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Gonorrhea 411
Blythe Miller, 11.27.07
The only way to know for sure if you have gonorrhea is to get tested by your health care provider. |
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Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) that affects about 600,000 women and men every year in the U.S. alone. On top of causing serious health risks, gonorrhea is one of those tricky infections that often have no symptoms and therefore go untreated. It's also most common among young adults. That's why it's so important to know the facts so you can protect yourself. Read on!
What is gonorrhea?
Gonorrhea is an infection caused by a bacteria called Neisseria gonorrhoeae, which can infect the penis, vagina, cervix, anus, urethra, and throat.
How is it spread?
Gonorrhea is spread by vaginal or anal intercourse, and by oral sex. Gonorrhea infections can also be passed along to infants during childbirth.
How do I know if I have gonorrhea?
That's the thing about gonorrhea. Often, people infected with gonorrhea will have no symptoms. In fact, 80 percent of women and 10 percent of men will show no symptoms at all. So it's really important to understand that you can get gonorrhea from someone who has no symptoms, and to remember that infected people may not know they have it.
When women do have symptoms, they can include:
- abdominal pain
- bleeding between menstrual cycles
- fever
- menstrual irregularities
- painful intercourse
- painful urination
- swelling or tenderness of the vulva
- the urge to urinate more than usual
- vomiting
- yellowish or yellow-green vaginal discharge
When men have symptoms, they might include:
- pus-like discharge from the penis
- pain or burning while urinating
- more frequent urination than usual
Rectal infections may cause anal discharge and itching, and sometimes painful bowel movements in both women and men. When gonorrhea infects the throat, it might cause soreness, itching, or difficulty swallowing.
The only way to know for sure if you have gonorrhea is to get tested by your health care provider.
Is gonorrhea dangerous?
Yes. When left untreated, gonorrhea can cause some serious health problems. And because it often produces no symptoms, it goes untreated a lot more than it should.
In women, gonorrhea can cause pelvic inflammatory disease, or PID. PID can scar and block a woman's fallopian tubes, and that can cause infertility — meaning she won't be able to get pregnant. Gonorrhea can also cause ectopic pregnancies. During an ectopic pregnancy, a fertilized egg starts to develop in the fallopian tubes because it can't get to the uterus.
During pregnancy, gonorrhea infections can also cause problems like premature labor.
And it's not just women who are at risk for experiencing health problems from gonorrhea. Men can also become infertile from an untreated infection.
Also, people with untreated gonorrhea — especially teenage girls — are at risk for developing a condition called disseminated gonococcal infection, or DGI. DGI can cause arthritis and skin lesions.
What if I have gonorrhea?
Despite all the scary health risks, it's easily treatable! Health care providers prescribe antibiotics — usually just a single dose — to kill the bacteria. And it's totally cureable, so once the bacteria is gone, it's really gone.
If you're being treated for gonorrhea and the treatment is more than a single dose, make sure you take all of the medication that your health care provider gives you, even if symptoms have disappeared.
It's also important that you avoid sexual contact until the infection is cleared up so you don't pass it on. And make sure that any sex partners are tested and treated, as well. Otherwise, you could be reinfected. And if you continue to experience symptoms after your treatment, make sure to let your health care provider know right away.
How can I protect myself?
Condoms offer great protection against gonorrhea, so use one every time.
Oral sex is not as risky as vaginal or anal intercourse are for STIs. But to further reduce the risk, you can use a Glyde dam, cut-open condom, or plastic wrap to cover the vulva or a condom to cover the penis.
And make sure you keep up with your routine checkups. Remember, gonorrhea is easy for a health care provider to diagnose and easy to treat, so you really can protect yourself by being responsible!
To make an appointment for testing or treatment at a Planned Parenthood health center near you, call 1-800-230-PLAN. |
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