Gonorrhea

gonorrhea: One of the most common diseases caused by bacteria is seldom mentioned publicly other than by medical and social workers. Because gonorrhea (gon-uh-REE-uh) is sexually transmitted, people are often embarrassed to discuss it. In street language it is sometimes called clap or drip.

Cause Gonorrhea is a highly infectious disease caused by a bacterium, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and spread by sexual contact. It can also be spread by contact with bodily fluids from someone infected with the bacterium.

Incidence Each year in the United States 750,000 cases of gonorrhea are reported. It is estimated that another 750,000 to 1 million cases occur but are untreated and unreported. Most of these cases are thought to occur in 15 to 24 year olds.

Symptoms you are likely to notice Symptoms of gonorrhea are different in men and women. Almost 90% of infected males show symptoms: frequent, painful urination and a thick whitish or yellowish discharge from the penis are the most common. About 80% of infected females experience no symptoms. Those who have symptoms may have abdominal pain, frequent painful urination, and a thick discharge from the vagina. In both men and women the urethra may be irritated or swollen.

Symptoms your physician may observe

              If gonorrhea is suspected, the physician will do specific teststo confirm the diagnosis. For males a smear of the discharge from the penis can be examined under a microscope for gonorrhea bacteria, which are usually absent completely or abundant.

This test is not very accurate for women, however, who often release fewer bacteria in material  

             discharged from the vagina, where conditions discourage bacterial growth. For women

             suspected of gonorrhea a culture of the discharge is performed, that is, any bacteria in the    

             discharge are allowed to grow on a material known as a culture medium.

Treatment options Gonorrhea is treated with antibiotics, taken either in pill form or as an injection. Penicillin was once the drug of choice to treat gonorrhea, but resistant forms of gonorrhea have developed, and other antibiotics are generally used today.
Whatever antibiotic is prescribed, it is important to take the medication as directed until the bottle is completely empty or for as much time as was directed by the physician. Even when symptoms disappear, some bacteria remain for a time. These are the resistant ones that can make reinfection more of a problem than the original bout with the disease. The full course of medicine as prescribed is necessary to make sure that all of the gonorrhea bacteria are killed.

Stages and progress Gonorrhea bacteria live and multiply in the mucous membranes of the body, especially of the penis, vagina, rectum, and throat. Symptoms, if present, occur from one or two days to two weeks after infection. Symptoms in men usually show sooner than in women.
If the infection is untreated, the bacteria spread to other areas of the body, causing complications. The bacteria can spread throughout the reproductive system. In men the result can be painful swelling of the penis and testicles. In women this can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease , a very painful condition that can damage the reproductive system. PID can result in ectopic pregnancies see Fallopian tuves or even sterility.
Gonorrhea bacteria can get into the bloodstream and spread to other areas of the body. The bacteria can cause arthtitis and damage to the heart valves. Tissue around the liver can swell, causing pain in the abdomen. Sores can develop on the hands and feet. Because gonorrhea may be undetected in women at first, these complications are more common in females than in males.
If a pregnant woman has gonorrhea, it can affect her baby. During delivery the bacteria can infect the newborn, causing eye infections that, if untreated, can lead to blindness. In most states silver nitrate or other medication is placed in the eyes of newborn babies. This protects the baby from eye infections and blindness if the mother has gonorrhea.

Prevention and risk factors The only way to be completely sure of preventing gonorrhea and other sexually transmitted diseases is to abstain from sex. But abstinence is not acceptable to most people. The following tips will help you reduce risks to a low level:

 

• Stay in a relationship with only one other person in which both of you have tested negative for sexually transmitted diseases;
• Reduce the number of sex partners;
• Use a condom, correctly, with every partner, every time, for every type of genital contact.
  Individuals who think they may have gonorrhea can prevent its spread to others by abstaining from sex until they are treated by a doctor. Once infected, get your sex partner or partners to seek medical care.
  
  New developments Recently there has been much bad news concerning the spread of strains of the gonorrhea bacteria that resist antibiotics. These strains have made gonorrhea a dangerous disease again. But there have also been some positive developments.
  In 1996 a new test to diagnose gonorrhea was developed. It is a urine test that detects gonorrhea by looking for DNA of the bacteria. Studies done with the test show that it is as accurate as other tests and more acceptable to many people because it is easier and less embarrassing than submitting to a culture or a smear.
  Research on a vaccine is being done in the United States, but the complexity of the disease, because of drug-resistant strains, has slowed this process.