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Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted disease with a short incubation period and rapid development. If not detected and treated promptly, gonorrhea can cause many serious complications to the patient's health.
1. What is gonorrhea?
Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted disease caused by the bacteria Neisseria gonorrhoeae, which can infect both men and women. Gonorrhea is a bacteria that can grow rapidly in the warm, moist areas of the genital tract, including the cervix, uterus and fallopian tubes in women, and in the urethra in men and women. In addition, gonorrhea bacteria can also grow in the mouth, throat, eyes, and anus. This is a common infection, especially in men and women between the ages of 15 and 24.
Gonorrhea is transmitted through vaginal, anal or oral sex with an infected person. Pregnant women with gonorrhea can also pass the infection to their babies during labor. People who have been treated for gonorrhea can still be re-infected if they have unprotected sex with someone who is infected.
Gonorrhea can be cured with appropriate treatment prescribed by a doctor. If left untreated, the disease can cause serious health problems in both men and women. Specifically, in women, untreated gonorrhea can cause pelvic inflammatory disease with complications such as scar tissue formation that blocks the fallopian tubes, ectopic pregnancy, infertility, and prolonged abdominal/pelvic pain. ,...
In men, gonorrhea can cause pain in the tubes connecting the testicles, epididymitis, leading to infertility. In rare cases, gonorrhea can spread to the bloodstream or joints, becoming life-threatening. In addition, gonorrhea, if left untreated, increases the risk of acquiring or transmitting HIV/AIDS.
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2. Incubation period of gonorrhea
The incubation period for gonorrhea is calculated from the time a patient is exposed to gonorrhea bacteria until symptoms become apparent. Normally, gonorrhea has a fairly short incubation period, in 2-5 days, ranging from 1-14 days. In addition, the incubation period is fast or slow depending on factors such as the general health of the patient and the strength - weakness of the bacteria. For people with low resistance and weak immune system, the incubation period will be shorter and vice versa.
During the incubation period of gonorrhea, patients have no symptoms of gonorrhea and can transmit gonorrhea bacteria to healthy people. Also during this time, gonorrhea bacteria can invade other organs such as the urethra, cervix, rectum and throat.
3. How does gonorrhea develop?
3.1 Developmental stages of gonorrhea
Stage 1: Bacteria that cause gonorrhea enter the urethra. After 36 hours, the bacteria attack strongly inside the body and begin to grow. Stage 2: Gonorrhea begins to grow. Stage 3: The first symptoms of the disease begin to appear In men and women Gender, development and symptoms of gonorrhea vary. Detail:
3.2 The development of gonorrhea in men
Development of the disease: Incubation period 3-5 days. Because the urethra of men is 5 times longer than that of women, in the acute stage, the manifestation of gonorrhea in men is rampant. Manifestations: Urethritis due to gonorrhea with symptoms of pus draining from the urethra, the amount is green, white or yellow solid, painful urination, may be accompanied by urination. For patients with inflammation of the entire urethra, there will be symptoms of urinary incontinence, painful urination, accompanied by fever and fatigue; Complications: Epididymitis, usually unilateral with swelling, heat, redness, pain with fever. Bilateral epididymitis can cause infertility. In addition, patients are also at risk of prostatitis, inflammation of the seminal vesicles and vas deferens.
3.3 The development of gonorrhea in women
Development of the disease: Under normal physiological conditions, the female urethra is relatively short compared to that of men, only about 3cm long, there are many glands around the urethra suitable for gonococcal bacteria to hide. After gonococcal bacteria enter the body through the urethra, they cause local inflammation of the urinary tract mucosa, leading to polymorphonuclear leukocytes to phagocytize, become necrotic tissue during inflammation, and exit. According to the urine, white or yellow color should be called purulent urine. Most women with gonorrhea have no obvious symptoms, even more than 50% of cases have no symptoms, so many patients do not know they have gonorrhea, easily infecting others. Others have fairly mild symptoms, easily mistaken for a vaginal or bladder infection. Manifestations: Cervicitis and urethritis caused by gonorrhea causing painful urination, vaginal bleeding between menstrual cycles, pus discharge from the urethra or from the cervix, which is green or yellow, thick, and has a bad odor. . The patient also has pain during intercourse and lower abdominal pain, on examination, the cervix is red, edematous, bleeding to the touch, pus discharge from the cervical canal, the urethra may be red, purulent or cloudy. . Complications: Causes inflammation of Skène's gland, Bartholin's gland, ovary inflammation, salpingitis and pelvic inflammatory disease, can cause ectopic pregnancy, infertility, proctitis, anus...
3.4 The development of gonorrhea in children
Because gonorrhea is a disease acquired mainly through unprotected sex, it rarely affects children. However, babies born to mothers with gonorrhea can develop purulent conjunctivitis (ophthalmia neonatorum), which is an infection of the membranes lining the surface of the eyes and eyelids. After 2-21 days of birth, the baby's eyes will be swollen, red and have yellow pus. If left untreated or ineffective, the child is at risk of permanent blindness.
When experiencing abnormal symptoms in the genital tract such as discharge, pain when urinating, sore throat, ... the patient should go to the doctor immediately because these are warning symptoms of gonorrhea and many other diseases. other dangers. After an accurate diagnosis, the patient will be prescribed the right treatment according to the appropriate regimen. In particular, once confirmed to have gonorrhea, the infected person should abstain from sexual intercourse until the disease is completely treated to reduce the risk of spreading the infection to others.
Vinmec International General Hospital offers a Package of Examination and Screening for social diseases to help customers detect diseases early and have effective treatment and prevent dangerous complications. The screening package for social diseases at Vinmec is for all ages, both men and women.
Please dial HOTLINE for more information or register for an appointment HERE. Download MyVinmec app to make appointments faster and to manage your bookings easily.
