Gonorrhea Symptoms
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If you have come across this hub it is most likely because you are showing symptoms of what you think may be gonorrhea. If that is case then don't panic as gonorrhea is very easy to treat, is curable and is easily detectable through a std urine test. What most people do not realize though and probably won't read this until it's too late is that for many people gonorrhea symptoms are virtually non-existent, in those that are indeed infected. You read that correctly, in fact for women especially, it is more common to not have any symptoms at all than to show symptoms. You could very well have gonorrhea right now and not even know it. You could have had gonorrhea for years and not realize it, and that puts you in jeopardy of serious health consequences.
If you're going to contract an STD, gonorrhea might as well be the one. I say this because of how minimal the symptoms are and how easy it is to test and treat. But there are risks with not diagnosing and treating gonorrhea within a reasonable time frame that can lead to serious health issues. Infertility is something that can be a result of not treating gonorrhea timely, in both men and women. Even more serious is the risk of women developing pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) which can lead to ectopic pregnancies and damage to the reproductive system. Its estimated that are around 750,000 new case of PID each year, most of which are a result of gonorrhea. So you see while this is STD is considered to be one of the least severe diseases it caught and treated, it can certainly cause havoc in one's life.
Gonorrhea symptoms in women include abnormal vaginal discharge and bleeding as well as painful or a burning feeling during urinating. Now you'll probably notice that these symptoms are shared by many conditions relating to feminine hygiene which is a big reason that gonorrhea goes unnoticed or misdiagnosed by both the public and physicians. Because symptoms only last a week or two, many women think they have a bladder or yeast infection and think they are healed when symptoms subside. This is a very dangerous mistake that will eventually lead to more serious problems like PID. The only way to truly know you are gonorrhea free is to get tested, a simple urine test is all that is needed and should be performed annually, especially among the young sexually active population.
Gonorrhea symptoms in men are very similar to those of women. Discharge from the penis, painful urination and aching testicles are all signs of gonorrhea. The differences between men and women with regards to this infection is that men can obviously not develop PID. Men however are at risk for an ailment called epididymitis which is an inflammation of the tube that connects the testes to the vas deferens. This occurs when the gonorrhea infection spreads to this area and this can certainly lead to a man becoming infertile.
The important take away from this article is help people realize that waiting until you are symptomatic before getting std testing is not a healthy choice. Gonorrhea isn't the only STD that doesn't always produce symptoms. Getting annual std testing is easy, anonymous and cheap with new online testing services. Do yourself a favor and find out for sure whether or you're infected.
