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Gonorrhea Information

What is Gonorrhea?

Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) that is common in most countries. The bacteria likes to grow in warm places in the body like your urethra. Symptoms of the condition usually show up 2-5 days after being contracted. You are more likely to contract it if you have had multiple sex partners, intercourse of any sort without condoms, have a drug addiction, or are a male who has had contact with another man.

What are the statistics?

Gonorrhea is the second most common STI in the world, after Chlamydia.

About 700,000 Americans contract it each year.

In the U. S., it is estimated that 1 in 679 people are infected but have not had it diagnosed.

75% of all cases occur in people between the ages of 15-29.

How is Gonorrhea transmitted?

It can be transmitted through oral, vaginal, and/or anal intercourse.

Symptoms of Gonorrhea

There are many symptoms and they differ depending on your sex. If you are a man, there might be burning sensation while urinating, discharge from the penis, tender or swollen testicles, and maybe sore throat. If you display any of these symptoms, you should talk to your doctor. Even if it is not Gonorrhea it might be some other sexually transmitted infection.

For women the symptoms might be different. There might be vaginal discharge that is yellow or green in color, painful intercourse, fever, and severe abdominal pain.

What happens if left untreated?

Treating it right away prevents heavy scarring. Not treating it leads to greater risks of infertility and complications from the condition. For men, complications include narrowing of the urethra, kidney failure, urinary tract infection and many others. For women, complications include infertility and painful intercourse.

Testing for Gonorrhea

It is often tested using a blood culture from tissue. The tissue should come from the vagina, penis, throat, or anus. Usually, there can be a preliminary diagnosis after 24 hours after the blood culture was taken, but an absolute diagnosis happens usually after 72 hours.

To get tested for Gonorrhea today at a local clinic, please call toll free 888-480-5680. No appointment is necessary.

Gonorrhea Treatment

There are two main parts of treatment for this type of infection. One is to eliminate the infection in the person and the second is to find out and notify all the sexual partners. This will ensure the infection will not spread to too many people.

You should never attempt to treat yourself before seeing a doctor. Typically they will prescribe ceftriaxone or Zithromax.

You should make a follow up appoint after 7 days if you feel swelling, have any stomach or joint pain, and skin rashes.

Gonorrhea Prevention

Having no sexual intercourse (of any sort) is the only way to guarantee with 100 percent certainty that you will not get gonorrhea. Using condoms, however, greatly reduces your risks of contracting STIs like gonorrhea. Maintaining a monogamous relationship with someone you know does not have an STI also reduces the risk of contracting it.

In order to prevent the spread of it to other people, knowing all your sexual partners and notifying them and having them treated is crucial. It ensures that the infection will not spread too far within the population.

 

More information about the Gonorrhea test.

*Common misspellings of Gonorrhea are: Gonarhea, Gonarrhea, Gonerhea, Gonerrhea, Gonnarehea, Gonnerhea, Gonnorhea, Gonnorrhea, Gonorhea, Gonorreha, Gonorrehea