Gonorrhea

Overview

Gonorrhea also known as "the clap" is the second most common sexually transmitted disease in North America. In it more prevalent among teenagers and young adults and is easily passed from one person to another through unprotected vaginal anal or oral sex. If not diagnosed and treated early gonorrhea can lead to serious health problems in both men and women.

Causes

Gonorrhea is caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacteria that can grow and multiply easily in a woman's reproductive tract the urethra of both women and men and in the anus mouth throat and eyes. Ejaculation does not have to occur for gonorrhea to be transmitted or acquired. Gonorrhea can also be spread from mother to baby during delivery.

Symptoms

Men:

Not all men with gonorrhea will have symptoms. Those who do may experience:

  • Thick yellow-green coloured discharge from the penis
  • burning feeling when urinating
  • pain or swelling in the testicles
  • possible rectal pain
  • rectal discharge

Women:

Symptoms are even less common in women with gonorrhea and when they do occur they can be so mild as to be confused with a bladder or vaginal infection. When symptoms do appear they may include any of the following:

  • new or different discharge from the vagina
  • a burning feeling when urinating
  • pain in the lower abdomen
  • fever and chills
  • pain during sex
  • vaginal bleeding between periods
  • vaginal bleeding after intercourse
  • possible rectal pain
  • rectal discharge

If you've had unprotected sex or think your partner may have been exposed to gonorrhea see your doctor or visit a sexual health clinic·whether you're experiencing symptoms or not. You'll be examined and samples will be sent to a lab for testing.

Treatment

If gonorrhea is diagnosed you should also be tested for other sexually transmitted diseases. People with gonorrhea are often also infected with chlamydia. Your doctor can treat both infections at the same time with a combination of antibiotics. You must take all of the medicine as prescribed. Even with treatment you can get gonorrhea again if you have unprotected sexual contact with an infected person. All of your sexual partners should get tested and treated if infected whether or not they have any symptoms.

If you have gonorrhea and haven't received adequate treatment you're putting yourself at risk for developing a number of serious medical conditions including:

Pelvic inflammatory disease. If left untreated gonorrhea can cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) in women. The bacteria can move into the uterus and fallopian tubes and cause infertility.

Inflammation of the testicles. If you're a man with gonorrhea and haven't seen your doctor you run the risk of developing epididymitis or inflammation of the testicles. It's a very painful condition that is treatable with antibiotics if caught in time. If not you could become infertile.

Anorectal gonorrhea. Whether you're straight or gay you can develop gonorrhea from having anal sex with an infected person. In many instances you will not experience any symptoms if you've contracted it anally. However some people will feel pain as well as experience anal discharge.

Pharyngeal gonorrhea. If you have oral sex with an infected person you can develop a sore throat as well as painful swallowing. Sometimes your throat and tonsils will become extremely red.

Eye inflammation. If you touch your eyes after coming in contact with infected discharge you can develop conjunctivitis. If you have untreated gonorrhea and give birth your baby may develop an eye infection that could lead to blindness.

Prevention

The only way to prevent gonorrhea is by not having sex at all or by ensuring through testing that neither you nor any sexual partner is infected. Otherwise if you are sexually active it's extremely important that you use latex condoms every time you have sex·including oral sex.

If you've been diagnosed with gonorrhea stop all sexual contact until you've completed your prescription of antibiotics and you've received an ·OK' from your doctor.

Remember just because you've had gonorrhea once doesn't mean you can't get it again. Always make sure you and your partner are protected.

For more information on sexually transmitted diseases and infections call 416-392-2337 in Toronto and 1-800-668-2437 elsewhere in Ontario.