Gonorrhea treatment
Gonorrhea is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases in the world. In fact, the number of reported cases of gonorrhea is on the rise once again, especially in the United States. It was actually on the decline for two decades, but that has changed, and today in the U.S., gonorrhea is the second most commonly reported STD. It’s caused by the Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacteria, and it can be passed from person to person via oral, vaginal, or anal sexual intercourse. A pregnant woman with gonorrhea may also transmit the STD to her child during a vaginal childbirth.
How do you know if you have gonorrhea? There are a number of different symptoms that can appear. These symptoms may appear anywhere from two to ten days after you are infected, and in some cases, women may take up to three weeks before they start to exhibit symptoms of being infected. In fact, up to 40 percent of all women with gonorrhea may never show symptoms. Other women may have pelvic inflammatory disease (a condition that can eventually cause infertility), an infection of the cervix, irritation of the cervix, the need to frequently urinate, irritation or an infection near the vagina, or burning/itching of the vagina. They may also bleed between menstrual periods or have a thick green or yellow discharge appear from their vagina.
In men, gonorrhea may present itself as pain or a burning sensation during urination, thick, yellowish discharge, and an infection or inflammation of the testicles or of the prostate. Gonorrhea can also infect the throat, causing a sore throat and other infectious symptoms. However, throat infections occur in less than five percent of all people infected with gonorrhea. In the case of newborns being infected by their mothers, it is possible that the mucous membranes of their eyes can be irritated, which can cause blindness if it is not treated right away.
If you suspect you have gonorrhea, there are a few different exams the doctor can do. First, if there is any discharge from the vagina or penis, it can be tested. Many hospitals also have urine test kits that can screen for gonorrhea, although these tests aren’t quite as sensitive as the discharge cultures.
When it comes to treatment of gonorrhea, there is no over the counter, self-care treatment. Instead, you must see a medical professional. Your doctor or other professional can prescribe a number of different types of antibiotics for you. The most common and widely used are cephalosporin’s. These types of antibiotics can be done in one large, single dose. This can be an injection or a single dose pill taken orally. Generally, pregnant women or those younger than 18 will be given a single shot instead of a pill.
Once you have a prescription, it is important that you follow it through. This means taking all of the antibiotics as prescribed by your doctor, even if your symptoms vanish before the prescription is up. You should also immediately contact your previous sexual partners and notify them that they should be tested so that the infection is not passed on to others. The final part of your gonorrhea treatment is to be re-tested for gonorrhea 72 hours after you’ve finished all of your antibiotics to make certain that you are completely cleared. You should also be retested at any point in the future if you suspect that you’ve been re-infected.
Most gonorrhea infections can be cured with antibiotics. If you do not seek treatment, you risk pelvic inflammatory disease, sterility, pelvic pain, arthritis, endocarditis, meningitis, and the risk of being infected with Chlamydia.
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