Gonorrhea: Antibiotics can easily cure

Gonorrhea can be easily treated with antibiotics. Such treatments are quite effective what with researches showing that 95-99% of such timely treatments do deliver the goods.

It is for this reason that timely and early detection of the disease is necessary.

DIAGNOSIS NOT EASY

But it is easier said than done. This is because the symptoms of sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) or the sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) appear quite late.

Moreover, in many cases, they don’t appear at all. While in other instances, the symptoms become evident when the infection or the disease has already taken deep roots.

What is more, by that time in some cases, the infection or the disease would be affecting some of the important organs of the patient.

MORE THAN 8 LAKH AFFECTED BY GONORRHEA

Annually, gonorrhea affects more than 800,000 American people.

Nonetheless, the fact remains that late detection of the disease becomes rather tough for the physician to check gonorrhea from spreading. Moreover, the gonorrheal treatment cannot reverse the damages already done to the sensitive organs — especially reproductive.

WHAT EXACTLY IS GONORRHEA?

Gonorrhea is a form of sexually transmitted disease (STD). Gonorrhea is the final stage of sexually transmitted infection (STI). Gonorrhea is also known as “The Clap”.

MEN MORE VULNERABLE THAN WOMEN

Gonorrhea affects men and women alike. Nonetheless, contrary to common misconception, men are more vulnerable to Gonorrhea than female. In fact, man is four times prone to Gonorrhea than females.

EPDIDYMITIS & PELVIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASE

If men suffer from Gonorrhea for a prolonged period, it can lead to epididymitis. On the other hand, undetected cases of Gonorrhea with respect to women can degenerate to PID (Pelvic Inflammatory Disease).

MEDICAL TESTS ARE EASY & FAST

Many people do not approach the physician for three typical mental blocks. In fact, these are mere misconceptions.

First, the medical tests are complex; second, they are too probing; third, they are costly.

Actually, the laboratory tests undertaken for detecting sexually transmitted infections (STIs) or the sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are simple, non-probing and rather cost effective.

Here are the steps:
Your physician will ask for your antecedents, particularly the sexual history. There might also be queries about the symptoms. The patient should divulge the details to the doctor.

This is significant because the physician will be able to gauge the period you have been actually infected. A physical examination is carried out when the doctor will seek for signs of the STIs (sexually transmitted infections).

The physician will look out for every sign of infection: including any unnatural discharge from the penis or the vagina, fever, or inflammation of the penis or the vagina.

Gonorrhea: Males More Prone than Women

Gonorrhea is a form of STD (Sexually Transmitted Disease). It is also known as the clap. Though it is called as a sexually transmitted disease, sex is not the main or the only factor responsible for the spread of gonorrhea. Then how does gonorrhea spread?

HOW GONORRHEA SPREADS?

Gonorrhea, however, does spread when people resort to typical sexual acts. For instance, the gays usually resort to anal sex. The anus as many other moist parts of the human body are habitats of the bacterium — Neisseria gonorrhoeae — that causes gonorrhea. The other parts are the mouth, throat, and even the mouth and eyes among others.

The bacterium gets transferred from an infected person to another through the mixture of the body fluids present in the aforementioned portions of the body. The sexual partners should therefore practice safe sex. The condom is the best means to obviate all possibilities of not contracting any STIs or STDs.

MALES MORE VULNERABLE TO GONORRHEA THAN WOMEN

Contrary to popular belief that gonorrhea is typical ailment affecting the females, studies and researches have proved that males are more vulnerable to gonorrhea than females.

TYPICAL GONORRHEAL SYMPTOMS

The typical symptoms or signs of gonorrhea vary among males and females.

Notably, the characteristic signs of gonorrheal infection are more prominent among the males than the females.

In the latter case, the gonorrheal symptoms are not only milder but also very secretive. In fact, the symptoms may not be evident at all. In such situations, the patient will not even know that she has contracted the infection or the disease.

