Gonorrhoea in Canada
Does gonorrhoea go other places in the body? You bet. Keith was a young bartender who came into Emergency once where Michele was working, complaining of a hugely swollen and hot knee and generally not feeling well. All of the causes of an acute arthritis were thought of and tested for but the payoff was the fluid drawn off Keith’s knee. When it was stained in the lab and looked at under the microscope, there were all those cute little red bacteria, two by two, in the white cells. This wasn’t too surprising — gonococcal arthritis is the commonest manifestation of gonorrhoea outside the sexual organs. Less commonly, and much more seriously, gonococcal meningitis or pericarditis or hepatitis can occur, or a bloodborne septicemia (blood poisoning). These are very serious illnesses, but are fortunately much less common than garden variety gonorrhoea.
More common, and often overlooked, are infections in the mouth or anus. These are also nice moist mucous membranes and the little gonococci love warm, moist environments. In fact, they can’t live in environments that aren’t warm and moist — hence, no toilet seats.
Some rash young men may find that they have a rash, as well as the other symptoms we’ve mentioned. In fact, Keith had a rash and this helped alert Michele to tap his knee and stain the fluid to look for Neisseria gonorrhea — the proper name for this bacterium.
Since 1937, when sulfonamides were first introduced, we have had effective treatment for gonorrhoea. Before that, many things were tried in centuries past and some seemed to have low-level efficacy, while others were harmless at best and dangerous at worst. Washing with gin was one measure thought to prevent infection and may have been mildly effective. In the 1950s, we found that penicillin was incredibly successful in treating gonorrhoea, with one test subject being infected and cured three times in one week. (We hope he had the fun as well as the infection.) However, in the 1960s and 1970s, there were world pandemics of gonorrhoea and resistance to penicillin and sulfonamides resulted. Penicillin is still the drug of choice for non-resistant gonorrhoea, but other antibiotics may need to be used.
It is very important that any discharge from the penis be investigated; this usually involves a swab being taken for staining and culture, but there is also a simple urine test available now. In most Western countries, gonorrhoea is a reportable illness by law, so any positive test results are automatically sent to your local Department of Health. A public health worker will contact you to find out who may have infected you and to whom you may have passed this little goodie. No one will be penalised, but attempts will be made to ensure that everyone receives treatment. Also, sexually transmitted diseases are good bed fellows with one another, so testing for syphilis, chlamydia and HIV is a good idea. Transmission of gonorrhoea following a single sex act is 50 per cent male to female, and 20 per cent female to male – viagra online pharmacy.
Condoms — male or female — can prevent the spread of gonorrhoea. It is also necessary for us to overcome shyness about these issues and talk frankly with our partners…and of course, it helps to know your partner for a while, although that is not always adequate insurance, as Emma’s story demonstrates.