A Healthy Sex Life With Avoiding Gonorrhea
Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by bacteria called Neisseria gonorrhoeae. The bacteria can be passed from one person to another through vaginal, oral, or anal sex, even when the person who is infected has no symptoms. It can also be passed from a mother to her baby during birth. You cannot catch gonorrhea from a towel, a doorknob, or a toilet seat.How Does a Girl Know She Has It?
A girl who has gonorrhea may have no symptoms at all or her symptoms may be so mild that she doesn't notice them until they become more severe. In some cases, girls will feel a burning sensation when they urinate, or they will have a yellow-green vaginal discharge. Girls may also experience vaginal bleeding between menstrual periods.
If the infection becomes more widespread and moves into the uterus or fallopian tubes, it may result in pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which can cause abdominal pain, fever, and pain during sexual intercourse, as well as the symptoms above.
How Does a Guy Know He Has It?
Guys who have gonorrhea are much more likely to notice symptoms, although a guy can have gonorrhea and not know it. Guys often feel a burning sensation when they urinate, and yellowish-white discharge may ooze out of the urethra (at the tip of the penis).
How Long Until There Are Symptoms?
Symptoms usually appear 2 to 7 days after a person has been exposed to gonorrhea, and in girls they may appear even later.
What Can Happen?
Gonorrhea can be very dangerous if it is left untreated, even in someone who has mild or no symptoms. In girls, the infection can move into the uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries (causing PID) and can lead to scarring and infertility (the inability to have a baby). Gonorrhea infection during pregnancy can cause problems for the newborn baby, including meningitis (an inflammation of the membranes around the brain and spinal cord) and an eye infection that can result in blindness if it is not treated.
In guys, gonorrhea can spread to the epididymis (the structure attached to the testicle that helps transport sperm), causing pain and swelling in the testicular area. This can create scar tissue that might make a guy infertile.
In both guys and girls, untreated gonorrhea can affect other organs and parts of the body including the throat, eyes, heart, brain, skin, and joints, although this is less common.
Prevention
Because gonorrhea is spread through sexual contact, the best way to prevent it is to abstain from having sex. Sexual contact with more than one partner or with someone who has more than one partner increases the risk of contracting any STD.
When properly and consistently used, condoms decrease the risk of STDs. Latex condoms provide greater protection than natural-membrane condoms. The female condom, made of polyurethane, is also considered effective against STDs.
Although birth control pills offer no protection against STDs, they may provide some protection against PID by causing the body to create thicker cervical mucus, making it more difficult for bacteria to reach the upper genital tract.
Using douche can actually increase a female's risk of contracting STDs because it can change the natural flora of the vagina and may flush bacteria higher into the genital tract.
Treatment
Like other STDs, gonorrhea may seem to get better but still be present. The fact that a discharge lessens or disappears after a few days with no treatment does not mean that the infection has gone away. And untreated STDs can spread and cause other complications.
If gonorrhea is suspected, the doctor will send urine or samples of fluid from the urethra (at the end of the penis) or the cervix to a laboratory for examination. If the doctor thinks it has spread, more tests may be necessary.
If gonorrhea is caught early, it can be treated with antibiotics. Because the symptoms of gonorrhea are similar to those of chlamydia, and because a person can be infected with both, people with gonorrhea are sometimes treated for both diseases.
A teen who is being treated for gonorrhea also should be tested for other STDs, and should have time alone with the doctor to openly discuss issues like sexual activity. Not all teens will be comfortable talking with parents about these issues. But it's important to encourage them to talk to a trusted adult who can provide the facts.
All teens who have had any type of sex (vaginal, oral or anal) should be screened regularly for STDs so that they don't lead to other more serious health problems. It's also important for them to notify any sexual partners if they have an STD.
Getting Help
If your teen is thinking of becoming sexually active or already has started having sex, it's important to talk with him or her about it. Make sure your teen knows how STDs can be spread (during anal, oral, or vaginal sex) and that these infections often don't have symptoms, so a partner might have an STD without knowing it.
It can be difficult to talk about STDs, but just as with any other medical issue, teens need this information to stay safe and healthy. Provide the facts, and let your child know where you stand.
It's also important that all teens have regular full physical exams — which can include screening for STDs. Your teen may want to see a gynecologist or a specialist in adolescent medicine to talk about sexual health issues. Community health organizations and sexual counseling centers in your local area also may be able to offer some guidance.
Gonorrhea can be very dangerous if it is left untreated, even in someone who has mild or no symptoms. In girls, the infection can move into the uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries (causing PID) and can lead to scarring and infertility (the inability to have a baby). Gonorrhea infection during pregnancy can cause problems for the newborn baby, including meningitis (an inflammation of the membranes around the brain and spinal cord) and an eye infection that can result in blindness if it is not treated.
In guys, gonorrhea can spread to the epididymis (the structure attached to the testicle that helps transport sperm), causing pain and swelling in the testicular area. This can create scar tissue that might make a guy infertile.
In both guys and girls, untreated gonorrhea can affect other organs and parts of the body including the throat, eyes, heart, brain, skin, and joints, although this is less common.
Prevention
Because gonorrhea is spread through sexual contact, the best way to prevent it is to abstain from having sex. Sexual contact with more than one partner or with someone who has more than one partner increases the risk of contracting any STD.
When properly and consistently used, condoms decrease the risk of STDs. Latex condoms provide greater protection than natural-membrane condoms. The female condom, made of polyurethane, is also considered effective against STDs.
Although birth control pills offer no protection against STDs, they may provide some protection against PID by causing the body to create thicker cervical mucus, making it more difficult for bacteria to reach the upper genital tract.
Using douche can actually increase a female's risk of contracting STDs because it can change the natural flora of the vagina and may flush bacteria higher into the genital tract.
Treatment
Like other STDs, gonorrhea may seem to get better but still be present. The fact that a discharge lessens or disappears after a few days with no treatment does not mean that the infection has gone away. And untreated STDs can spread and cause other complications.
If gonorrhea is suspected, the doctor will send urine or samples of fluid from the urethra (at the end of the penis) or the cervix to a laboratory for examination. If the doctor thinks it has spread, more tests may be necessary.
If gonorrhea is caught early, it can be treated with antibiotics. Because the symptoms of gonorrhea are similar to those of chlamydia, and because a person can be infected with both, people with gonorrhea are sometimes treated for both diseases.
A teen who is being treated for gonorrhea also should be tested for other STDs, and should have time alone with the doctor to openly discuss issues like sexual activity. Not all teens will be comfortable talking with parents about these issues. But it's important to encourage them to talk to a trusted adult who can provide the facts.
All teens who have had any type of sex (vaginal, oral or anal) should be screened regularly for STDs so that they don't lead to other more serious health problems. It's also important for them to notify any sexual partners if they have an STD.
Getting Help
If your teen is thinking of becoming sexually active or already has started having sex, it's important to talk with him or her about it. Make sure your teen knows how STDs can be spread (during anal, oral, or vaginal sex) and that these infections often don't have symptoms, so a partner might have an STD without knowing it.
It can be difficult to talk about STDs, but just as with any other medical issue, teens need this information to stay safe and healthy. Provide the facts, and let your child know where you stand.
It's also important that all teens have regular full physical exams — which can include screening for STDs. Your teen may want to see a gynecologist or a specialist in adolescent medicine to talk about sexual health issues. Community health organizations and sexual counseling centers in your local area also may be able to offer some guidance.