It has dangerous implications. If she keeps on having heterosexual contacts, she would be infecting other partners as well. Each of the newly infected persons will similarly pass on the infection (STI) or the disease (STD) to other people. Thus, STIs and STDs are fast spreading across the globe.

And in many cases, the symptoms reveal themselves only after the STIs have already taken deep roots. Medications at that stage can only arrest the spread of the infection. Any damage that has already been caused to the patient’s body, however, cannot be cured.

Moreover, most of the gonorrheal symptoms are misinterpreted as pointing to only the common ailments like cold or flu.

Besides, the typically gonorrheal signs or symptoms are comparatively milder among women than men. The women affected by gonorrhea, in most of the cases, do not at all demonstrate any symptom of the ailment. That is why the problem gets compounded.

In the first place, the patient comes to know that she is suffering from gonorrhea at a very advanced stage when it becomes quite difficult to check its growth.

Second, just because neither she nor her sexual partner knows about the reality, she passes on the ailment to her sexual partner(s).

Many a time, the gonorrhea symptoms are also mistaken to be a vaginal or bladder infection.

Gonorrhea: How to NOT CONTRACT the Ailment

Medical studies and researches have found that most of the gonorrheal patients also suffer from chlamydia – another version of STD. Therefore, patients suffering from either gonorrhea or chlamydia are given antibiotics for both the sexually transmitted diseases.

The patients should complete the entire medication prescribed by the doctor for one reason. Moreover, if the symptoms continue even after taking the medications, one must have oneself reevaluated.

NOTE: Medicines halt the infection and check it from spreading, but the medications cannot cure the damages already done by gonorrhea. There are copious instances of people treated again contracting the ailment after having sexual contact with gonorrheal patients.

MEANS TO PREVENT GONORRHEA

There are three guaranteed ways to NOT CONTRACT gonorrhea or any of the sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

One, total abstention from sexual intercourse: impossible, right? ;

Two, commit to only monogamous relationship with a sexual partner who is uninfected and which has been tested;

Three, the males can use latex condoms correctly and consistently. This practice is the surest means of avoiding transmission of all STDs.

OTHER WAYS TO NOT HAVE GONORRHEA

Here are the other mandatory road signs:

• Be alert to the following danger genital signals. If any of them is evident, then immediately halt lovemaking, and rush to your physician.
• The genital signs pointing towards gonorrhea are unusual rash or sore on or around the sexual organ; sense of burning or pain during urination.
• It is always important to make your sexual partners aware of any of the above symptoms;
• They should also be asked to seek medical advice.

These precautionary measures ensure that the other sexual partners do not suffer from gonorrhea.

BEWARE OF THE FOLLOWING SYMPTOMS

Any genital symptoms such as discharge or burning during urination or unusual sore or rash should be a signal to stop having sex and to see a doctor immediately.

If a person has been diagnosed and treated for gonorrhea, he or she should notify all recent sex partners so they can see a health care provider and be treated. This will reduce the risk that the sex partners will develop serious complications from gonorrhea and will also reduce the person’s risk of becoming re-infected.

The person and all of his or her sex partners must avoid sex until they have completed their treatment for gonorrhea.

Gonorrhea: Recurrent Infection is Dangerous

Across the world, the number of people falling prey to STD (Sexually Transmitted Diseases) has been steadily increasing. Although America has succeeded in stabilizing the number, still new cases still keep pouring in. That means, the ailment has not been brought under control.

Medications have failed to deliver the results primarily because a treated person is again infected by the STD the moment one has sexual or intimate contacts with another suffering from the disease.

What is more, when a particular or any of the STDs strike a second time, the agents causing the disease develop immunity against the medications. Therefore, the ailment returns with a vengeance.

STD COMMENCES AS INFECTION (STI)

The most important point to note is that any STD first reveals as infection. It manifests as a symptom. This sign on the body of the affected person is referred to as STIs (Sexually Transmitted Infections).

