What Is Gonorrhea? (And Why You Should Know About It)

 

What Is Gonorrhea? (And Why You Should Know About It)

Hey there! Let's talk about something important: Gonorrhea (say it like: gone-or-ee-uh). It’s a germ (bacteria) that causes a sickness you can get from having sex without protection. It mostly affects teenagers and young adults, especially those who don’t use condoms or don’t get tested often.

This infection is a type of STI — that means Sexually Transmitted Infection. It means the infection spreads from one person to another during sex.

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😷 What Happens If You Get It?

Some people with gonorrhea don’t feel sick at all, so they don’t even know they have it. But others get:

👦 In Boys:

• Burning while peeing

• White or yellow stuff coming out of the penis

• Pain in the balls

👧 In Girls:

• Weird liquid coming out of the vagina

• Pain when peeing

• Belly pain or bleeding when it’s not their period

In both:

• Sore throat (if you had oral sex)

• Itchy bum or poop pain (if you had anal sex)

• Fever and joint pain (if it spreads in the body, which is rare)

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🤢 How Do People Get Gonorrhea?

You can get gonorrhea when you have:

• Sex without a condom (vaginal, oral, or anal)

• Touching private parts with someone who has it

• A baby can get it from their mother during birth

It does not spread from hugging, kissing, or using the same toilet.

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📈 Why Is This a Big Deal in India?

In India, more young people (like Gen Z — people born after 1997) are using dating apps and starting relationships early. But many of them:

• Don’t know enough about STIs

• Are too shy to ask questions or go to the doctor

• Don’t use protection like condoms

• Don’t get regular health check-ups

Also, in many schools, sex education is not great, so kids don’t learn how to stay safe.

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🔬 What Do Doctors Do to Check It?

Doctors will:

• Ask questions about symptoms

• Take a pee sample or a swab from private parts or throat

• Send it to a lab to check for the gonorrhea bacteria

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💊 How Is Gonorrhea Treated?

The good news is: Gonorrhea can be cured with the right medicine!

Doctors usually give:

• An injection (called ceftriaxone)

• And sometimes pills (like azithromycin or doxycycline)

If someone has gonorrhea, their boyfriend/girlfriend should also get medicine, even if they don’t feel sick — so no one gets sick again.

But here’s the bad news:
Gonorrhea is getting stronger and harder to kill with medicine. Some germs are becoming resistant, which means the usual medicines don’t work anymore.

Doctors are testing new medicines, like:

• Gepotidacin (a new pill that works well)

• Zoliflodacin (also in testing)

These could help fight gonorrhea in the future!

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🛡️ How Can You Protect Yourself?

Here are 6 simple things you can do:

1. Use condoms — every time you have sex.

2. Don’t share private pictures or do things you don’t understand.

3. Ask questions — it’s okay to be curious and learn.

4. Get tested — even if you don’t feel sick, especially if you have new partners.

5. Don’t believe myths — you can’t get STIs from toilets or hugs.

6. Go to clinics like Suraksha Clinics in India — they give free and private help.

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🧠 Cool Science Stuff

• Scientists are working on a vaccine to prevent gonorrhea — like how we have vaccines for COVID or flu.

• A vaccine called 4CMenB (used for another disease) seems to protect some people from gonorrhea too!

• In the UK, they might start giving this vaccine to teens soon.

                                                                                       

                                                                  Blog By Dr. Amit Harshana

 

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