Gonorrhea In Men - The First Signs, Symptoms And Treatment

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-07 17:49

Gonorrhea in men: symptoms and treatment

Gonorrhea is a contagious sexually transmitted disease. The causative agent of the infection is gonococcus. This microorganism is able to live and multiply in the mucous membranes of the human genitourinary system. Gonorrhea is a serious medical condition that requires treatment. Otherwise, it can lead to the development of prostatitis and male infertility.

Content:

• Symptoms of gonorrhea in men
• How is infection in men?
• How is gonorrhea not spread?
• Diagnosis of gonorrhea in men
• Treatment of gonorrhea in men
• Complications of gonorrhea
• The problem of gonococcal resistance
• Prevention of gonorrhea after unprotected intercourse

Symptoms of gonorrhea in men

The symptoms of gonorrhea are not long in coming. They appear within the first 7 days after the infection has occurred. Sometimes this period can be increased to 3 weeks. Most often, a similar situation is observed in those men who, after infection, took antibiotics for another disease. Treatment is to control the symptoms of gonorrhea and delay the onset of symptoms of inflammation for longer.

Gonorrhea in men can be acute or chronic. Acute gonorrhea is spoken of when the disease lasts no more than 2 months after infection. If during this period a person did not receive treatment, then gonorrhea becomes chronic.

Symptoms of infection in men are associated with the structural features of their genitals.

The development of gonorrhea will be indicated by such unusual manifestations as:

• A burning sensation in the urethra, itching of the penis. This discomfort is exacerbated during urination.
• When you press on the glans penis, pus comes out of it.
• In the future, pus will drain from the urethra constantly, even without prior pressure.
• Gonorrhea can spread through the organs of the genitourinary system. When bacteria enter the back of the urethra, a man has symptoms similar to cystitis. Urination becomes more frequent and painful.

After the disease becomes chronic, it will not stop progressing. In the future, the prostate gland and testicles will be involved in the pathological process. This is accompanied by increased urination. During an erection, a man will experience pain. If gonorrhea has a running course, then the pain will be concentrated not only in the prostate, but also in the rectum. They become especially strong during the act of defecation.

If gonococci affect the testes, then their tissues swell greatly. The inguinal lymph nodes become inflamed. Intimacy is painful for a man. Mucus with blood will appear from the urethra.

The spread of infection affects the whole body as a whole. The patient's state of health worsens, chills appear, body temperature rises, headache.

Sometimes gonorrhea has a latent course. She will not make herself felt for a long time. At the same time, the man does not go to the doctor and does not receive treatment. Symptoms of the disease will appear only when complications begin to develop. Coping with such an infection will be difficult.

How is infection in men?

You can become infected with gonorrhea from another person, since it is he who is the source of the spread of the infection. The disease is sexually transmitted. During intimacy, gonococci enter the mucous membranes of the genitals, penetrate their cells and cause inflammation.

The incubation period lasts about two weeks. Although the first symptoms can manifest within 2 days after the infection occurred, that is, after intercourse. The man experiences discomfort in the area of the urethra, itching pursues him. Pus begins to come out of the opening of the urethra.

Although the transmission and treatment methods for gonorrhea are well known to doctors, the condition is of great concern to them. The fact is that in 2011 in the UK, gonorrhea came to the fore among other sexually transmitted infections. Moreover, the number of people with an incurable form of the disease was 20,000. This means that gonococci have developed resistance to antibiotics, which were previously destructive for them. This state of affairs is extremely alarming. Therefore, the country's authorities decided to develop and introduce a program that will be aimed at combating gonorrhea.

Statistics show that about 30% of infected men are homosexuals. At the same time, the resistance of gonococci to antibiotic treatment is a serious problem. It concerns not only Great Britain, but the whole world as a whole.

How is gonorrhea not spread?

