Are you dealing with oral gonorrhea? Then you may know that it's a neglected aspect of sexual health education.

Care to understand its risks and treatment? You are in the right place.

Karepedia is here to keep things basic and discuss oral gonorrhea, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment methods.

Knowing this will enable you to fight the taboo and make informed decisions regarding your sexual health.

Aiming to delve straight into the details? Let's get started with the basics .

What Is Gonorrhea?

Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted bacterial infection. It is transmitted through bacteria called Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

This is especially found in people in their 20s. It is spread through vaginal , anal and oral sex.

In 2020, WHO estimated 82.4 million new infections with gonorrhoeae among adults aged 15 to 49 years. Oral Gonorrhea is transmitted through unprotected oral sex .

A person can get oral gonorrhea through -

• Giving oral sex to a person with infected genitals or rectum
• Receiving oral sex from a person with an infected oral cavity.
• People who are at risk of Oral Gonorrhea

As per research it is found out that it most commonly affects young sexually active adults.

Symptoms

Oral Gonorrhea has no noticeable symptoms in most cases. It is important to note that transmission of the infection can occur even if no symptoms are present in the person who had the infection first.

For people who have the symptoms, the most common ones are throat related problems. The symptoms include -

• Persistent sore throat
• Swollen, tender glands in your throat
• Difficulty in swallowing
• Redness in throat
• Fever
• Irritation in throat
• Flu like symptoms
• Appearance of swollen lymph nodes in the neck

It is also to be noted that a person with Oral Gonorrhea can also develop symptoms in other parts of the body as well such as cervix or urethra.

In this case, the symptoms are -

• Unusual vaginal or penile discharge such as whitish, yellow, or green discharge
• Burning sensation while urinating
• Pain during intercourse
• Testicles becoming swollen
• Swollen lymph nodes

Oral Gonorrhea produces symptoms that are similar to strep throat. If unusual redness, white spotting or appearance of pale colored discharge happens, it could be Oral Gonorrhea.

In such cases, it is advised to consult a doctor at the earliest.

Diagnosis

It is to be noted that Oral Gonorrhea in most cases is asymptomatic and its symptoms can overlap with many other infections. So it is better to take an STI test. National health bureaus recommend at least yearly gonorrhea screenings for -

• Sexually active women over 25 years old who have multiple sexual partners, or have had more than one sex partner in a single year.
• Sexually active people with HIV.
• Sexually active men and women under 25 years of age.

Oral Gonorrhea, If Untreated

If untreated, oral gonorrhea can spread to the bloodstream where it can infect other parts of the body. When gonorrhea infects other parts of the body, it’s referred to as a disseminated gonococcal infection (DGI) or disseminated gonorrhea.

Symptoms of DGI include -

• Joint infection, pain, or swelling (septic arthritis)
• Inflammation or swelling of the tendons (tenosynovitis)
• Skin sores and lesions

DGI can cause inflammation of the heart (endocarditis) or brain (meningitis), but this is rare.

Other health conditions due to untreated gonorrhea include pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). This painful condition causes inflammation of female reproductive organs.

The most common symptoms here include persistent pelvic or lower abdominal pain, abnormal vaginal bleeding, pain during intercourse, and other symptoms.

This is curable if found early but if untreated, it can cause permanent damage to the reproductive system.

Fertility challenges or infertility in women – If gonorrhea spreads to the reproductive organs, it can cause structural damage that can ultimately lead to infertility.

Fertility challenges in men – In men, untreated gonorrhea can cause epididymitis—a condition where the testicular ducts can become scarred.

Treatment Methods

Care to know about the treating methods for Oral Gonorrhea? Here you go:

• Oral infections are harder to cure than other infections but can be cured with the right dose of antibiotics.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends treating uncomplicated gonorrhea with a single 500-milligram (mg) intramuscular dose of ceftriaxone.
• People who weigh 330 lbs. (150 kg) or more should receive a single 1-gram (g) dose of ceftriaxone.
• Earlier ,CDC recommended ceftriaxone plus oral azithromycin. The recommendations were changed because azithromycin resistance is an increasing concern.
• You should avoid all sexual contact, including oral sex and kissing, for 7 days after completing treatment.
• If your symptoms persist, see your healthcare professional.
• Follow-up STD testing, also called a “test-of-cure”, is highly recommended to people who’ve contracted oral gonorrhea specifically. This helps to ensure that your infection is totally cleared. After 1-2 weeks of medication , this test is done.

Treatments can fail due to:

• Not taking medications as directed
• Having another untreated infection with similar symptoms.
• The bacteria becoming resistant to the drug

Preventive Measures

It is important to take care of oral health as STIs such as Oral Gonorrhea badly affects the oral health.

Effective preventive measures should be taken to ensure proper oral health.

Some preventive measures are as follows -

• Make use of safer sex practices by consistently using condoms or dental dams during oral sex.
• Communicate with your sexual partners about their STI status ( if needed take STI screening ).
• Limit the number of sex partners, if possible enter into monogamous relationships.
• Regularly test for STIs.

Hopefully, you are now aware of oral gonorrhea, including what it is, how it might harm you, and treatment options.

Being knowledgeable about oral gonorrhea is helpful, whether it's about finding the risks or choosing the treatments.

Thus, let's make wise decisions, stay cautious, and take responsibility for our wellbeing.

Never be afraid to contact a healthcare provider if you have any questions or concerns. Let’s step into the more confident you!