Gonorrhea is a treatable sexually transmitted infection (STI) that is caused by a bacterium known as Neisseria Gonorrhoeae. It can infect both sexes and is primarily contracted by those who are 15 to 24 years old.1 It infects the following parts of your reproductive organs:
- Women:
- Cervix
- Fallopian tubes
- Urethra
- Uterus
- Men:
- Urethra
It may also infect the mucous membranes in the eyes, mouth, rectum, and throat.1
If left untreated, this STI can cause serious health complications, such as Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) in women and epididymitis and even infertility in men. It can also lead to a life-threatening health condition known as disseminated gonococcal infection (DGI), which has arthritis, dermatitis, and tenosynovitis as its symptoms.1
Gonorrhea may be difficult to treat as it has progressively developed a level of resistance to the cephalosporin antibiotics used to treat it. Providers are continually monitoring resistance and sharing their findings as new treatments are researched and developed.2
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What is Gonorrhea?
Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted bacterial infection spread when an uninfected person has vaginal, oral, or anal sex with someone already infected by the disease. While it is the second most commonly reported bacterial STI in the United States, the true number may be higher, as many infections – especially amongst men – show no symptoms and often go unreported.1
While any sexually active person can be infected with gonorrhea, the highest reported rates of infection are among the following sexually active individuals:
- Teenagers
- Young adults
- African Americans
Another danger is that women can develop issues in their reproductive systems if the STI goes untreated, as well as pass the STI to a baby during childbirth.
What Are the Symptoms of Gonorrhea?1
Men: While many men with gonorrhea have no symptoms, they may have symptoms of a urethral infection, which includes painful urination and a white or yellow discharge within two weeks of infection. If this infection happens along with epididymitis, they may also experience pain in their scrotum.
Women: Women are often asymptomatic and even if they have symptoms, they are so mild that they can be mistaken for a bladder or vaginal infection. If they do have any symptoms, they are painful urination, abnormal vaginal discharge, and vaginal bleeding during menstruation.
However, the complications for untreated gonorrhea are much more serious for women. Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) can cause abdominal pain and fever, as well as cause damage to the fallopian tubes that may cause infertility or increase ectopic pregnancy risk.
Both Men and Women: The STI may also cause a rectal infection which causes bleeding, discharge, itching, painful bowel movements, and soreness. It can also cause a pharyngeal infection in the throat with no outward symptoms.
How is Gonorrhea Transmitted?1
Gonorrhea can be transmitted any time that a penis, vagina, mouth, or anus makes contact with an infected partner. You can acquire this STI simply from contact; ejaculation does not have to happen for transmission.
Pregnant women with gonorrhea may infect her newborn baby as the child passes through the birth canal. This can cause complications such as blindness, a joint infection, or a critical blood infection. If you become pregnant and have been sexually active, consult your medical provider for proper examination before you give birth.
If you have had gonorrhea and received successful treatment, you still have the chance of reinfection by a partner who is infected.
How Do You Diagnose Gonorrhea?1
If you have any symptoms of gonorrhea or have a sex partner who has been recently diagnosed with this STI, you should stop having sex and make an appointment with a medical provider for an evaluation. If you are sexually active and have no symptoms, you should consider discussing your health history and risk factors with a medical provider, who may want to test you for a variety of STIs.
Gonorrhea can be diagnosed in several ways:
- Men: Testing urine or specimens from a urethra swab.
- Women: Testing specimens from the endocervical area or vagina. A gonorrhea culture can also be taken from an endocervical or urethral swab.
Additionally, if gonorrhea is found, lab cultures will be taken to assess any levels of antibiotic resistance. If the STI is present in the throat or anus, there is a different diagnostic test that can be performed by your medical provider.
How to Stop Burning Sensation After Urinating?
Depending on whether or not you have an STI, your medical provider may prescribe a medication to help you with your painful urination or a medication that may calm your irritated bladder. The burning sensation usually improves quickly after the start of taking a prescribed medication.
In addition, you can try the following:
- Stay well-hydrated. If you’re looking for ways to stay properly hydrated, we have some tips that may help.
- Avoid scented products like toiletries, soap, and detergents.
- Use condoms during sexual activity.
- Change your diet and stop eating and drinking highly acidic foods, caffeine, and alcohol.
How Is Gonorrhea Treated?1
The good news is that gonorrhea can be cured with the proper treatment. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends a single 500 mg intramuscular dose of ceftriaxone. However, treatment will not repair any damage already done by the disease.
A follow-up test is not required for genital and rectal infections. However, if your symptoms continue for more than a few days after treatment, you should be reevaluated by a medical provider.
If you are being treated for a throat-based gonorrhea infection, you should be retested 7-14 days after treatment.
Reinfection is common. After you are successfully treated, you should be retested within three months.
How Do You Prevent Gonorrhea?
The only sure way to not be infected with gonorrhea or other STIs is to abstain from all forms of sex or to be in a mutually monogamous relationship with an uninfected partner.
If you are sexually active, the following steps will give you some measure of protection:
- Consistent and proper use of latex condoms can reduce your risk of transmitting and being infected by gonorrhea.
- Limit your sexual partners.
- Avoid douching, as it may limit the healthy bacteria in your vagina, which can make it easier for pathogenic bacteria to infect your upper reproductive tract.3
If you have been infected by gonorrhea, wait seven days after finishing all medicine before resuming sexual relations. It is also crucial that any sexual partners that you have had while infected have been informed and properly treated.
While STIs like gonorrhea may be painful and embarrassing, it can be confidentially and confidentially cared for by the friendly medical team at your neighborhood MedExpress. Either schedule a visit online or walk in for care from 8 to 8 every day.
References:
1 CDC. About Gonorrhea. Last updated February 15, 2024. Accessed August 5, 2024.
2 CDC. Drug-Resistant Gonorrhea. Last updated February 15, 2024. Accessed August 5, 2024.
3 National Library of Medicine / National Center for Biotechnology Information. Vaginal Douching: Evidence for Risks or Benefits to Women's Health. Accessed April 23, 2024.