A Simple Guide to Gonorrhea

A Simple Guide to Gonorrhea
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What is Gonorrhea?
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Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted disease caused by the gram negative bacteria Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

How is gonorrhea spread?
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Gonorrhea is a very common infectious disease, a bacterium that can grow and multiply easily in the warm, moist areas of the reproductive tract, including the cervix, uterus and fallopian tubes in women, and in the urethra in women and men.
The bacterium can also grow in the mouth, throat, eyes, and anus.

Gonorrhea is spread by infected people through contact with the penis, vagina, mouth, or anus.
There is no life long immunity after tratment with Gonorrhea.
A person who has been treated for gonorrhea may get infected again if there is sexual contact with a person infected with gonorrhea.
Gonorrhea can also be spread from mother to baby during delivery.

Who is at risk for gonorrhea?
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Any sexually active person can be infected with gonorrhea if their partner has the disease.

What are the symptoms of gonorrhea?
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A high percentage of men with gonorrhea do not have any symptoms at all.
Some men have some symptoms that appear two to five days after infection.
Symptoms include
1.a burning sensation when urinating, or a white, yellow, or green discharge from the penis.

2. painful or swollen testicles.

In women the symptoms of gonorrhea are often mild.
Most women who are infected have no symptoms.
The initial symptoms in women include
1.a painful or burning sensation when urinating,

2.increased vaginal discharge,

3.vaginal bleeding between periods.

4.lower abdominal pain due to salpingitis(infected fallopian tubes)

Women with gonorrhea are at risk of developing serious complications from the infection.

Symptoms of rectal infection in both men and women may include discharge, anal itching, soreness, bleeding, or painful bowel movements.
Most of the time rectal infection do not cause symptoms.

Infections in the throat may cause a sore throat.
Usually there are no symptoms.

How does gonorrhea affect a pregnant woman and her baby?
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A pregnant woman with gonorrhea may give the infection to her baby as the baby passes through the birth canal during delivery.
This can cause blindness, joint infection, or a life-threatening blood infection in the baby.
Treatment of gonorrhea should be started as soon as it is detected in pregnant women.

How is gonorrhea diagnosed?
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There are several laboratory tests available to diagnose gonorrhea:

1. a swab may be taken from cervix, urethra, rectum, or throat for testing

2. A direct Gram smear test of a sample from a urethra or a cervix allows the doctor in the clinic to see the gonorrhea bacterium under a microscope.

3. blood test can also detect the presence of gonorrhea in the blood stream

What is the treatment for gonorrhea?
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There are several antibiotics(penicillin, tetracyclines, spectinomycin) which can successfully cure gonorrhea in adolescents and adults.

Drug-resistant strains of gonorrhea are increasing in many areas of the world and successful treatment of gonorrhea is becoming more difficult.

Sometimes people with gonorrhea also have chlamydia.
Antibiotics for both infections are usually given together.

Persons with gonorrhea should be tested for other STDs.

It is advisable to take all of the medication prescribed to cure gonorrhea.
People who have had gonorrhea and have been treated can get the disease a second time if they have sexual contact with persons infected with gonorrhea.

What are the complications of gonorrhea?
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Untreated gonorrhea can cause serious and permanent complications in both women and men.
In women, gonorrhea is a common cause of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID).
Women with PID may not have symptoms.
Symptoms when present can be very severe and can include abdominal pain and fever.
PID can cause internal abscesses in the pelvis which can give rise to long-lasting, chronic pelvic pain.
PID can damage the fallopian tubes enough to cause infertility and the risk of ectopic pregnancy.
Ectopic pregnancy is a life-threatening condition in which a fertilized egg grows outside the uterus, usually in a fallopian tube, sometimes in the abdomen.

In men gonorrhea can cause epididymitis, a painful infection of the testicles that can lead to infertility if left untreated.
Prostatits(infection of prostate), seminal vesiculitis and chronic urethral infection may be associated with fever and lead to urethral strictures causing difficulty in passing urine.

