Gonorrhea is an extremely contagious bacterial infection that is classified as a sexually transmitted disease. Every year, up to 60 million people worldwide contract gonorrhea. Men and women in their early adulthood (around age 30) are equally affected. Since 2001, gonorrhea has no longer been a reportable disease, which is why no reliable figures on the current situation are available.
Further information and a list of doctors who treat gonorrhea can be found below.
Gonorrhea is caused by bacteria called Neisseria gonorrhoeae, better known as gonococci. These bacteria colonize the mucous membranes of the urinary and genital tracts.
Unprotected sexual intercourse and sexual practices such as anal or oral sex are usually responsible for the transmission of gonococci.
People who frequently change sexual partners, as well as those who engage in unprotected sex, are therefore at particularly high risk of contracting gonorrhea.
Gonorrhea in Pregnant Women
Another possible route of transmission is through pregnant women who are infected. They can pass the bacteria on to their newborn during childbirth.
In newborns, gonococci usually infect the conjunctiva, which can lead to severe purulent conjunctivitis. In the worst-case scenario, the infection can cause the child to go blind.
Conjunctivitis in a newborn @ ink drop /AdobeStock
The first symptoms usually appear two to three days, and sometimes as long as ten days, after infection.
Early signs include:
In about ten percent of cases, gonorrhea initially progresses without noticeable symptoms. It therefore remains undiagnosed. Infected individuals can thus unknowingly pass gonorrhea on to sexual partners and infect them.
As a result, gonorrhea often goes untreated for a long time, leading to chronic disease progression and irreversible damage (infertility).
Specific symptoms in men and women
Inflammation of the genital organs often occurs, accompanied by severe lower abdominal pain and fever.
In women, the cervix, fallopian tubes, and ovaries can become inflamed. In the worst-case scenario, this leads to infertility due to blocked fallopian tubes.
Peritonitis is also possible in women.
In men, redness and swelling may occur at the opening of the urethra on the glans. A gonorrhea infection can lead to inflammation of the prostate, bladder, or testicles. These manifest as lower abdominal pain as well as pain and swelling of the testicles. In the worst-case scenario, these inflammations can block the epididymal tubules and lead to infertility.
Long-term symptoms
The gonorrhea bacteria can spread throughout the body via the bloodstream and cause the following long-term symptoms:
Do you have any symptoms? If so, see a doctor as soon as possible to treat the bacterial infection.
The doctor—usually a dermatologist specializing in sexually transmitted diseases or a urologist/gynecologist—will first ask you about your symptoms. Based on your description, they will make a preliminary diagnosis.
A definitive diagnosis is made after laboratory testing. If experts find gonococci in the lab sample, then a gonorrhea infection is present.
Detection of gonococci under the microscope
To obtain a lab sample, the doctor takes a swab from the affected areas of the body. In men, this is usually from the urethra; in women, usually from the cervix. However, swabs from the throat, anus, or conjunctiva of the eye may also be taken for microscopic examination.
The doctor then stains the secretion sample from the swab and examines it under a microscope. In 50 percent of cases, the doctor can already detect a gonorrhea infection.
If not, the doctor sends the secretion sample to a laboratory. There, lab technicians culture the gonococci to confirm the gonorrhea infection.
It is also possible to diagnose gonorrhea by detecting antibodies in the urine or blood.
Gonorrhea is usually treated with antibiotics that kill the gonococci. In the past, the antibiotic penicillin was most commonly used for this purpose.
However, since many strains of gonococci are now resistant to penicillin, other antibiotics are now used.
Other possible antibiotics include:
In most cases, a single dose of the antibiotic—either in tablet form or as an intramuscular injection—is sufficient. However, treatment for gonorrhea should not be stopped too early, as this can lead to the development of resistance.
About one week after receiving the antibiotic, you should go for a follow-up checkup with your doctor. The doctor will check to make sure that the gonococci are no longer detectable.
Until then, a patient infected with gonorrhea should refrain from sexual intercourse to avoid infecting their partner. It is also important that all sexual partners get tested for gonorrhea and receive treatment if necessary.
The prognosis for gonorrhea is usually good: If treatment with antibiotics is started early and is successful, the inflammation typically clears up without any lasting effects.
Untreated gonorrhea or treatment that begins too late can lead to complications and secondary conditions.
These include:
