Gonorrhea Term - Report Example

INTRODUCTION Gonorrhea term was originated with Galen, who described the condition about A.D. 160 and is also termed as the “drip” or “clap” is the most common and highly contagious STD which is spread through a small single-celled bacterium called Neisseria gonorrhoeae, which grows in warm, moist areas of the body like cervix, urethra, throat or rectum (Christopher Michaud, 2006). It spreads easily from one person to another through sexual contact as the delicate tissues of genitals, rectum and throat are vulnerable to infection. Antibiotics can help in treating the bacteria by halting the progression of the disease thus avoiding any long term effects. GONORRHEA Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted disease spread by un-protective vaginal, oral or anal sexual activity or passing over from mother to newly born during delivery. It produces no symptoms in women which is likely to go untreated thus causing serious consequences. A person performing fellatio on an infected person tends to develop pharyngeal gonorrhea producing a throat infection (Jeffrey S. Nevid, Spencer A.Rathus & Hannah R. Rubenstein, 1998). There are chances of acquiring gonorrhea to eyes if the hands that come in contact with infected genitals contact eyes unknowing causing gonococcal conjunctivitis, an inflammation of membranes of lining of eyelids, which when untreated can lead to blindness. Some newly born babies acquire gonorrhea of eye during process of delivery by infected mother; however antibiotic drops into eyes of all newly born babies would be helpful to prevent the bacterial infection. Sometimes the gonococcus spreads to the blood stream leading to a disease known as disseminated gonococcal infection that can lead to arthritis, heart valve disorders, skin lesions and meningitis based on the parts of body that is infected, however women are slightly more prone to this kind of infection than men (Karen J.Carlson, Stephanie A. Eisenstat, Terra Diane Ziporyn, 2004, p. 252). Gonorrhea primarily occurs in the young and poor especially women under the age of 25 or women dwelling in low income city. It is also observed to occur in sexually active adolescents or persons with more than one sex partner or persons diagnosed with any STD (Walter Szykitka, 2004, p. 192). Sometimes the spread of disease through sexual contact with infected person could occur even if person infected does not show any symptoms of the disease. SIGNS & SYMPTOMS OF GONORRHEA The symptoms of gonorrhea usually appear in 2 – 5 days after the bacterial infection while most men tend to show signs of symptoms in a month. Some men and women do not show any signs of gonorrhea and remain asymptomatic but capable to spread disease through sexual contact. However the symptoms may vary from person to person depending on the area of infection (Sana Loue, Martha Sajatovic, Keith B. Armitage, 2001, p. 283). In women the common symptom in the initial stage of infection of cervix is frequent painful urination, yellow or green color vaginal discharge with an unpleasant odor, lower back pain, fever and spotting between the menstrual periods (Walter Szykitka, 2004). The bacteria can remain in silent and latent stage in the cervix proliferating later and infecting the upper reproductive tract (Ethel Sloane, 2001, p. 270). The bacteria can travel from the cervix to fallopian tubes causing Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) leading to sterility and increasing chances of having ectopic pregnancy. In men symptoms like burning and painful frequent urinating, with yellow, green or white discharge from the penis along with red or swollen urethra and swollen testicles ultimately leading to infertility if left untreated (Dr. Williams, 2001, < http://www.epigee.org/health/gonorrhea_symptoms.html>). The bacteria can also affect throat causing sore throat and anus including symptoms like itching, bowel movements and bloody stool. DIAGNOSIS OF GONORRHEA Diagnosis for gonorrhea causing bacteria can be done by swabbing the sample of cells from the area of infection. Once the swab is collected it is diagnosed in laboratory by different techniques, which include staining the sample directly to detect the bacterium. The sample can be cultured in the laboratory or genetic identification tests can be done on the sample provided. Some of the tests do not provide accurate results even if the person is infected due to sampling errors hence use of DNA probes or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) are used to detect the genes of the bacteria (MedicineNet, 