There are many myths about gonorrhea that were invented by unfaithful husbands who infected their wives:

• Infection happened while using a washcloth when visiting a bath or sauna. Thus, the infection is not transmitted. Infection occurs through sexual contact. The nature of the intercourse does not matter.
• The infection occurred while visiting a public toilet. This route of transmission is not implemented in practice. There are several scientific descriptions of the transmission of the disease in the household, but their reliability is questionable. It is impossible to get infected in a public toilet. In addition to the sexual transmission of gonorrhea, there is a likelihood of infection of the child when passing through the birth canal of a sick mother.
• The infection occurred after the bite of a stray dog. Thus, the disease is not transmitted. Dogs can be infected with gonorrhea, but they have a special microbe that can only parasitize in the animal's body.
• The infection occurred while donating blood at the hospital. It's impossible. All manipulations with blood in a hospital are carried out in compliance with strict rules for disinfection. In addition, gonococci do not survive well at temperatures that differ from that of the human body. They die when it drops to +18 ° C and when it rises to +55 ° C.
• The infection happened while drinking drinks from someone else's mug. In fact, gonorrhea is not transmitted through dishes.
• The infection took place in the subway. Gonococci are able to maintain their existence only in a humid environment. Therefore, you cannot get infected in this way.
• The infection came from the man's past sexual partner, who he had before his current relationship. This is the only excuse that can explain the infection, but only on the condition that the last sexual intercourse happened recently. The first symptoms of the disease appear after 7-14 days, they cannot be ignored. Chronic inflammation can last more than 2 months, but with any provoking factors, for example, if the rules of personal hygiene are not followed, it worsens. A man has purulent discharge from the genitals, pain and discomfort during urination.

Diagnosis of gonorrhea in men

To make a diagnosis, the doctor collects mucus from the urethra. In the future, she is sent for bacteriological examination. Also, the secret can be taken from the anus.

The immunofluorescence method allows detecting the disease by blood. It contains antibodies that the body produces to fight gonococci.

The method of immunological sensitization is no less common. A man is injected under the dermis with a drug that contains a gonococcal allergen. If the patient is infected, then within a few hours he will develop a hypersensitivity reaction. It manifests itself in local redness of the skin. If the spot diameter is 10 mm or less, the reaction is considered weakly positive. In this case, additional examination will be required. When the papule size reaches 11-20 mm, they speak of a positive result. If the area of redness exceeds 20 mm, then the reaction is considered reliably positive.

Treatment of gonorrhea in men

Treatment of gonorrhea is reduced to the destruction of the pathogen. For this, antibacterial drugs are used. Tetracyclines, cephalosporins, or penicillins can be used. Taking these drugs allows you to destroy the pathogenic flora in the body.

Sometimes it is not possible to cope with the disease on an outpatient basis. There are several indications for hospitalization, including:

• Gonorrhea has a complicated course. The patient develops epididymitis, prostatitis, or conjunctivitis.
• Gonococci spread throughout the body, provoking sepsis.
• The disease recurs after the therapy.
• The patient does not follow the doctor's recommendations and refuses therapy.

Sexual intercourse is prohibited during therapy. You should not play sports or hard work. Cycling is contraindicated, hypothermia should not be allowed. It's good if a man can give up bad habits.

In addition to taking antibiotics, the patient is prescribed drugs to increase immunity, vitamins, NSAIDs, hepatoprotectors. All this will increase the body's defenses and support its internal systems in the fight against infection.

Two or three antibiotics are prescribed for patients with generalized gonorrhea. The dose is determined by the doctor.

Gonorrhea is a contagious disease. Even after a single intimacy with an infected partner, the probability of its development is equal to 70%. Therefore, if a man develops symptoms of infection, and recently had unprotected intercourse, you should immediately consult a doctor. The earlier therapy is started, the higher the likelihood that it will be possible to cope with the disease in the shortest possible time and without consequences for the body. Both sex partners should receive treatment.

Complications of gonorrhea

Complications of gonorrhea most often develop in patients with a chronic form of the disease, since they do not receive therapy for a long time. Gonococci spread not only to the organs of the genitourinary system, but throughout the body. This leads to massive inflammation.

Secondary infections are a complication of gonorrhea and aggravate the course of the underlying disease. Chlamydia, ureaplasmosis, candidiasis, etc. are often diagnosed in men. These infections have their own manifestations, which complicates the diagnosis of gonorrhea.

