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WHAT IS THE TREATMENT OF GONORRHEA (GONORRHEA)
Turkey Medicals member and hospital department head of Urology Specialized Professor Doctor, tell us more…
Gonorrhea (gonorrhea) is a sexually transmitted disease that occurs in both sexes. Although it is not known for certain how often it is observed that it is a sexually transmitted disease, there is an inability to diagnose and report the disease at the global level, it is estimated that there has been an increase in its incidence in recent years.
Gonorrhea is caused by Neisseria Gonorrhoeae, an intracellular bacterium. In both sexes, it often causes pain when urinating, penile discharge in men and vaginal discharge in women. In both sexes, intimacy is often observed. It can also be seen without causing any complaints in women, while it is rare for it to be seen without symptoms in men.
In untreated cases, common pelvic infection in women can lead to serious problems such as ectopic pregnancy, infertility.
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HOW IS GONORRHEA TREATED?
Treatment of gonorrhea is carried out in the same way in both sexes. Antibiotics are used for treatment. As with all antibiotic treatments, it is very important to use oral medications within the specified time to treat gonorrhea. A single dose of ceftriaxone (needle therapy), a cephalasporin antibiotic, is used together with a single dose of azithromycin or doxycycline, which is also an antibiotic. Although often this one-day treatment protocol may be sufficient, the duration of treatment may be prolonged if there are complications. In the presence of epididymitis in men and widespread pelvic disease in women, 10-day treatment protocols are applied.
After applying the recommended treatment protocol, there is no need to retest immediately at the end of treatment. However, if the patients’ complaints persist, it is necessary to go back to the doctor who started the treatment. Because in such cases, in addition to treatment-resistant gonorrhea, there may also be the presence of another infection that interfer. If there is no other infection, the treatment failure is considered to be due to antibiotic resistance. In these patients, culture should be performed, treatment should be organized by giving antibiotics according to the result.
One of the most important points in the treatment of gonorrhea is that it is also necessary to treat everyone who has recently had sexual intercourse with the patient. Another important point is that patients do not have sexual intercourse while under treatment(at least 1 week). Because while trying to provide treatment, recurrent infections with gonorrhea may occur on the one hand.
People who have been diagnosed with gonorrhea in the last 1-2 weeks or who have had sexual intercourse with suspected people do not need to be tested for the diagnosis. It is recommended that these people start antibiotic therapy empirically immediately.
It is recommended that patients who have had a gonorrhea infection and are receiving treatment be retested after 3 months for gonorrhea to those who are in the at-risk group for re-infection. The groups that are at risk for recurrent infections are; the presence of a new sexual partner after the gonorrhea treatment is completed, the patient is 24 years of age or younger, the presence of male homosexuality.
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CONDITIONS IN WHICH THE RISK OF DEVELOPING GONORRHEA INCREASES
– Having unprotected sex with a person with gonorrhea
– Sexual intercourse with more than one person
– Male homosexuality
– Having a low socioeconomic level
-Presence or history of sexually transmitted diseases
– Sex workers
– The onset of sexual intercourse at an early age
– The presence of diffuse pelvic disease (PID) in women
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WHAT ARE THE WAYS TO PROTECT AGAINST GONORRHEA?
– Avoiding unprotected sexual intercourse, using condoms
– Non-sexual intercourse in case of discharge or burning during urination from any of the parties who will have sexual intercourse
– It is recommended that those who have one-night sexual intercourse and change sexual partners frequently, even if they do not have any complaints, consult urologists for regular testing for sexually transmitted diseases.
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