What is Gonorrhea?
Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted infection (STI).
It is caused by bacteria called Neisseria gonorrhoeae or gonococcus.
It can infect both males and females.
A pregnant woman can pass the infection on to her newborn during delivery.
What is the Incubation Period of Gonorrhea?
The incubation period of Neisseria gonorrhoeae 2 to 14 days.
What is the cause of Gonorrhea?
The gonorrhoea is caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae.
It is sexually transmitted disease.
A person who has been infected can become infected again by exposure to someone who is infected, whether or not that person has any infectious signs or symptoms of their own.
Is gonorrhoea contagious?
Gonorrhea is usually passed from one person to another through sexual contact and if a person comes into contact with infected semen or infected discharge from the vagina, throat or rectum.
Gonorrhea is most commonly spread through:
•Unprotected sex
• Oral sex.
• Sharing sex toys.
• Gonorrhoea can be passed from a pregnant woman to her baby through the placenta.
What are the types of Gonorrhea?
1) Genital Gonorrhea
In this type of gonorrhoea affects sexually active men and women in various age groups.
Male genital gonorrhea results painful urination and penile discharge, which may be white, yellow or green.
The tip of the penis become red and swollen, and one or both testicles may experience pain and frequent urination.
In case of a female, symptoms are similar to penile gonorrhea — pus-like vaginal discharge is present, along with painful urination.
There is also some slight bleeding between periods.
In less common cases, pain during intercourse and develop abdominal pain.
2) Rectal Gonorrhea
Rectal gonorrhea is not an uncommon condition.
The cause of anal gonorrhoea is anal sex.
Symptoms of rectal gonorrhea are:
Thick, purulent discharge in the anus.
Blood from the anus.
In the case of women who have vaginal gonorrhea can develop rectal gonorrhea.
Females who develop rectal gonorrhoea because the bacteria can travel the short patch of skin that separates the vagina from the anus.
3) Eye Gonorrhea
It is a condition known as conjunctivitis (commonly known as pink eye).
Common symptoms of gonorrhea include:
• Redness and swelling in the white of the eye
• Swelling of the upper eyelid
• Mild eye pain
Bacterial gonorrhea is highly contagious and can spread easily to others via direct contact from the hands.
If gonorrhea bacteria come into contact with the eye (for example if it’s transferred from the genitals to the eye by the fingers) it can cause conjunctivitis.
Newborn might get affected by this STI if the mother has vaginal gonorrhea during childbirth it is referred to as ophthalmia neonatorum.
4) Pharyngeal Gonorrhea
It is the type of gonorrhoea also known as oral gonorrhea,
Pharyngeal gonorrhoea results:
• A sore throat,
• Dysphagia
• Lymph nodes swelling.
• Pus discharge from the mouth.
5) Disseminated Gonorrhea Infection
Disseminated gonorrhoea is the type of gonorrhoea.
It is a rare condition that occurs when gonococcal bacteria enter the bloodstream and infect the internal organs.
The symptoms of DGI:
• Pain and swelling of joints.
• Fever
• Skin lesions and rashes
If it is untreated, DGI can cause severe complications such as
i) meningitis
ii) pericarditis
iii) endocarditis
What are the signs and symptoms of Gonorrhea?
The signs and symptoms can show up 1–14 days after coming into contact with this STI, many months later, or not until the infection spreads to other parts of your body.
In Females symptoms are:
• The vaginal discharge may be thin or watery, sometimes yellow & green.
• Pain when passing urine.
• Pain lower abdomen or tenderness and pelvic pain.
• Swelling of the vulva.
• Rarely, in few cases bleeding between periods or heavier menstrual flow.
(including women who are using hormonal contraception).
In Male symptoms are:
• Discharge from the tip of the penis – the discharge may be white, yellow or green.
• Pain while passing urine.
• Rarely, pain or tenderness in the testicles.
Other parts of the body:
• Infection in the rectum doesn’t usually have any signs and symptoms but may cause anal pain, discomfort or discharge.
• Infection in the eyes (conjunctivitis) can cause pain, swelling, irritation, and discharge.
How to Investigate Gonorrhea?
• Microscopy smear of the discharge.
• Enzyme immunoassays test.
• Nucleic acid detection method.
• Complete blood tests.
How to treat Gonorrhea?
1) Oral or injectable antibiotics
2) Always use condoms when having sex.
What are the complications of Gonorrhea?
• Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID).
• Ectopic pregnancy.
• Infertility.
• Inflammation (swelling) of the joints and tendons.
• Skin lesions (rash).
• Inflammation around the brain and spinal cord (meningitis).
What is the homoeopathic medicines of Gonorrhea?
– Sulphur
– Agnus Castus
– Pulsatilla
– Sepia
