The causative agent of the disease is the gonococcus bacterium. The human body - the best habitat for it, the external environment - after a short period of time is fatal, since gonococci are destroyed, in particular, under the influence of high temperatures, dryness, the most minimal concentrations of antiseptic substances.
In principle, this explains the low likelihood of infection through domestic rather than sexual contact.
The inflammatory process of this infection mainly affects the mucous membranes, which means the probability of the spread of the disease to areas such as:
• urinary organs;
• rectum;
• nasopharynx;
• conjunctiva of the eyes.
Also known forms of gonorrhea lesions of the muscular and skeletal systems.
However, the urogenital system is most often affected.
Moreover, under certain conditions, gonorrhea is able to widely cover the human reproductive system, which is expressed in the following consequences:
• menstrual irregularities;
• the formation of adhesions in the fallopian tubes;
• sexual dysfunction;
• infertility.
In addition, gonorrhea can worsen well-being, causing temperature, diarrhea, chronic fatigue, and severe headaches.
This can lead to all this, in particular, a neglected disease, with which they went to the doctor too late, improperly prescribed or interrupted treatment ahead of time.
The incubation period of the disease varies greatly - from day to month, but on average - about a week. The end of the incubation period is indicated by the manifestation of the first symptoms of gonorrhea.
Discharge
Discharges from the urethra and vagina are the main first symptoms of gonorrhea.
As a rule, they are quite plentiful (leave noticeable marks on the linen), the usual color is white and yellow, sometimes with a greenish tint. The consistency is rather thick, the unpleasant smell is very noticeable, an admixture of pus is possible (especially in severe cases of the disease).
Probable weak (spotting) blood discharge in a period not suitable for menstruation.
Inflammation
Even when at the beginning of the manifestation of the infection, gonorrhea, in fact, did not have time to spread further than the urethra, inflammation, coupled with swelling and redness, easily cover all adjacent tissues, causing their irritation and redness.
Quite soon, the inguinal lymph nodes, which increase with it, may be involved in the inflammatory process.
Painful sensations
As a manifestation of this disease, pain at rest is common - pulling, localized in the lower abdomen, often felt in the lower back.
The symptom mentioned above - inflammation, also, of course, leads to some soreness of the external genitalia.
Urination disorders
Rapid urination with the disease is more often observed in women, and in both sexes, the first symptoms of gonorrhea include the accompanying burning sensation and cutting pains, sometimes some difficulty. In men, a drop of blood may also be released at the very end.
It is important to note that the most numerous and brightest first symptoms of gonorrhea are manifested in the so-called fresh form of it. Doctors characterize it as an infection with an infection that occurred up to 2 months.
If the disease goes into a chronic form, the symptoms described above will be weakened, but the disease, hiding in this regard, will probably spread its harmful effects to the internal organs, systems of the human body.
Latent (asymptomatic) gonorrhea is of particular danger - the presence of the pathogen may be almost unrecognizable for its carrier (person), but at the same time, the ability to infect others is present.
That is why at the slightest suspicious changes in intimate health or after unprotected sexual intercourse, it is so important to visit a doctor on time.
Diagnosis of gonorrhea according to the first symptoms with one hundred percent accuracy is impossible, since they are not specific and can be a manifestation of other diseases.
In addition, often other sexually transmitted diseases accompany gonorrhea, and regardless of which is the more dominant problem, proper treatment requires awareness of the whole picture of existing intimate problems.
Thus, laboratory diagnostics are necessarily carried out, including several methods of microbiological studies.
Bacterioscopic is the study of a smear taken from the affected area and specially stained under a microscope. Sometimes this method allows you to determine the species of the pathogen, that is, gonococcus, after which, in fact, it is possible to start treatment.
But if bacterioscopy does not reveal gonorrhea, this does not mean that it is not. Therefore, many experts consider it necessary to obtain a common, detailed picture, as well as a mandatory cultural method of researching the material.
In which biological material (excretion) is placed in a specific nutrient medium for growing (for the purpose of studying) a colony of bacteria.
The cultural method, in addition, allows you to learn all about concomitant gonorrhea diseases and even determine the sensitivity of gonococcus to various antibiotics.
In some cases, it turns out to be more convenient to resort to more complex methods, during which the genetic material of the causative agent of the disease, that is, gonococcus, is detected in the studied samples.
Blood tests for gonorrhea are rarely prescribed, partly because it is not always possible to detect the pathogen - a lot depends on the duration of the disease, its form.
In any case, this is the case with a general blood test. But sometimes an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay is useful - to detect antibodies to gonococcus in the blood.
It is worth noting that the rapid test for home diagnosis of gonorrhea with the first symptoms resembling it should be used rather for self-calm, and since it came to suspicions of such a serious illness, then regardless of the test results, you should not cancel the visit to the doctor for clarification of the situation.
Means for the treatment of gonorrhea are selected individually and the form of their use is diverse:
• intravenous and intramuscular injections;
• tablets (oral administration);
• douching with solutions;
• ointments, tablets and suppositories (for topical use).
In a number of cases (in severe cases of the disease, with insufficient effectiveness of the above), immunotherapy and physiotherapeutic procedures are indicated.
It should be noted that folk remedies for gonorrhea, firstly, play only an auxiliary role (for example, as a mild anti-inflammatory), and secondly, they can be used strictly with the approval of the attending physician.
Despite the low probability of non-sexual transmission of gonorrhea, patients with it must fully comply with certain rules until they recover completely:
• use only your personal hygiene items;
• wash things separately and, in particular, laundry;
• wash your hands well after visiting the toilet (and if there is no soap somewhere, have an antiseptic gel with you);
• if there is a partner who has not had time to become infected, do not sleep with him in the same bed;
• completely exclude any sexual contact.
