Topic: Gonorrhoea - Women
Description
Gonorrhoea is a sexually transmissible infection (STI). Gonorrhoea (Neisseria gonorrhoeae) is a bacteria that causes an infection in the genital area. It is spread by sexual contact. You can get gonorrhoea in the genital area through vaginal, anal or oral sex.
Gonorrhoea can get into the urethra (the tube that runs from your bladder), anus, throat, cervix (neck of the womb) or uterus. It can also infect the anus and people can get an infection in their eye. Very occasionally, gonorrhoea can spread from the genital area into the joints.
Symptoms
Some people do not know they have the infection because they have no signs or symptoms. If symptoms do occur, they usually develop a few days or around a week after the bacteria has been introduced into the genital area through having sex with someone who has gonorrhoea.
Women with gonorrhoea may notice that they have:
- crampy pain in the lower abdomen (just above the pubic bone)
- a change in their vaginal secretions (more secretion or a change in colour and/or smell)
- pain when passing urine
- bleeding from the vagina between periods and after having sex
- pain during or after sex.
Transmission
Gonorrhoea can be spread through oral sex, causing infection of the throat. People with gonorrhoea in their throat may have no symptoms, or just have a vaguely sore throat, but can pass on the infection to their partner if they have unprotected sex.
Gonorrhoea can be spread through anal sex, causing infection of the rectum (back passage). Sometimes this can cause pain in the rectum and discharge or mucus from the anus, or it may not cause any symptoms at all.
Treatment
Testing for gonorrhoea in women involves:
- taking a swab from the cervix in women, or from the anus in anyone who has had unprotected anal sex. Using a cotton swab or similar device (this does not usually hurt).
- taking a urine sample and sending it to the laboratory for testing (it usually takes a few days for the result to come back).
- taking a swab from the throat of people who have had unprotected oral sex.
When you have your check up, if you find out that you do have gonorrhoea, anyone you have had sex within the past few months will also need to be tested. This is to make sure that they are clear of the infection and to prevent you being re-infected by your partner or partners. If you feel uncomfortable or embarrassed about telling your partner, your health worker can assist by contacting your partner or partners. Your name is not mentioned to ensure it is a confidential process. Remember, this is very important for your partner’s health and the health of other people they may have sex with.
Gonorrhoea can be effectively treated with antibiotics. There are a number of different types of treatment including tablets or injections which can be given as just a single dose or a longer course of antibiotics depending on whether the person is allergic to certain antibiotics.
To ensure the infection has been cured:
- it is important to take all the tablets
- it is best not to have sex until you have returned to the clinic for a follow up appointment. Usually people come back to the clinic about one week after treatment for their first test to check the infection is cured and that they did not have any problems with the medications.
- you will also need to have a second test a week after the first test to make sure the infection is cured.
Health Outcome
Without treatment, gonorrhoea can spread upwards from the cervix to the uterus (womb), fallopian tubes, ovaries and other parts of the lower abdomen. This type of infection is called Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID). PID is a serious illness that can cause fever, and pain in the lower abdomen. Women with PID sometimes need to go to hospital for treatment. It is also possible for a woman to have PID without knowing it.
PID can cause the fallopian tubes to become blocked with scar tissue and this can make it very difficult for a woman to become pregnant. The other major problem with scar tissue is that if a woman does become pregnant, the pregnancy may be in the Fallopian tube (ectopic pregnancy). Such a pregnancy cannot continue as a normal pregnancy
Babies born to mothers with gonorrhoea may develop eye infections. If a woman has gonorrhoea while she is pregnant, it may also cause her to deliver her baby sooner than she should. This is why it is important for pregnant women to have antenatal checks, which should include a test for gonorrhoea in early pregnancy.
Prevention
The best way to avoid getting gonorrhoea is to practice safe sex: that is to use a condom when you have vaginal or anal sex and to use dental dams for oral sex.
- Practise safe sex. Always using condoms, with casual partners or partners who have not had a sexual health check, when you have vaginal or anal sex is the best way to avoid getting gonorrhoea.
- Gonorrhoea can infect the throat. It is therefore important to use protection when having oral sex. If you are giving a man oral sex (his penis in your mouth), then he will need to wear a condom. It does not matter whether you are male or female, if you put your mouth in contact with your partner’s anus or vulva while having sex, you will need to use a dental dam.
Help and Assistance
For more information on gonorrhoea, you can talk to:
- your local doctor
- your local sexual health clinic
- your local family planning clinic.
Other Resources
Queensland Health Sexual Health website
- Animated Movie - Gonorrhoea in women
Related Content
Last Updated: 12th October, 2009
Date Valid to: 30th June, 2010
