PLEASE NOTE! All articles here in this site are informative for common knowledge. Please study different sources for information and visit a local doctor.

GONORRHEA AND THE COMBO OF THREES

Trust a bad thing to happen in threes, like STD’s. What’s worse than having Gonorrhea? It’s having Gonorrhea and Chlamydia at the same time. These are the top two sexually-transmitted infections according to the CDC. Not uncommon as they’re easy to catch. Good thing they can be easily treated by a course of antibiotics.

Even worse is having those two plus Herpes or HPV (Human Papilloma Virus), a tie on third most common. When you get Herpes, you get a nasty rash. If you catch the HPV, you get a bundle of warts.

Gonorrhea is caused by the bacteria, neisseria gonorrhoea. The symptoms show 2-7 days after infection. It presents differently in men and women. Men get a yellowish discharge, burning on urination, blood in the urine and some swelling in the head of the penis.

The women are generally asymptomatic, meaning without symptoms. You will not know it until the infection has gone up your reproductive tract. It can infect your cervix, uterus, tubes and/or ovaries.

When this happens it becomes worse for women to have Gonorrhea. The consequences of it spreading up include infertility and ectopic pregnancy. The men, because they see signs of the disease more quickly and get the treatment, stop it in its tracks more often. If left untreated, gonorrhea in men can lead to sterility too.

And although it is primarily a genito-urinary disease, some of its symptoms can look unrelated. Some of the rarer symptoms include Proctitis (inflammation of the rectum) and Phayngitis (sore throat). Yes, the symptoms will also tell where the action happened and where the bacteria’s incubating.

Chlamydia, although a lot like Gonorrhea, is caused by a different bacteria, Chlamydia trachomatis. Generally, this is more ‘silent.’ Those who are infected do not get symptoms for weeks (1-3 weeks).

Infected men and women get a burning sensation during urination and abnormal discharge. The tip of the penis can also start itching. For women, sex can become painful and there might be bleeding between periods.

Chlamydia can also manifest as Arthritis (yes, swelling of the joints) along with skin lesions and inflammation in the eye/urethra. This is called Reiter’s Syndrome.

If you catch these two, get treated quick – embarrassment should be the least of your problems. If you happen to get it while pregnant, the doctor will still give you antibiotics, the safer ones, to get rid of the infection. If it went undiagnosed, it could rupture your bag prematurely and make you go into labor. If you deliver vaginally, your baby could get Conjunctivitis (eye infection) and Pneumonia (lung infection).

Herpes and HPV are caused by viruses that are treated with antivirals. The warts go away on their own though (2-3 years) and are generally not bothered with since they don’t pose any major health risks. There are just major aesthetic issues.