What Are The Most Common Symptoms Of Gonorrhea?

Gonorrhea, often colloquially called the clap, is the second most common sexually transmitted disease among Americans and among women, it can be the cause for several serious complications if left untreated.

The problem often is that the symptoms of gonorrhea are often difficult to detect among women. 50% of the women infected with this sexually transmitted disease do not display any symptoms of gonorrhea.

It is however important to watch out for the symptoms of gonorrhea because women have a higher risk of infection: women who have sex with an infected person have 60 to 90% chance of contracting the disease as against a 30 to 50 % chance for men. A woman could also transmit the disease to her child if she has it when she delivers.

It is also important to watch out for the symptoms of gonorrhea because left untreated it can lead to a number of problems such as tubal infertility, ectopic pregnancy, pelvic inflammatory disease, and chronic pelvic pain. Studies have also shown that gonococcal infections assist the transmission of HIV as well.

Highest incidence of gonorrhea can be seen among groups that display casual sexual activity or behavior and it can be spread from person to person through any kind of sexual activity. There is an incubation period for this disease, of about 30 days and symptoms if any will manifest themselves about 4 to 7 days after infection.

Though often asymptomatic, the symptoms of gonorrhea to watch out for among women are as follows:

• Vaginal discharge or a change in vaginal discharge, which could be yellow or greenish in color and which may also have a strong smell, could be one of the symptoms of gonorrhea. At time, there could be discharge from the anus as well
• Pain or a burning sensation while passing urine or even projectile urine
• Irritation in the vaginal area
• Irregular menstrual bleeding
• Bleeding after intercourse

If a woman is asymptomatic, but spots any of these male symptoms of gonorrhea in her sexual partner(s), then she should be careful :

• A yellowish discharge much like pus
• Stinging sensation while passing urine or more than normal frequency of urination
• Passing blood along with urine
• Swelling in the groin area or painful, swollen testicles
• Redness or soreness in the genital area
• Anal discharge, itching, bleeding, soreness, or painful bowel movements.