Overview:

Gonorrhea is a curable sexually transmitted disease (STI) caused by bacteria called Neisseria gonorrhoeae. These bacteria can infect the genital tract, mouth, and rectum of both men and women.

Symptoms:

When women have symptoms, the first ones may include

• Bleeding associated with vaginal intercourse
  
• Painful or burning sensations when urinating
  
• Yellow or bloody vaginal discharge

Men have symptoms more often than women, including

• White, yellow, or green pus from the penis with pain
  
• Burning sensations during urination that may be severe
  
• Swollen testicles

Diagonsis:

Health care providers usually use three laboratory techniques to diagnose gonorrhea.

• Staining samples directly for the bacterium
  
• Detecting bacterial genes or DNA in urine

TREATMENT:

Health care providers usually prescribe a single dose of one of the following antibiotics to treat gonorrhea.

• Cefixime
• Ceftriaxone
• Ciprofloxacin
• Ofloxacin
• Levofloxacin

If you are pregnant, or are younger than 18 years old, you should not take ciprofloxacin or ofloxacin. Your health care provider can prescribe the best and safest antibiotic for you.

Prevention:

The surest way to avoid transmission of STIs is to abstain from sexual contact or be in a long-term mutually monogamous relationship with a partner who has been tested and is known to be uninfected.

Transmission To Newborn Babies:

If you are pregnant and have gonorrhea, you may give the infection to your baby as it passes through the birth canal during delivery. A health care worker can prevent infection of your baby’s eyes by applying silver nitrate or other medicine to the eyes immediately after birth. Because of the risks from gonococcal infection to both you and your baby, health experts recommend that pregnant women have at least one test for gonorrhea during prenatal care.