If you’ve ever been sexually active without protection, then you’ve likely been at risk for gonorrhea. This sexually transmitted disease (STD) happens when the Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacteria pass from one partner to another through direct contact with their genitals, mouth, or anus. While this may not seem like a big deal as most people who get infected won't feel any signs or symptoms of the condition, you should still take it seriously.
Gonorrhea that goes untreated can affect both men and women quite severely. For women, they can end up with pelvic inflammatory disease, which can include feeling pain during intercourse and urination alongside abdominal tenderness. For men, they can develop epididymitis, which inflames the back of their testicles and potentially leads to infertility.
But how can you tell if you have the disease if it’s typically undetectable for most people? The trick is to get tested by your doctor if you’ve recently had sexual intercourse without protection.
If you find you do have gonorrhea, don’t panic! There are ways to cure it.
Take antibiotics.
Currently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that people with gonorrhea go under dual therapy. With this treatment, you’ll have to take two prescription medications to fully eradicate the disease.
But for gonorrhea to get gone, you’ll need to take all of the medication that is prescribed to you. So if, for example, you’ve been given tetracycline alongside another medication, be sure to take the recommended dose of each for as long as your doctor tells you to. It might be tempting to share your medication with a partner who has the same condition as you, but you shouldn’t. You’ll need all your medication to help your own body heal from gonorrhea.
If you’re worried about both you and your partner being able to afford prescription medication for gonorrhea, know that there is a way to lessen the cost. Buy your medication through an online Canadian pharmacy referral service like True Canada Pharmacy. With this service, you and your partner will be able to get medication from licensed pharmacies around the world for a cheaper price than what you’d pay for at a local brick-and-mortar pharmacy.
Consider alternative medication if your first treatment doesn’t work.
Unfortunately, even if prescription medication is the recommended treatment for gonorrhea, that doesn’t guarantee it will work. Over the years, gonorrhea has developed a particularly high resistance to medication .
If that happens to you, you should talk to your doctor to see if they’ll assign you a cephalosporin antibiotic. This class of medication is quite effective against drug-resistant gonorrhea, so even if your strain of gonorrhea is particularly strong, you can still cure it.
Go to your doctor for a follow-up when necessary.
Chances are, if your gonorrhea strain is strong enough, it could cause health complications. Dealing with this may mean that your typical medication treatment won’t work as well. So your doctor may prescribe you alternative treatments.
After this happens, you’ll want to make sure you conduct a follow-up with your doctor. This visit will help your doctor see if their alternative treatment is working properly for you.
It may take time to treat, but take comfort in the fact that gonorrhea is still treatable. You can be cured, but to get there, you need to commit to one of these treatments.
Alison Lee is a freelance writer in Vancouver, Canada. She enjoys writing about finance, health and medicine, among other topics.