1996, < http://www.medicinenet.com/gonorrhea_in_women/page3.htm#3diagnosis>). Staining test is done by placing the sample on a slide and staining it with dye directly which is later observed under a microscope by a health care official. However the culture test involves placing the sample in a culture plate and incubating it for 2 days allowing the growth of bacteria. There are certain pros and cons of these tests as culture of cervical and throat samples provide most accurate results while strain test does not provide apt results for infected women (Vincent Iannelli M.D, 2004, < http://pediatrics.about.com/od/stds/a/04_gonorrhea.htm>). TREATMENT OF GONORRHEA The main criteria of treating gonorrhea would primarily be to prevent infection in the person infected and second to detect all the persons who contacted the infected person sexually and prevent the infection. Penicillin, ampicillin and few other antibiotics in oral or in form of injection was prescribed for every infected person in the past but later the bacteria started to gain resistance to antibiotics causing difficulty in treating gonorrhea. Some of the antibiotics currently used are Cefixime, single dose of 250 mg Ceftriaxone intramuscularly (Ethel Sloane, 2001, p. 272), Quinolone, Ciprofloxacin, Ofloxacin, Tetracycline. Cefixime and Spectinomycin were the only oral medications which are unavailable in United States as a result there is no oral medication for gonorrhea in USA. However pregnant women and person younger than 18 year old should not take these antibiotics (Vincent Iannelli M.D 2004). The medicine prescribed for uncomplicated infections is Azithromycin also known as Zithromax. PREVENTION OF GONORRHEA Avoiding sexual intercourse is the only way to prevent gonorrhea. It is best to avoid sexual contact with multiple partners that in turn is helpful to avoid the infection, however talking about the disease with the partner can also help in prevention of disease. Using a condom properly every time you are involved in sex would reduce the risk of getting infected. Washing your hands regularly can reduce the spread of the bacteria to eyes. Tests conducted regularly to detect STD’s should not be avoided, it is mostly observed that half of the women infected with gonorrhea are infected with Chlamydia that results in sterility and hence it is apt to test for all the STD’s. Sometimes there are no symptoms visible hence it is advisable to have a medical check-up if you or the partner had sexual contact with other person rather than to wait for symptoms appear (Jeffrey D. Klausner, Edward W. Hook, 2007, p. 100). COMPLICATIONS Gonorrhea has to be treated immediately to prevent the infertility, if delayed there are chances of complications in both women and men due to the spread of bacteria from reproductive tract to blood stream, joints or heart valves. Certain complications pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) that infects the reproductive tract, vulvovaginitis, kidney failure, urinary tract infection, periurethral abscess, joint and throat infections, disseminated infection and Sterility can occur in women and men, while some are common in both the gender (Frederick Sparling, 1998). References 1) Christopher Michaud 2006, “Gonorrhea”, The Rosen Publishing Group, viewed 31 July 2009, 2) Dr. Williams, 2001. Epigee Health and Fitness [Online] Available at: http://www.epigee.org/health/gonorrhea_symptoms.html. [Accessed on 1 August 2009] 3) Emil A. Tanagho, Jack W. McAninch 2007, “Smith’s general urology”, McGraw-Hill Professional viewed 1 August 2009, 4) Ethel Sloane 2001, "Biology of Women", Cengage Learning viewed 31 July 2009, 5) Frederick Sparling 1998, “Sexually transmitted diseases”, Humana Press, viewed 1 August 2009, < http://books.google.com/books?id=8jdt55_jROwC> 6) Jeffrey S. Nevid, Spencer A. Rathus, Hannah R. Rubenstein 1998, "Health in the new millennium", Macmillan, viewed 31 July 2009, 7) Jeffrey D. Klausner, Edward W. Hook 2007, “Current diagnosis & treatment of sexually transmitted diseases”, McGraw-Hill Professional viewed 1 August 2009, 8) Karen J. Carlson, Stephanie A. Eisenstat, Terra Diane Ziporyn 2004, "The new Harvard guide to womens health", Harvard University Press viewed 31 July 2009, 9) Medicine Net. Inc 1996. MedicineNet.com [Online] Available at: http://www.medicinenet.com/gonorrhea_in_women/page3.htm#3diagnosis [Accessed on 1 August 2009] 10) Vincent Iannelli, M.D. 2004, About.com:Pediatrics Available at: http://pediatrics.about.com/od/stds/a/04_gonorrhea.htm [Accessed on 1 August 2009] 11) Walter Szykitka 2004, "The Big Book of Self-Reliant Living", Globe Pequot viewed 31 July 2009, Read More