Gonorrhea, is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Sexually transmitted infections are infections that can be transferred from one person to another through any type of sexual contact. Sexual contact is not related only to sexual intercourse (vaginal-anal) but it may also include any oral-genital contact. Most of the STDs can be cured, both some severe STDs such as HIV or Hepatitis B cannot be cured so easily.

• Gonorrhea is one of the oldest known sexually transmitted diseases. Among individuals who are infected with gonorrhea, 50% to 70% also will be infected with chlamydia, another type of bacteria that causes another STD.
• Gonorrhea cannot be transmitted from toilet seats or door handles. The bacterium that causes gonorrhea requires very specific conditions for growth and reproduction.
• Gonorrhea bacteria it live on the skin of the hands, arms, or legs. It survives only on moist surfaces within the body such as throat, eyes and is found most commonly in the vagina, and, more commonly, the cervix.

Symptoms

Symptoms of Gonorrhea:

Most of women and men infected with gonorrhea don't have any noticeable symptoms, most of the symptoms occur within 14 days of transmission.

Symptoms in men may include:

• Painful sensation during urination
• Greater frequency or urgency of urination
• A pus-like discharge (or drip) from the penis (white, yellow, beige, or greenish)
• Swelling or redness at the opening of the penis
• Swelling or pain in the testicles
• A persistent sore throat

Symptoms in women may include:

• Discharge from the vagina (watery, creamy, or slightly green)
• Pain or burning sensation while urinating
• The need to urinate more frequently
• Heavier periods or spotting
• Sore throat
• Pain upon engaging in sexual intercourse
• Sharp pain in the lower abdomen
• Fever

Cause of Gonorrhea:

Gonorrhea has only one cause, it is only transferred from one person to another during sexual intercourse and is affected by a bacterial Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection. Previous infection doesn't confer immunity, a person who is infected above, can also get infection again for the next time.

Diagnosis of Gonorrhea:

Test done for the diagnosis of Gonorrhea may include:

• Testing for gonorrhea is done by swabbing the infected site (rectum, throat, cervix) and identifying the bacteria in the laboratory either through culturing of the material from the swab (growing the bacteria) or identification of the genetic material from the bacteria.
• Newer tests to diagnose gonorrhea involve the use of DNA probes or amplification techniques (for example, polymerase chain reaction, or PCR) to identify the genetic material of the bacteria.

Treatment

Treatments of Gonorrhea:

• Gonorrhea is usually treated with an antibiotic injection of Ceftriaxone one time intramuscularly or a single dose of Azithromycin by mouth.
• Treatment should always include medication that will treat chlamydia for example, azithromycin (Zithromax, Zmax)or doxycycline (Vibramycin, Oracea, Adoxa, Atridox and others) as well as gonorrhea, because gonorrhea and chlamydia frequently exist together in the same person.

Complications of untreated Gonorrhea:

Gonorrhea should be treated in a person at the correct time, as not treated gonorrhea in women may lead to the gonococcal ophthalmia neonatorum (blindness through infection) in infants born to such mothers. Most of the 28% of child are known to have such complication from birth born to such mothers.

Other more complication from un-treated gonorrhea may include:

For men:

• Inflammation of the epididymis
• Inflammation of the prostate gland
• Inflammation of the urethra

For women it may include:

• Pelvic inflammatory disease
• Inflammation of the tissue surrounding the liver
• A rare complication associated with Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome, septic arthritis in the fingers, wrists, toes, and ankle, septic abortion, chorioamnionitis during pregnancy, neonatal or adult blindness from conjunctivitis and infertility