An estimated 1 million new cases each year in the United States alone are caused by gonorrhea, a very common sexually transmitted infection or STI, more so among adults aged 15–24. In reality, though, this is a disease that doesn't discriminate; anyone who's sexually active can be affected.
In this comprehensive guide, we will cover all of the STI information, answering such questions as: How is gonorrhea transmitted? Its incubation period? And above all, how not to get it?
07 October 2024
7 min read
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Table of Contents
How is Gonorrhea Transmitted?
What is the Incubation Period?
Prevention Methods Against Gonorrhea
How Does Gonorrhea Affect Pregnant Women and Newborns?
Resistance to Gonorrhea Treatment
Understanding the Connection between Gonorrhea and HIV
Testing for Gonorrhea in the Convenience of Your Home
How is Gonorrhea Transmitted?
One easy fact about gonorrhea relates to how the disease is transmitted. Gonorrhea is spread through sexual contact, vaginal, anal, or oral sexual relations-with someone infected. Relevant to note here is that the infection can indeed be contracted without the necessity of ejaculation occurring. This thus means that any form of sexual exposure to an infected individual will render one susceptible to infection.
Also, a past treatment for the infection does not grant you immunity. You can become re-infected upon engaging in safe or unprotected sexual activity with another person who has an active infection after your treatment. Unbelievably, it is possible for gonorrhea to be transferred from an infected mother to their newborn during delivery.
Understanding the Incubation Period
Incubation period: The time between the beginning of an infection and when the symptoms start showing. It may be absolutely different from one individual to another, depending on the part of the body the infection entered.
The incubation period may range from 1 to 14 or more days, though symptoms usually appear after 2–5 days in men with urethral infections. In symptomatic women with urogenital gonorrhea infections, the incubation period is usually within 10 days.
One big problem with gonorrhea is that it does not always show symptoms in a person. The asymptomatic nature of gonorrhea leads to its unsuspecting transmission to sexual partners. In such symptomatic cases, it ranges from a burning sensation during urination to some abnormal vaginal or penile discharge. Others may have a sore throat in cases when this infection is present in the throat. Symptoms often are seen more apparently in men than in women.
If left untreated, gonorrhea can lead to significant health complications in individuals. In women, the infection can ascend to the uterus and the fallopian tubes, developing into pelvic inflammatory disease characterized by lower abdominal pain, discomfort during sex, chronic pelvic pain, and eventually, infertility.
Gonorrhea can also become complicated and result in a disseminated gonococcal infection in which the bacterium enters the bloodstream and invades various tissues of the body including the heart. This occurs in roughly 0.5-3% of those infected with gonorrhea, but while it is rare, this can be a serious and deadly health complication if treatment is not pursued promptly.
Prevention of Gonorrhea
Because it is such a common STI, the spread of the infection should be prevented. If sexually active, consistent latex condom use will greatly reduce your risk from developing the infection. Other means of prevention would include testing for the infection, as well as other STIs, and insisting the same of your partner further minimizes any risk when entering a new sexual relationship.
Due to the advancement in medical technology, testing for gonorrhea has never been easier than it is today. Tests, such as the Everlywell Chlamydia & Gonorrhea Test, can be taken from one's own home and in privacy. Many of these test kits have simple, step-by-step directions and the components all included, which are needed for collecting a sample.
These kinds of kits let one check for the presence of gonorrhea from the comfort of their own home. Upon collection, after sending the sample, physician-reviewed results are available online through your device. If your results come back positive, you can then connect with a network of independent physicians who might prescribe medication-usually antibiotics-to help clear the infection.
Impact of Gonorrhea on Pregnant Women and Newborns
While anyone who is sexually active can become infected with gonorrhea, it is important to highlight the specific dangers this STI has for pregnant women and their newborn babies. If the pregnant woman is suffering from gonorrhea and it goes untreated, the infection can cause problems such as premature labor, premature rupture of membranes, and low birth weight in newborns.
In addition, infants whose mothers have gonorrhea can develop a severe eye infection, called gonococcal ophthalmia neonatorum. An untreated infection can lead to blindness. For this reason, it's routine practice to apply antibiotic eye ointments shortly after an infant is born. These are only preventative measures and may not work in the event the infection is active in the mother. Testing and treatment of pregnant women with STIs, such as gonorrhea, are part of prenatal care.
Resistance to Gonorrhea Treatment
One final critical point about gonorrhea as a pathogen involves the growing concern with the issue of antimicrobial resistance. Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the bacterium responsible for causing gonorrhea, has developed resistant strains to nearly every class of antibiotic used to treat it, thus earning the classification of "superbug".
Currently, CDC recommends a dual therapy that involves two antibiotics: ceftriaxone combined with azithromycin. This mode of treatment, however, is continually under surveillance due to the onset of resistance.
Because many new strains of gonorrhea have developed resistance to available medicines, this infection is becoming increasingly difficult to treat. For this reason, the CDC recommends regular screening and prompt treatment for sexually transmitted infections. Anyone who has been treated for gonorrhea should be retested three months after treatment. This is to make sure the infection is completely gone and also to check for possible reinfection. It is particularly important for anyone who has been treated for gonorrhea to get tested again, because reinfection is common.
Knowing the Connection Between Gonorrhea and HIV
Gonorrhea enhances the chances of one acquiring the AIDS virus, which is caused by HIV. Gonorrhea infection results in a sore and inflamed genital area that facilitates easy entry of the virus into the body upon sexual exposure to HIV. Similarly, if a person has co-infection with both the viruses, then he or she is highly capable of passing on the HIV infection to the sexual partner.
This is why it's important that anyone diagnosed with gonorrhea consider testing for HIV and other STIs to help in the continuum of care in regard to their sexual health.
Instant Home Testing for Gonorrhea
In addition to traditional at-home test kits, advancement in medical technology has introduced instant home testing for gonorrhea. The kits give quick results, about 15-30 minutes, just like a pregnancy test.
Instant home-testing kits detect the presence of Neisseria gonorrhoeae-a bacterium that causes gonorrhea-in a sample of urine or, among women, a swab from the lower vagina, or among men, from the urethra. Testing consists of placing the sample into a test device and waiting for the estimated time. After that time, the device will indicate a line or some kind of symbol plus or minus.
The immediate benefits derived from instant home-testing kits are that of speed and convenience. A result can be obtained privately at home rather than having the sample sent to a lab and waiting for the results.
While one cannot deny the convenience of an instant test, accuracy is not as fine-tuned as it may be with testing through a laboratory. If positive, one should confirm the result through a lab test. If negative but the symptoms persist, consult a healthcare professional.
Furthermore, a negative test result does not exclude other sexually transmitted infections. Thus, anyone sexually active should go for full testing of the body for sexually transmitted infections, especially when one considers having had unprotected sex, multiple sexual partners, or if the partner has tested positive for an STI.
Finally, instant home testing should not replace periodic consultations with your healthcare provider but can prove to be an excellent tool in the early detection and prevention of gonorrhea and other STIs.
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