Gonorrhea is the most common of sexually transmitted diseases in young people. The bacterium known as Neisseria gonorrhoeae infects mostly the warm moist parts of the body. Since it is a sexual disease, these parts are the genitals and rectum. Under rare circumstances, you can contract the disease in your throat and eyes.
Men usually suffer damage in their urethra and penis. Women have more complications than men. Gonorrhea affects their vagina, fallopian tubes, and the reproductive organs. Children can have the infection during birth from their disease positive mothers. We shall look into the symptoms of the ailment in men, women, and children.
Symptoms in Men
In general, men have early manifestations of the disease than women. Again, it is hard to determine the incubation period of gonorrhea. But the ideal range comes between 2 to 14 days after infection. If medication does not come in on time, the disease can cause permanent damage to the reproductive system.
- Painful Urination
The gonorrhea bacterium causes the inflammation of the urethra. This condition, known as urethritis, brings about swelling of the urinary tube. When you pass urine, the urethra inner lining suffers a burning feeling from uric acid. It then leads to pain when urinating.
- Penile Discharge
The discharge of a pus-like substance from the penis is common. Though it is an irritation, the yellow, whitish, and green substance forms in the area of infection. This helps the body in fighting off the disease-causing organisms.
- Swollen Testicles
When the gonorrhea bacterium travels through the blood vessels to the testicles, you experience an infection. This condition is known as orchitis. Though it is common with gonorrhea, other viruses and bacteria also trigger this condition.
- Increased Urination
When you have an infection, the urethra loses the capability of controlling your urine movement. This makes you go to the bathroom more often than usual. Other sexual transmitted diseases also cause this condition.
- Soreness on the Penis
The inflammation of the penis also manifests on the tip of the penis. This causes the penis to sore and become reddish. Additionally, the foreskin swells with a tingle of pain.
Symptoms in Women
Women have a more extended incubation period for the disease. Some may even be carriers without their knowledge. Still, they are a risk to their sexual partners. Like men, the proper medication should be available on time to avoid barrenness and other complications.
- Vaginal Discharge
Just like men, women also suffer from genital discharge. This comes when bacterium infects the vagina and causes inflammation. Besides that, there is usually some redness and swelling of the genitals.
- Painful Urination
Due to the inflammation and swelling, the uric acid in urine corrodes the inner linings of the urinary tube. It causes the person to experience itching and burning sensation during urination.
- Pelvic Pain
Gonorrhea infects the internal reproductive organs like the uterus, fallopian tube, and cervix. The condition is known as Pelvic Inflammation Disease. This causes extreme pain in the pelvic area. In some cases, it makes sexual intercourse painful.
- Vaginal Bleeding
Due to the inflammation of the genitals and reproductive organs, women have bleeding at certain times. It may occur after sex or between periods. Some may have irregular menstrual cycles.
Anal Gonorrhea
The symptoms of these are common in both men and women. This condition is common in people engaging in anal sex. In women, one may contract the disease by the vaginal liquid spreading to the anus, due to the proximity of the two organs. The symptoms of rectal gonorrhea are
- Pus-like anal discharge and bleeding
- Itching and pain in the rectum opening
- Swelling of the rectum opening
- Pain when passing stool
Gonorrhea in the Eye
This is not as common as genital gonorrhea. Sometimes, you may touch the eye with a hand that has the gonorrhea bacterium. This causes a gonorrhea infection on the eye through the liquid membranes. The symptoms of this condition are
- A thick discharge of yellow, green, or white almost similar to the genital one.
- Redness of the eye
- Blurring of vision
Gonorrhea in the Throat
It is a rare diagnosis in many adults. This may come as a result of oral sex or the person with gonorrhea passing it to the throat by dirty hands. In this case, the primary symptom is a sore throat. That notwithstanding, not all frequent sore throats are gonorrheal infections.
Gonorrhea Symptoms in Children
Mostly this is common in children who contract the disease from their mothers during childbirth. In young children, this may be as a result of sexual abuse by an infected person. Equally, the symptoms are similar to the ones in the adult clinical manifestation.
In infants, the symptoms may include
- Inflammation of Eye
It occurs primarily in the conjunctiva. This is the connective tissue covering the eyeball. An inflammation of this tissue makes it tear and dilate the blood vessels.
- Swelling of the Eyelids
This makes it difficult for the child to open the eyes and thus loses the ability of sight.
- Thick Mucus-like Discharge
The thick discharge covers the eye causing damage to the blood vessels and connecting tissues in and around the eye.
All these may cause blindness, some muscular and joint infections. Besides that, the infant may have fatal blood disorders like sepsis.
Gonorrhea Is Different Than Other STDs
Unlike other STDs, gonorrhea has a more extended incubation period. Also, it has manifestations similar to many other diseases. The best advice for a person is to have a professional check-up by a doctor. This makes it easy for accurate diagnosis and treatment. Pregnant women are at a higher risk since the infections can go over to the child and is possible even during pregnancy. Despite the devastating effects of gonorrhea, it is easily treatable by available antibiotics in hospitals.
References
https://www.cdc.gov/std/gonorrhea/stdfact-gonorrhea-detailed.htm
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/264903.php
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155653.php#symptoms
https://www.webmd.com/men/inflammation-testicle-orchitis#2
https://www.mylabbox.com/frequent-urination/
https://www.medicinenet.com/pelvic_inflammatory_disease/article.htm
https://www.sfcityclinic.org/diseases/gonorrhea
https://www.hopkinsallchildrens.org/Patients-Families/Health-Library/HealthDocNew/Gonorrhea
https://www.webmd.com/baby/pregnancy-sexually-transmitted-diseases#1