But a patient comes to know of the STIs only after a week or even three weeks following the infection. By that time, the STI takes deep roots. What is more, many a time, the infection remains veiled. Again, often the symptoms are misinterpreted to be those of other common normal diseases simply because the symptoms are similar.

REMEDIAL STEPS: VIGILANCE IS THE KEYWORD

Hence, a sexually active person or a person resorting to heterosexual relationships or uncommon sexual practices must have regular medical checkups. This acts as a deterrent and also a precaution.

If the disease is detected at the initial stages, most of the STIs can be effectively checked. But, it becomes tough to not only check (leave alone curing) once the STI settles down within the body. It spreads to other parts of the body rather fast.

Besides, an affected person must stay away from sexual activities. After detection, he/she should announce the fact to his sexual partners. These partners must immediately take the precautionary measures and consult the physician for detection, and if necessary remedial steps.

Gonorrhea is a common form of STD.

Gonorrhea: Widely spreading STD

Gonorrhea is a common ‘Venereal Disease’ (VD) disease. Gonorrhea is an infectious ailment. Gonorrhea is a STD (Sexually Transmitted Disease). Gonorrhea is also popularly termed ‘the clap’.

Gonorrheal complications are many. They are serious and can lead to weakening or permanent disability of the patient’s immune system.

ALL SEXUALLY ACTIVE PERSONS ARE VULNERABLE TO GONORRHEA

Studies in USA have shown that gonorrhea has been widely reported mostly among the sexually active African Americans, teenagers and young adults. In fact, all sexually active people are vulnerable to gonorrhea.

8 LAC AMERICANS FALL PREY TO GONORRHEA ANNUALLY

Research on STD across USA has shown that annually, 800,000 Americans contract gonorrheal infections. However, just 50 % of such cases are reported to CDC.

In 2006, the CDC registered 358,366 gonorrhea cases.

During 1975-’97, there was a decline in the American gonorrhea rate. This was a result of the national gonorrhea control program set in action in 1970. It remained stable for the following years. Nonetheless, the gonorrheal infection cases recorded by CDC in 2006 were 120.9 per 100,000 persons.

WHAT IS CDC?

CDC stands for the ‘Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’. The address is ’1600 Clifton Rd, Atlanta, GA 30333, U.S.A’. Public Inquiries can be made to 1-800-CDC-INFO (232-4636); 1-888-232-6348 (TTY).

GONORRHEA COMPLICATIONS

Gonorrhea patients are more vulnerable than others to HIV — the virus that causes AIDS. Moreover, HIV-infected people who also suffer from gonorrhea turn out to be easy conduits of HIV to others not having gonorrhea.

There are different but equally serious consequences among people of the either sex.

GONORRHEA COMPLICATIONS AMONG WOMEN

Among women, gonorrheal infection can lead to ‘PID’ and/or increase the risk of developing ectopic pregnancy.

The acronym ‘PID’ refers to ‘Pelvic Inflammatory Disease’. Annually, one million American women suffer from PID. It refers to a syndrome that can be quite severe or rather mild. ‘Pelvic Inflammatory Disease’ or PID is characterized by fever or/and abdominal pain.

In extreme cases, PID can lead to five serious and at times really dangerous eventualities: Formation of abscesses, recurrent pelvic pain, damage of the fallopian tubes, infertility, and last but not the least ectopic pregnancy.

The abscesses are pockets filled with pus. They are formed within the body and are very difficult to be cured. Hence these are internal pus-filled pockets.

When PID causes damage to the fallopian tubes, the patient turn sterile or even run the risk of having the life-threatening condition of ectopic pregnancy. In ectopic pregnancy, the fertilized egg develops not in the uterus (where it should be), but in a fallopian tube.

GONORRHEA COMPLICATIONS AMONG MEN

Among men too, gonorrhea can be painful and, long lasting and life threatening.

Gonorrhea can lead to the painful condition of epididymitis. It affects the ducts connected to the testicles. If untreated, epididymitis can cause that sterility.

When gonorrhea spreads to the joints or the joints, it turns out to be life-threatening.