is usually common in men and women and is curable diagnosed in time.

Being a sexually transmitted disease, the way to prevent this disease is to use a barrier method such as condoms. This disease can also be transmitted to a baby , in case a woman is sick and pregnant.

What are your symptoms?

The woman may have increased vaginal discharge and bleeding.

Symptoms vary according to the sex of the person. Men may have no symptoms, but usually the disease is identified if the man:

Feel burning when you urinate.
Feel pain in the testicles or have become inflamed.
If you have white, yellow or green discharge from your penis.

As for women, the symptoms are often confused with those that present a urinary infection. The symptoms are:

Burning sensation or pain when urinating.
Increased vaginal discharge
Irregular vaginal bleeding, between menstrual periods.

Regarding a rectal infection, the symptoms may be:

Itching in the anus area.
Bleeding or secretions
Pain when defecating

The way to detect if a patient has this disease is by urinalysis . In case it happens at the level of the throat or rectum, a swab can be used.

Symptoms usually appear between 2 and 21 days after contracting the disease.

Does gonorrhea have a cure?

Yes, with the right treatment. The doctor will prescribe the corresponding medications to stop the infection. Once you have finished with the medications, you should wait a week to have sex again.

In case of not obtaining adequate treatment, some complications may arise:

In women it can generate an ectopic pregnancy, that is, outside the uterus, infertility, chronic pain in the abdomen or scar tissue formation that causes an obstruction in the fallopian tubes.
In men, it can generate chronic pain in the testicles. In isolated cases it can cause infertility.
If the disease spreads to the joints or the blood can be deadly or increase the chances of contracting the HIV virus.