Neisseria gonorrhea causes a disease that people have known since ancient times. No one knows what her name was in those days, but now this disease is known as gonorrhea. This infection exists along with passion, love, sudden attraction or the constant search for new sensations. But no matter how a person met her, his next interlocutor will be a doctor.
The causative agent of gonorrhea
Neisseria gonorrhea is a double rounded cell, which is colored with aniline dyes in pink. It has a dense three-layered wall and thread-like processes that provide it with reliable fastening inside the body.
After getting into the body, the neisseria are fixed on the code and mucous membranes or even seep through them. But the immune system does not sleep. White blood cells and neutrophils immediately arrive at the site of introduction and begin to actively “eat” foreign agents. But bacteria do not die, but rather, inside macrophages they feel great, multiply and stimulate the development of inflammation. Neutrophils that have fallen in an unequal battle accumulate and are excreted in the form of pus.
As time goes on, the infection through the lymphatic vessels spreads first to neighboring organs, and then throughout the body. Gonococci are extremely stable in the human body. They have something to counter the effects of drugs. Bacteria turn into L-form, which is able to survive for a long time in an aggressive environment. But in the external environment, the neysseries do not live long. They are afraid of drying, boiling, as well as soap.
Routes of infection and incubation period
The neisseria of gonorrhea is capable of not manifesting itself for a long time after infection, therefore , as a rule, the source of infection is a person with a latent course of the disease. There are several ways to get infected:
- The genital tract is most common among adults. Bacteria pass to the sexual partner after unprotected contact. But the likelihood of developing just such a scenario is not one hundred percent. A man has a chance of contracting a sick woman from only twenty percent, but for the fair sex the statistics work the other way around - 80 percent for the fact that unprotected sexual intercourse with a gonococcus carrier will end with a visit to a venereologist.
- Contact household way. If the house uses common towels, washcloths or bed linen, then in less than one percent of cases, accidental infection is possible. Bacteria very few live outside the human body.
- Vertical way. A pregnant woman with gonorrhea during childbirth can infect her baby. This will be manifested by damage to the eyes, oral mucosa or genitals.
The period of asymptomatic reproduction of the neisseria can last from 12 hours to several days or even weeks. The longest clinically recorded period is 3 months. Such a wide spread is associated with the characteristics of immunity, its reactivity and general health. As a rule, in men, the disease manifests itself four days after infection, and in women, ten days later. It is impossible to clinically or laboratory detect an infection, but already during this period a person is dangerous for his partner.
Forms of Gonorrhea
Symptoms and treatment of gonorrhea depend on how much time has passed since the infection got into the body. There are three forms of the disease:
- Fresh gonorrhea. It is registered up to two months after the onset of symptoms. It can occur in acute, subacute or torpid form. The acute form is characterized by a rapid onset, the severity of clinical manifestations, a large amount of pus and the appearance of defects on the skin and mucous membranes. During the subacute form, the symptoms are mild, but there are still discomfort. The torpid form is distinguished by the absence of manifestations at all.
- Chronic gonorrhea. The immune system is depleted and ceases to resist gonococcal expansion. Bacteria are stored in the cells of the body for a long time and wait until the defenses are completely weakened in order to express themselves again. The triggering factor may be a cold, stress, or surgery. Symptoms in this form are weak or completely absent.
- Latent gonorrhea. It is more common among the fair sex. A woman is a carrier of infection and its source, but the body's defenses do not react to bacteria in any way, so there are no symptoms.
Gonorrhea in men: symptoms, signs, treatment
Oddly enough, but the clinical pictures of female and male gonorrhea are different.
The neisseria of gonorrhea in men causes the appearance of acute inflammation of the mucous membrane of the urethra. Symptoms cause severe discomfort, therefore, such patients urgently need to see a doctor. A specific combination of symptoms is characteristic of the disease:
- Urethritis is manifested by the expansion of capillaries, an increase in blood flow and tissue edema. Pain and itching at the site of entry of the infection are among the first manifestations of gonorrhea. The pain appears in the morning, and the first urination causes a sharp burning pain.
