When it comes to STIs, gonorrhoea might be known in name, but few people really understand the condition, what it does, and how to treat it.
Perhaps as a result of this, the diagnosis of gonorrhoea in Australia has increased for both men and women in Australia over the last 10 years. In fact, between 2001 and 2011, the rate of infection people aged 15 years and over increased by 25%. While it still isn’t spread at the same rate as chlamydia, Australia’s most frequently notifiable STI, those numbers cannot be ignored.
What Is Gonorrhoea?
Gonorrhoea is an infection of the genital tract in both men and women. It’s caused by a bacterium called Neisseria gonorrhoeae, which is spread through sexual contact either orally, anally or genitally.
Signs And Diagnosis
One of the biggest issues with gonorrhoea is that is doesn’t have clear and specific signs that tell the carrier they are infected. In fact sometimes, there are absolutely no symptoms of infection at all. This is particularly common in women, and can cause the infection to go undetected.
In the cases where gonorrhoea does present with signs, here is what you should be looking for.
Men
Gonorrhoea usually infects the urethra, on the inside of the penis. Symptoms might include a burning sensation when urinating, a white or yellow discharge that looks like pus, and swelling or testicular pain if the infection remains untreated for some time.
Women
Gonorrhoea usually has the most effect on the cervix, the opening of the uterus at the top of the vagina, and can cause vaginal discharge, discomfort when urinating, and bleeding between periods or after sex. If the infection spreads from the cervix to the fallopian tubes, gonorrhoea can also cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which might be accompanied by fever, lower abdominal pain, and pain during intercourse.
Diagnosing
Gonorrhoea is diagnosed with a simple swab test or a urine test at your local doctor or sexual health clinic. If you are diagnosed with gonorrhoea, it is your legal responsibility to let all your sexual partners from the last six months know of your diagnosis so they too can be tested and treated if required.
Treatment For Gonorrhoea
Treating gonorrhoea is actually pretty easy. It requires a course of antibiotics that your doctor can prescribe. When you’re taking your antibiotics, and for one week after, you should avoid having sex of any kind. If you cannot avoid having sex, using a condom is necessary to avoid spreading your infection. Following your course of antibiotics you will likely be tested again to ensure that you do not still have the infection.
You should know, there are some strains of the gonorrhoea bacteria that are antibiotic resistant. One strain, known as A8806, was discovered in late 2013 in Australia. These kinds of strains are highly resistant to treatment, and are highly resistant to treatment. They’re a part of a 30 years trend identified by researchers showing that gonorrhoea is growing increasingly resistant to treatment overall. This means people should be even more cautious about getting it from their sexual partners.
The issues with gonorrhoea comes when it is not treated. We talked about women getting PID from untreated gonorrhoea infections, but this isn’t the end of the issue. In both men and women untreated gonorrhoea can lead to infertility. That’s why it’s so important to catch gonorrhoea early, or get a check up just to be safe if you have had unprotected sex.
Preventing Gonorrhoea
The best protection against gonorrhoea is barrier protection, such as condoms, female condoms and dams. Both condoms and dams can be used for oral-vaginal sex and oral-anal sex so as to lower the potential risk of spreading the infection.
If you regularly have sex with different partners, having regular sexual health checks is also recommended, as is having a sexual health check prior to having unprotected sex for those in more committed relationships.
If you become concerned about any symptoms, please seek immediate medical attention we have some hotlines and suggested websites for further information and advice https://www.stayathomemum.com.au/my-kids/babies/important-hotlines-websites/
SAHM takes no responsibility for any illness, injury or death caused by misuse of this information. All information provided is correct at time of publication.
