Sex is Fun until one gets Gonorrhea Part 5

Symptoms

Females

Once a female gets infected, the symptoms are not immediate but gradually appear within 2-10 days. Some individuals, esp. women, generally do not tend to show any symptoms until 2-3 weeks after acquiring the infection. However, there are some females (at least 30%) who may not show any symptoms.

Gonorrhea is the second most common cause of pelvic inflammatory disease that usually leads to infertility. In the majority of cases, it leads to irritation of the cervix, increased urgency to urinate and the need to urinate more frequently. A significant number of women also complain of vaginal itching, burring and a foul smelling vaginal discharge.

Oral sex with an infected partner can result in pharyngitis, and, similarly, anal infection can arise from anal sex or local spread from a vaginal source. PID, especially if recurrent, is a major cause of future infertility and is also associated with infection of the ovary (tuboovarian abscess).

In some cases, the infection is so rampant that it can cause rupture of the fallopian tubes, leading to rapid spread of infection in the pelvis and abdomen and frequently death is the end result. For those females who have had recurrent PID, the chances of developing an ectopic pregnancy and infertility are significantly higher compared to healthy females without PID. The typical symptoms of gonorrhea in a female include:

- Dysuria (painful urination)
- Vaginal/cervical discharge
- Abnormal cervical/vaginal bleeding (spotting)
- Dyspareunia (painful intercourse)
- Cervical pain during examination
- Proctitis (anal gland infection after anal intercourse)
- Pharyngitis (sore throat from oral sex)
- Chronic lower abdominal and pelvic pain
- Lower back pain (radiating pain from the pelvis)