Gonorrhea is contracted by bacteria. When you have sexual contact with someone who has this bacterium, you become infected. This covers oral, anal, and vaginal intercourse.
Signs of Gonorrhea
Gonorrhea symptoms usually appear between one and ten days after contracting the virus. Some people might not have symptoms until months after contracting the virus. Others, mainly women, may never experience symptoms at all. Knowing the symptoms of this prevalent sexually transmitted disease (STD) will help you recognize and treat it more promptly. The most common symptoms show up in the mucous membranes (the linings of certain openings in your body) involved in these types of intercourse. These include your genital tract, rectum, and throat.
Gonorrhea can also cause problems with other parts of your body, like your joints, or even your eyes.
Males
- It is possible for guys to be symptom-free. When they do, however, they typically consist of:
- A burning sensation after urinating Green,
- White, or yellow discharge coming from your penis’ tip.
- Swelling, painful testicles
more frequent urination than normal
Females
Compared to men, women are more likely than men to not exhibit gonorrhea symptoms. If you experience symptoms at all, they might not be as severe as those of men. You might mistake it for a bladder infection. You could have:
- More than normal vaginal discharge
- Discomfort with urination
- Bleeding vaginally in between cycles
- Pain during sex, bleeding after sex
- Pain in the abdomen or pelvis
Sign in Both Male and Female
Gonorrhea can cause symptoms to appear outside of the vaginal tract. Any of these regions could be exhibiting symptoms for you:
Rectum. You can have soreness or itching, discharge, pain during bowel motions, or even anus bleeding. Even if you haven’t engaged in anal intercourse, a woman may still have an infection in her rectum. When you wipe yourself after using the restroom, the bacteria might get transferred.
Throat. These symptoms can be mild, like a sore throat or swollen lymph nodes.
Joints. If the bacteria that cause gonorrhea infect your joints, it’s called septic arthritis. You’ll notice the affected joints are painful, red, swollen, and warm to the touch. It’ll hurt to move them.
Eyes. If you touch your eyes after touching bodily fluids that are infected with gonorrhea, you could get conjunctivitis (pink eye).
