Gonorrhea is a bacterial infection that can affect the cervix, urethra, rectum, anus and throat, and is more common in women than men. If it’s left untreated, it can lead to several serious health risks. Gonorrhea is passed on by sex, including anal and oral, and more rarely it can be transmitted by using hands to transfer the disease between the mouth and vaginal and anal areas without washing hands in between.

Signs and Symptoms

Symptoms usually appear soon after infection, but it can take up to 2 weeks. Around half of people don’t experience any symptoms at all, and men are more likely to notice the signs as they are more obvious.

Women:

• A discharge, may smell strongly or be a yellow or greenish colour
• Pain or burning feeling while urinating
• Discharge or irritation from the anus

Men

• A cloudy, sometimes yellow discharge from the penis.
• Discharge or irritation from the anus.
• Swollen balls or prostate gland

Dangers:

If it’s left untreated, Gonorrhea can lead to serious health risks.

For women, it can cause pelvic inflammatory disease, where the fallopian tubes are inflamed. It can result in stomach pain, miscarriages, pregnancies outside the womb, premature births, infertility, meningitis and septicaemia. If passed on to your baby during pregnancy, it can cause the baby serious eye infections and blindness.

For men, the painful swelling of the testicles and prostate can lead to infertility, as well as pain and problems with urinating and kidney infections.

Treatment:

If you think you may have gonorrhea, contact your doctor immediately. The test involves samples being taken with a sponge or cotton wool, and for women a pelvic exam similar to a smear test. Although you may find it embarrassing, you must tell your doctor if you’ve had anal or oral sex so samples can be taken from those areas.

Once diagnosed, you can be treated with an antibiotic, either in a course of tablets, liquid or injection, and shouldn’t have sex until you are treated.

Prevention:
You can prevent getting infected by using condoms and getting yourself and your partner checked before you engage in any form of unprotected sexual contact.

Read More:

Gonorrhea: What You Need to Know: Read on to find out the signs, symptoms, dangers, treatments and prevention methods of the sexually transmitted disease, Gonorrhea.

Spot the STD: Chlamydia: Signs, symptoms and effects of one of the UK’s biggest STD

Genital Warts: Genital warts can be transmitted through sex, including anal and oral, but also through non-penetrative foreplay. To learn more about the sexually transmitted disease, read on.

Signs and Syptoms of Syphilis: Transmitted through sex, including oral and anal, syphilis can be extremely dangerous if left untreated.

Herpes: There are 8 types of herpes, not all of them sexually transmitted. Read on to find out more.