- Discharge from the urethra. In addition to physiological secretions, i.e. urine, a thick yellow or brown pus appears. If the process has gone very far, then a small amount of blood may also appear.
- And the last symptom inherent in any inflammatory reaction is an increase in temperature to subfebrile or febrile numbers. When complications occur, fever up to 40 degrees is possible. After three days, all the symptoms of the disease gradually disappear, and the infection becomes subacute or torpid.
Symptoms in women
Neisseria gonorrhea in women does not cause pronounced symptoms of the disease. Only a tenth of the women at risk go to the doctor for help or advice. Experts recommend a diagnosis if the husband or partner has fresh manifestations of gonorrhea.
In rare cases, the disease manifests itself as mucous or purulent discharge from the genital tract in the morning, signs of inflammation of the urethra and / or vagina with the addition of itching, burning during intercourse or urination. Against this background, body temperature may rise to subfebrile numbers.
The manifestation of the disease in newborns
The neisseria of gonorrhea in children of the first month of life can affect the eyes, nasal mucosa, urethra and vagina, as well as provoke the development of sepsis. This happens if the mother has a fresh form of gonorrhea at the time of delivery.
3-5 days after birth, the children become restless, refuse food, sleep poorly. They may develop abnormal discharge from the eyes or genital tract. Since the disease in women can be asymptomatic, prophylaxis in the form of instillation of Albucid in the eyes and nose is given to all newborns.
Damage to organs outside the reproductive system
In addition to the pelvic organs in women and men, secondary screenings of the pathogen throughout the body are possible. Areas Affected by Gonorrhea:
- Leather. This is a rather rare complication, possible when bacteria get on an open wound surface. An inflammatory response develops at the injection site: a small sore (up to 2 cm in diameter), painful. Typical localization is the hips and perineum.
- Eyes. Non-observance of personal hygiene after visiting the toilet can lead to contamination by the neisseria of the mucous membrane of the eyes. This condition is called gonococcal conjunctivitis. It manifests itself in the form of redness of the eyes, bleeding, swelling and expiration of pus from the conjunctiva, photophobia and lacrimation. If the process is ignored, then it can end with the appearance of ulcers on the cornea.
- Throat and oral cavity. More often, an asymptomatic course is possible. Experts note a slight reddening of the mucous membrane, swelling of the pharyngeal tonsils, the presence of a pale yellow plaque. Symptoms of gingivitis and stomatitis are possible, but patients, as a rule, do not associate them with gonorrhea.
- Rectum. More often women are sick due to the structural features of the perineum. It is manifested by constipation, false urge to defecate, itching and burning in the anus, the presence of pathological secretions, such as blood and pus.
Diagnostics
Neisseria gonorrhea, or gonococcus, causes a disease, the diagnosis of which in the acute period is quite simple. If the doctor correctly collected an anamnesis and conducted the necessary examination, then the conclusion will not be long in coming. But according to the protocol, a venereologist must necessarily take material for a bacterial study, and also ask the patient to bring his sexual partner to the next appointment.
From laboratory tests can be used:
- a smear from the urethra (sometimes a provocation is necessary so that the pathogen leaves the cells and appears in the lumen of the urethra);
- culture inoculation;
- PCR (detection of DNA of the neisseria of gonorrhea in the blood);
Provocation can be carried out in several ways:
1. The introduction of a gonococcal vaccine.
2. Irrigation of the urethra with Lugol's solution.
3. Probing of the urethra.
4. Eating spicy or salty foods.
Treatment
The treatment of gonorrhea in men and women is the same. It all comes down to taking antibacterial drugs to which this pathogen is sensitive. As a rule, these are cephalosporins of 3-4 generations and protected penicillins. They can be used both separately and together.
If there is no attachment of another genital infection or fungal flora, then the treatment ends. The doctor conducts control tests two weeks after the start of therapy.