Gonorrhea

What is it?

Each year, gonorrhea (second name — "the clap") ill from 150 to 180 million people, so this sexually transmitted disease is considered one of the most common. The first mention of gonorrhea include the II century BC. By a well-known physician Galen often come for help patients with the same complaint: pain when urinating andyellowish white discharge from the penis. Think carefully, Galen decided that the essence of an unknown disease is spontaneous leakage of semen — in Greek "Gonos" («seed») + "rheo" («the current"). So the whole world know about gonorrhea.

Only in 1879, German dermatologist Albert Neisser found that gonorrhea is of particular microorganism. By right of discovery Neisseria bacteria gave his name — Neisseria gonorrhoeae. In some countries, other common name — gonococcus.

Modes of transmission

Gonorrhea — genital infection. Accordingly, infection occurs almost exclusively during intercourse: genital, anal or oral.

Get the disease through everyday through washcloths, towels, and the toilet lid — for an adult is almost unreal. It happens that the girls are infected by adult women in the sharing of towels (at least — bed linen), on which there is pus, wet droplets with gonococci.

After contact with Neisseria gonorrhoeae in the urethra develops urethritis (inflammation of the urethra). If they get into the vagina, there will coleitis (inflammation of the vagina) or cervicitis (inflammation of the cervix). In the mouth it will cause stomatitis (inflammation of the mouth), tonsillitis (inflammation tonsils) or pharyngitis (inflammation of the larynx), and if it enters into the rectum — proctitis (inflammation rectum).

Symptoms

The latent period, when the gonococcus has already penetrated into the body, but the symptoms have not yet emerged, lasting from a few hours to2-10 days.

Women gonorrhea often asymptomatic. Even if the symptoms occurred, they were not always correctly perceive. For instance, yellowish white discharge from the vagina of women is usually associated with candidiasis (thrush), pain when urinating — with cystitis. However, both can be a symptom of gonorrhea. In addition, women may receive lower abdominal pain and bleeding in the middle of the menstrual cycle.

Gonorrhea in men manifests itself more visible. Stands out from the urethra yellowish-white mucus with an unpleasant odor (often in the form of a "morning drop"), and the process of urination brings a lot of discomfort (burning, pain). The hole on the penis becomes red and swollen, and around the sores may appear small.

Gonococcal pharyngitis is often asymptomatic, but sometimes there is pain in the throat. Proctitis is not always possible to recognize, in rare cases, rectal itch and appear in the feces of mucus and pus.

If in the course 2-x months of gonorrhea is not treated, it will become chronic and will involve the eyes, joints and other vital organs. In women, chronic gonorrhea causes inflammation of the uterus — ovaries and fallopian tubes, which can eventually lead to infertility. The men fired gonorrhea also leads to infertility.

Diagnostics

In cases of suspected gonorrhea, you should immediately consult your doctor, venereal diseases (dermatologist). Fortunately, gone are the days when the "good" doctors reported a patient in the workplace. Today cure gonorrhea can anonymously.

To make a diagnosis, the doctor will listen to the complaint, will examine and prescribe additional research. In the medical laboratory under the microscope exploring isolation, taken from the urethra, take a urine test and blood. In cases of doubt, appoint the most accurate method of determining gonococcal — PCR diagnostics.

Treatment

Properly prescribe treatment can only doctor-venereal diseases, so forget about self-medication costs. Today for gonorrhea eliminate special antibiotics and, in parallel even strengthen the immune system and is prescribed physiotherapy. Do not forget that treated for gonococcal infection should all diseased sexual partners, or after recovery become infected again.

Prophylaxis

For the prevention of gonorrhea have to use a condom during sexual intercourse suspicious. If unprotected sex has already taken place, preferably in the next several hours after exposure to resort to emergency prevention of sexually transmitted infections.