Definition gonorrhea
Gonorrhea is a specific infectious disease transmitted mainly through sexual contact. The causative agent of infection is the gram-negative bacteria Neisseria gonorrhoeae – gonococci. Usually they enter the human body through the genitourinary system, but there are other ways of transmitting the infection. Gonococci can affect the mucous membrane of the throat, eyes, and oral cavity, causing inflammatory pathogenic processes in these organs.
Gonorrhea of the throat
Gonorrhea of the throat (oropharyngeal gonorrhea) occurs in women 2 times more often than in men, due to the frequency of orogenital contacts. For the most part (in 70-80% of cases) oropharyngeal gonorrhea is asymptomatic (hidden), in some cases the disease is similar to a sore throat. Patients complain of sore throat, difficulty swallowing, hoarseness of voice, they have enlarged tonsils and lymph nodes.
The similarity of oropharyngeal gonorrhea with tonsillitis presents some difficulties for doctors in making a diagnosis. Like tonsillitis, gonorrhea of the throat causes fever, chills, headaches, and a purulent plaque forms on the tonsils. The first symptoms of the disease can appear within a few hours after the pathogen enters the mucous membrane of the throat. This happens because the mucous membrane of this organ is practically unable to counteract gonococcal infection.
In this regard, acute gonorrhea of the throat quickly turns into a chronic form, which poses a particular danger to human health, since inflammation can spread to the membrane of the brain. If a gonococcal infection spreads to the brain, the outcome is almost always fatal.
Gonorrhea of the mouth
Gonorrhea of the oral cavity is detected mainly in persons who prefer oral sex, the course of the disease is often asymptomatic. In rare cases, there is a sore throat and a fever. With orogenital infection, gonococcal stomatitis and pharyngitis may develop:
Gonococcal stomatitis is manifested by swelling and hyperemia of the mucosa, the release of a visco-purulent secret. In the absence of treatment, the mucous membrane of the cheeks, tongue and gums becomes covered with ulcers and erosions. Ulcerations are small, not particularly disturbing, yellow-gray mucus is released from them, in which gonococci are found.
Gonococcal pharyngitis most often occurs without any symptoms, sometimes patients complain of sore throat, excessive salivation, difficulty swallowing. A purulent-mucous coating forms on the reddened pharynx and tonsils, the palatine uvula and palatine arches swell.
When infected with gonorrhea in the oral cavity, the symptoms of the disease are also similar to stomatitis – similar purulent inflammations occur in the mouth. Only 3 days is enough for gonococci to completely infect the mucous membrane of the larynx and palatine tonsils. The patient’s body temperature rises, headaches and chills appear. The tonsils are covered with a purulent coating.
Fortunately, there are several very effective ways to prevent gonorrhea – this is a constant sexual partner and the use of protective intimate means during intercourse. The methods, although conservative, are very effective and time-tested.
gonorrhea eye
Gonorrhea of the eyes (blennorrhea) usually manifests itself in the form of conjunctivitis, the incubation period after infection lasts from several hours to 2-3 weeks. Gonorrheal conjunctivitis of the newborn or gonoblenorrhea can be brought into the child’s eyes when passing through the birth canal of the mother, and then the disease is called gonorrheal conjunctivitis of the newborn. Adults become infected with gonorrhea of the eye most often through household contact. Gonoblenorrhea of newborns manifests itself on the 2nd or 3rd day after the birth of the baby. If the first symptoms of the disease are observed after 5-6 days, then this indicates that the causative agent of the disease was introduced from outside.
There are 4 stages of gonorrhea:
Stage of infiltration – it is characterized by the appearance of hyperemia and mucous discharge from the conjunctival cavity, swelling of the eyelids, bleeding. The duration of this stage is 3-5 days.
The stage of suppuration – swelling and hyperemia of the eyelids decrease, abundant yellow purulent discharge is observed. The conjunctiva of the eyeball continues to be edematous. The duration of the stage in time is 1-2 weeks.
Proliferation stage – the amount of discharged pus decreases, it acquires a greenish color. Puffiness and hyperemia of the conjunctiva are already less pronounced, but as a result of the growth of the papillae, its surface becomes rough.
The stage of reverse development – signs of swelling and hyperemia of the conjunctiva disappear, the growth of the papillae disappears by the end of the second month.
However, a common complication of gonorrhea in the eyes of newborns is corneal damage that develops in the absence of treatment at 2-3 weeks of the disease. The cornea becomes diffusely cloudy, a gray infiltrate forms on its surface, turning into a purulent ulcer. The ulcerative process quickly spreads not only over the surface of the cornea, but also deep into it, further leading to perforation of the membrane and the formation of a thorn. Sometimes the infection can penetrate into the eye, causing the development of panophthalmitis – purulent inflammation of all tissues and membranes of the eye.
In adults, the development of gonorrhea of the eyes goes through the same stages as with gonoblenorrhea of newborns. The only difference is that corneal complications are more frequent, and the process of inflammation itself is more intense. With timely treatment, the outcome of the disease is always favorable and the visual functions of a person do not suffer.