People with gonorrhea are more likely to contract HIV the virus that causes AIDS.

Gonorrhea can spread to the blood, joints or eyes(uveitis).
Blood infection or septicemia can be life threatening.

How can gonorrhea be prevented?
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The best way to avoid transmission of sexually transmitted diseases is to abstain from sexual intercourse.
He or she should be in a long-term mutually monogamous relationship with a partner who has been tested and is known to be uninfected.

Latex condoms, when used consistently and correctly, can reduce the risk of transmission of gonorrhea.

Any genital symptoms such as discharge or burning sensation during urination or unusual sore or rash should be a signal to stop having sex.
A person who has been diagnosed and treated for gonorrhea should notify all recent sex partners so they can also be treated.
In this way there is less risk that the sexual partners will develop serious complications from gonorrhea.
It will also reduce the person's risk of becoming re-infected.
The person and all of his or her sex partners must avoid sex until they have completed their treatment for gonorrhea.

A Simple Guide to Ankylosing Spondylosis

A Simple Guide to Ankylosing Spondylosis

What is

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Anklyosing

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Spondylosis?

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Ankylosing Spondylosis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the joints of the spine. manifested by fusion(ankylosing) and inflammation(spondylosis) of some or all of the joints and bones of the spine.

It is a painful progressive disease affecting mainly the spine. It can also affect other joints, tendons,ligaments, also other areas such as eyes,lungs,bowels and heart.

Who get Ankylosing Spondylosis?
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Every one can get Ankylosing Spondylosis.The age of onset is usually in the late teens or early 20's.

It is also more common in men than women about 5:1.
In men the spine and pelvis are most affected.
In women the pelvis,hips,knees,wrists and ankles are more common.

How does Ankylosing Spondylosis occur?
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Inflammation occurs at the attachment of the ligaments and tendons to the bone.
Erosion of the bones occur at the site.

When the inflammation subside, new bone develop and replaces the elastic tissues of the ligaments or tendons.

Fusion of bones occur leading to restriction of movement. This usually starts in the vertebra of the spine followed by the pelvis, then upwards to the chest wall and neck.


What are the Symptoms?
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The onset is usually gradual with occasional back pain over weeks or months.
Early morning stiffness and pain occurs,then wears off during the day.

It gradually becomes worse ,affecting the lower back first then upwards to to the neck, resulting in stiffening of the whole back.

Chest expansion can become limited because of the the stiffness of the bones.
Sometimes peripheral joints such as shoulders and hips are affected.

Weight loss and fatigue may occur in the early stages.

The blood Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate is raised in most cases.
The blood Rheumatoid Arthritis factor is not present.

Does Ankylosing Spondylosis occur in other organs?
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It can sometimes affect the eyes, heart and lungs.
These effects are not life-threatening and they can be treated with relative ease.

Inflammation of the iris of the eye(Uveitis) occur in 5% of cases with blurring of vision. Occasionally it may affect the heart causing the aortic valve to leak.

The rib joints and muscles are also affected resulting tightness of the chest making breathing painful.

How is Ankylosing Spondylosis diagnosed?
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Classical features of symptoms with stiffening of spine and back pain usually suggest the diagnosis.
Confirmation is usually by an x-ray of the spine and pelvis.

How to treat Ankylosing Spondylosis?
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Not every patient suffer the same degree of symptoms. Some may be very mild requiring only exercises or mild pain killers.

Others may be more severe requiring strong NSAIDSor anti-rheumatoid drugs such as sulphasalazine .

ANTI-TNF drugs( a new therapy) has also been found to help improve the Rheumatoid Arthritis patients and also Ankylosing Spondylosing patients.

What is the prognosis of Ankylosing Spondylosis?
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Symptoms comes and go.

With exercise and NSAIDSpain is reduced considerably and flexibility of the spine is improved especially with regular exercise and proper posture.

Ankylosing Spondylosis is never life threatening and can be controlled but not cured.