The most common complications of gonorrhea in men are prostatitis and orchiepididymitis. In the latter case, the testicle and its epididymis become inflamed.

With purulent epididymitis, a man's body temperature rises, the scrotum becomes red, swells. Groin pain worse with movement. Sperm stops being produced in normal volumes. If a man develops a bilateral lesion, then he becomes infertile.

Prostatitis is a formidable complication. It does not manifest itself with vivid symptoms, but it reacts poorly to ongoing therapy. At the same time, prostatitis occupies a leading position among the causes that lead to male infertility. In addition, inflammation of the chronic course of the prostate negatively affects the state of the urethra, the lumen of which is significantly narrowed.

Gonorrheal conjunctivitis is not very common. However, this type of disease can cause necrosis of the eye tissue and lead to complete blindness.

The spread of gonococci throughout the body leads to inflammation of the organ in which they settle. Especially dangerous is brain damage with the development of meningitis and heart with the development of myocarditis. If the liver suffers, then the man will be diagnosed with hepatitis. Sometimes gonococci affect the skin.

To cope with the complications of the disease, the patient is prescribed antibiotics. It may be necessary to take several drugs from different groups at once. The sooner the disease is detected, the better the prognosis.

The problem of gonococcal resistance

Back in 2012, the World Health Organization sounded the alarm that gonococci had begun to show increased resistance to antibiotics, which had previously been successfully used to eradicate them. This led scientists to look for new treatment regimens.

Gonococci have learned to survive when treated with many antimicrobial agents. However, they have not yet developed cephalosporin resistance. Although there are reports from different countries (Japan, Europe, Australia) that gonococci do not always respond even to treatment with cephalosporins.

In 80% of cases, gonococci tolerate tetracyclines treatment and remain active. This was stated by Sally Davis, who is the main health expert in the UK.

In America, they propose to treat gonorrhea according to 2 new schemes. On this occasion, studies were conducted in which more than 400 people aged 16 to 60 took part. All of them had a complicated infection. The subjects were divided into 2 groups, which received different treatments. The most common side effects of therapy were nausea, loose stools, and abdominal pain. The results of the study were presented at the 20th conference of the International Society for STD Research, which was held in Vienna.

They look like this:

• The use of Azithromycin (oral administration) in combination with Gentamicin injections made it possible to achieve a recovery in 100% of cases. Azithromycin can be represented by such drugs as Sumamed, Ecomed, Azicid, Azitrox, Hemomycin, Za-factor.
• Oral administration of Azithromycin in combination with Hemifloxacin made it possible to achieve a positive result in 99.5% of patients.
• Both schemes allowed to get rid of gonococcal lesions of the oropharynx and intestines. Recovery came in 100% of cases.

Therefore, the American Center for STD Control and Prevention suggests treating patients with gonorrhea with oral administration of Azithromycin or Doxycycline in combination with Ceftriaxone injections. These schemes are implemented in the case when patients develop an allergy to cephalosporins, or gonococci do not respond to treatment with antibiotics of this group.

Prevention of gonorrhea after unprotected intercourse

Preventive measures include compliance with hygiene rules. It is necessary to use only personal accessories for the care of the genitals, after using the toilet, you should wash your hands.

To prevent infection, you need to use condoms during intercourse. If unprotected contact occurs, then the man needs to empty his bladder immediately after intimacy. Then he should rinse the urethra with Miramistin, or a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Miramistin reduces the likelihood of developing gonorrhea by 10 times. The same statement is valid for trichomoniasis, syphilis and other genital infections.

If a man notices signs of gonorrhea in himself, then he should not hesitate to see a doctor. Folk remedies to cope with the disease will not help.

Author of the article: Lebedev Andrey Sergeevich | Urologist

Education: Diploma in the specialty "Andrology" received after completing residency at the Department of Endoscopic Urology of the Russian Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education in the urological center of the Central Clinical Hospital No. 1 of JSC Russian Railways (2007). Postgraduate studies were completed here by 2010.