Gonorrhea, known by many as the clap, is actually a highly contagious yet easily curable sexually transmitted disease. While most men who are suffering from this disease may exhibit symptoms, women hardly experience any symptom at all. As the most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States, every state has started to require healthcare providers to report every case of gonorrhea to the Board of Health.
This way, they can be sure that every patient is receiving proper medical care while preventing the disease from spreading by testing anyone who had sexual contact with the patient.
Causes and Risk Factors Of Gonorrhea
Any person who prefers having unprotected sex or maintains relationships with multiple sex partners will have a high risk of contracting gonorrhea. Rates of infection have become highest among young adults and teenagers who are between the ages of 15 and 29. Even those who were previously treated for gonorrhea will not develop resistance to the disease.
Neisseria Gonorrheae, the organism that causes this disease, requires specific conditions for it to grow and reproduce. It cannot even live outside the body for more than a few seconds. This means that the bacteria cannot be transmitted from door handles or toilet seats.
Neisseria Gonorrheae can only survive in moist areas inside the body. It is commonly found in the vagina and the cervix. It may also thrive in the urethra, the tube responsible for draining urine from the bladder. Gonorrhea symptoms may also appear when the organism starts thriving in the rectum after anal sex or in the back of the throat due to oral-genital contact.
Therefore, anyone can actually get gonorrhea through contact with the anus, mouth, and genitals. In men, ejaculation does not need to occur for the bacteria to be contracted. In rare cases, pregnant women may also pass the bacteria to their baby during childbirth.
Do You Have Gonorrhea?
Neisseria Gonorrheae, the bacteria that causes gonorrhea, is actually transmitted by sexual contact. Not everyone infected with this disease may exhibit symptoms, so knowing exactly when to seek treatment can be quite tricky. However, symptoms usually occur ten days after exposure but it might also take thirty days before the following gonorrhea symptoms appear:
Gonorrhea Symptoms In Men
- Burning pain when urinating
- Whitish or greenish yellow discharge from the penis
- Swollen glands or burning sensation in the throat due to oral sex
- Swollen or painful testicles
- Anal discharge; severe rectal pain; itching in the anal area (rectal gonorrhea)
Most men who are infected with gonorrhea experience the symptoms fourteen days after exposure to bacteria. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, you should consult your doctor and ask him for a proper diagnosis. This way, you can get the treatment you need and prevent gonorrhea from spreading to the glands near your seminal vesicles, urethra, bladder, and testes.
Gonorrhea Symptoms In Women
- Pelvic pain or discomfort in lower abdomen
- Burning sensation when urinating
- Whitish or greenish yellow discharge from the vagina
- Bleeding in-between monthly periods
- Conjunctivitis (red, itchy eyes)
- Burning sensation in the throat or swollen throat glands due to oral sex
- Noticeable swelling of the vulva
- Spotting after sexual intercourse
In some women, gonorrhea symptoms may be so mild that they can actually remain unnoticed. In fact, many women who have vaginal discharge suspect that they have yeast infection so they tend to treat it with over-the-counter drugs. However, gonorrhea may also cause vaginal discharge so it is always best to consult your doctor for a proper diagnosis and treatment method.
Proactive Steps Against Gonorrhea
One of the best ways to prevent gonorrhea and other sexual transmitted disease is to practice abstinence. If this does not seem possible in your case, you should at least remain faithful to your partner. By having a mutually monogamous relationship with a person who has been tested for gonorrhea, you can drastically reduce your chances of contracting this disease as well.
You can also protect yourself from this highly infectious disease by wearing a condom every time you have anal, vaginal, anal, or even oral sex. You can also use condoms with other birth control methods such as pills and diagrams for greater protection against STDs.
How Can You Cure Gonorrhea?
While gonorrhea symptoms are not as serious as other signs of sexually transmitted diseases, leaving this disease untreated is not really a good idea. With proper treatment, you can reduce your risk of developing serious complications such as pelvic inflammatory disease in men and epididymitis in men.
A treatment plan for gonorrhea usually includes the use of antibiotic medications such as Ceftriaxone and Cefixime. Infants who were born to a mother with gonorrhea may also use silver nitrate eye drops. If the disease has already caused complications such as pelvic abscess or PID, you may be asked to stay in the hospital for a few days.
Just like the symptoms of gout, alternative medicine can also decrease the severity of gonorrhea symptoms with the use of alternative medicine. However, herbal remedies for this disease should only be used as a complementary therapy. To cure this condition, you can use powerful herbs such as alfalfa, red clover, and golden seal.
Herbs Alfalfa, Red Clover, and Golden Seal For Gonorrhea Treatment
They are great for sexually transmitted diseases because they possess anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties. The juice of sour sop is also great for curing the clap because it is high in Vitamins C, B1, and B2 as well as other anti-inflammatory properties.
Prompt diagnosis of gonorrhea is important because it may lead to severe complications. Women who are suffering from the latent stage of this disease may develop a severe kind of pelvic infection that can cause damage to the ovaries and Fallopian tubes.
On the other hand, men who are suffering from this condition are prone to epididymitis. This painful condition affects the ducts attached to the testes, thus leading to infertility when left untreated. If you are suffering from any of the symptoms that were mentioned in this article, you have to consult a doctor and get a proper diagnosis before gonorrhea gets the better of you.
