The bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae causes the sexually transmitted infection gonorrhoea. An appropriate antibiotic is used to treat it. If there is no appropriate treatment, the consequences can be severe. Both men and women can contract gonorrhoea. Gonorrhoea affects the genitals, throat and rectum. Men who have sex with other men often get gonorrhoea at disproportionately high rates.
How is gonorrhoea transmitted?
Unprotected oral, vaginal or anal sex with a partner who has and transmits the virus. During childbirth, a pregnant mother can pass gonorrhoea to her unborn baby.
How can I avoid contracting gonorrhoea?
If you have adequate protection during sex, or if you have sex with only one faithful partner who is not infected, you can avoid contracting the disease. Otherwise, you can significantly reduce your risk by using condoms as directed at every sexual encounter.
Gonorrhoea and the possibility of transmission
Anyone who has unprotected sex with an infected person can contract gonorrhoea.
Pregnancy and gonorrhoea
How can gonorrhoea harm my unborn baby?
Gonorrhoea infection can be passed on to your unborn baby after birth if you have it and are pregnant. Infecting a child can cause serious problems. Early intervention reduces the likelihood that your child will develop serious health problems.
Gonorrhoea and its symptoms?
10% of men with gonorrhoea have no symptoms or health problems, while the remaining 90% have burning during urination and white, yellow or green discharge from the urethra. Symptoms appear after a short incubation period of 3-7 days. Most women infected with gonorrhoea do not show any signs or symptoms of the disease. If symptoms do occur, they are often minor and can be misinterpreted as vaginal or urinary tract infections. In infected women, possible symptoms include purulent vaginal discharge, painful or burning urination and irregular vaginal bleeding. Although a rectal infection may go unnoticed, men and women may experience discharge, itching of the buttocks, discomfort and bleeding.
How can a doctor tell if they have gonorrhoea?
The doctor takes a urine sample and swabs of the urethra, cervix, pharynx and rectum to look for microbiological evidence of infection.
Is gonorrhoea curable?
Appropriate antibiotics can cure gonorrhoea. The rise in bacterial resistance has rendered antibiotic tablets ineffective. It is important to treat the condition with a combination of an antibiotic given intramuscularly and an antibiotic taken in tablet form. In addition, the treatment described above also eliminates chlamydial infection, which is often associated with gonorrhoea.
I have been treated for gonorrhoea. When can I have sex again?
To avoid re-infection with gonorrhoea or transmission to a partner, wait seven days after treatment before becoming sexually active again. If you have sex with an infected person again, you may get gonorrhoea again, even if you have been treated before.
gonorrhoea
What will happen if I don’t get treatment?
Both men and women can suffer serious and long-term health problems from untreated gonorrhoea. Untreated gonorrhoea in women can cause long-term inflammation of the abdomen, which can lead to infertility due to scarring, ectopic pregnancy (where the foetus is placed outside the uterus, in the abdominal cavity) or chronic abdominal and/or pelvic discomfort. Gonorrhoea can inflame the prostate, scrotum and testicles in men. Male infertility is a non-typical consequence of this. Gonorrhoea can spread to the joints and bloodstream. Such a situation can be fatal. Untreated gonorrhoea infection increases the chance of contracting HIV or spreading the virus to others.