In Singapore, gonorrhea is a common sexually transmitted infection, which is very easily passed from one sexual partner to another.
Keywords: gonorrhea, gonorrhea in Singapore, Singapore gonorrhea
Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by bacteria. In Singapore, gonorrhea is a very common STI, and the infection is very easily transmitted by unprotected sexual activity. However, it can’t be spread on objects such as toilet seats or towels.
Symptoms
It takes a few days after exposure for symptoms to appear, if they appear at all; at least half of those who are infected with gonorrhea don’t have symptoms. If symptoms do occur, they usually include discharge from the vagina or penis, burning with urination or ejaculation, the urge to urinate more frequently than normal, pelvic pain, and sometimes a fever.
Gonorrhea can also occur in the throat, causing a sore or itchy sensation in the throat, or the anus, which may cause itching and discharge from the anus.
Untreated gonorrhea can spread into the deeper reproductive organs, such as the uterus and fallopian tubes in women and the epididymis (part of the testicle) in men. The scarring resulting from the infection may lead to permanent infertility in either gender. The infection can also be very serious, sometimes requiring intravenous antibiotics to treat it. Sometimes, untreated gonorrhea can spread more widely, causing problems with the heart, joints, or nervous system. This can cause disability or even death.
For babies of moms who have gonorrhea, severe infections can occur during birth, including infections of the eye that can cause blindness. For this reason, all pregnant women are screened for gonorrhea and treated if they test positive.
Testing
The most common screening test for gonorrhea is a urine test. This is used during routine screenings, including those done on pregnant women. If you have any discharge, then a swab of the discharge will be taken and sent to the laboratory for analysis. In some cases, when there isn’t discharge, a swab of the urethra or vagina will be used. The swab test is more accurate than the urine test, which can miss cases of gonorrhea.
Being screened for gonorrhea and other STIs is recommended once a year for all sexually active adults who aren’t monogamous. This should happen once per year. This is important because the infection is commonly asymptomatic.
Treatment
Gonorrhea has long been treated with antibiotics. The medications can be given by injection at your doctor’s office, or may be pills that you take at home. Unfortunately, antibiotic resistance is becoming more and more common, and gonorrhea in Singapore cannot always be treated with the usual methods anymore. A combination of antibiotics is often needed, and you may need to return to your doctor for different medication if it doesn’t work the first time.
Your partner or partners will need to be treated for gonorrhea as well. One reason is that your partner may well give gonorrhea back to you if he or she is not treated. Another reason is to protect the health of your partners; even an asymptomatic gonorrhea infection can progress and have long-term consequences, so it’s important that they be treated.
Prevention
The only way to prevent gonorrhea is to practice safe sex. The surest way is to abstain from sex or to have sex only within the context of a long-term mutually monogamous relationship. However, if that’s not right for you at this time in your life, then you can make sex much safer by using a new latex or polyurethane condom every time you have sex. This will prevent gonorrhea and other STIs as well as unwanted pregnancy.
References
Gonorrhoea at Shim Clinic, Singapore