Gonorrhea is caused by the bacteria Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Anyone who has any type of sex can catch gonorrhea. The infection can be spread by contact with the mouth, vagina, penis, or anus.
The bacteria grow in warm, moist areas of the body, including the tube that carries urine out of the body (urethra). In women, the bacteria may be found in the reproductive tract (which includes the fallopian tubes, uterus, and cervix). The bacteria can even grow in the eyes.
Symptoms of gonorrhea usually appear 2 - 5 days after infection, however, in men, symptoms may take up to a month to appear. Some people do not have symptoms. They may be completely unaware that they have caught the infection, and therefore do not seek treatment. This increases the risk of complications and the chances of passing the infection on to another person.
Symptoms in men include:
-Burning and pain while urinating
- -Increased urinary frequency or urgency
- -Discharge from the penis (white, yellow, or green in color)
- -Red or swollen opening of penis (urethra)
- -Tender or swollen testicles
- -Sore throat (gonococcal pharyngitis)
- Symptoms in women can be very mild or nonspecific, and may be mistaken for another type of infection. They include:
- -Vaginal discharge
-Burning and pain while urinating - -Increased urination
- -Sore throat
- -Painful sexual intercourse
- -Severe pain in lower abdomen (if the infection spreads to the fallopian tubes and stomach area)
- -Fever (if the infection spreads to the fallopian tubes and stomach area)
- -If the infection spreads to the bloodstream, fever, rash, and arthritis-like symptoms may occur.
Gonorrhea can be quickly identified by staining a sample of tissue or discharge and then looking at it under a microscope. This is called a gram stain. Although this method is fast, it is not the most certain.
Gram stain tests used to diagnose gonorrhea include:
-Cervical gram stain in women
- -Gram stain of urethral discharge in men
- -Joint fluid gram stain
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0004526/
-Burning and pain while urinating