GONORRHOEA
Gonorrhoea (commonly known as the clap) is spread through sexual contact. The bacteria are transferred from the mucosa of the infected person to the mucosa of a healthy person, thus spreading the infection.
If not treated gonorrhoea will cause infertility in both men and women. If the mother is infected, the illness is passed on during childbirth and can cause blindness in newborns.
In women gonorrhoea is usually asymptomatic. If any type of symptom is present it is usually vaginal discharge and in some cases stomach aces.
In men it can cause penile discharge (yellow, slimy), blood in urine and pain during urination. The period from the infection to first symptoms represented by pain in the urethra, lasts usually no more than 10 days. If not treated, discharge becomes sticky over time, after that fever starts and lymph glands around the groin start to swell. This illness will over time become chronic if not treated, and will spread from urethra to testicles, and even kidneys. It can cause infertility, sepsis and rarely brain or heart damage.
Diagnosis is performed by microscopic examination of the discharge. Gonorrhoea is usually treated by antibiotics most commonly penicillin, it is resistant to other antibiotics. It is obligatory that both partners are treated.
