Could you -or your partner - have
   gonorrhea and not know it ? 
     Click here to find out more .
Intimate Health Care For Women
           Gonorrhea:
          How Your Doctor
        Can Protect Your V Zone
There are several different testing and treatment options  for gonorrhea - so it's important that you talk to your doctor to find both the test and the medications that are right for you.

To help you learn what's available - in both tests and treatments, use this guide.

TESTS: What's Available Now

·          Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests  -
These tests detect bacteria that cause gonorrhea, by identifying a single strand of DNA from the bacteria. A sophisticated method, these tests may be called a PCR, LCR, SDA or TMA.

What You Need To Know :

          These tests can be conducted on a urine sample, or a sample of your vaginal secretions or fluids taken from your urethrea or cervix.  These tests are not approved for use on secretions from either the rectum or the throat.

           One bonus of this test: It is higly  accurate, and unlikely to give a false-negative or false- positive result.

          Your doctor can test you for both chlamydia and gonorrhea from a single sample. 

          Although nucleic acid amplification tests are FDA-approved, they may not be available in all clinics.


·          Gram Stain Test
In this test a drop of secretion taken from your cervix or urethra are placed on a slide and then stained with a special dye developed to identify the gonorrhea bacteria under a microscope.

What You Should Know

      Test results are usually available in your doctor's office

   .   Most reliable for men; less reliable for women with a high rate of error. CDC does not recommend this test for womn.
     
     Culture Test
          A culture test is performed by inserting a swab into the cervix or urethra, and sometimes the rectum or throat, to take a sample. The sample is then placed on a culture plate and incubated for 24 to 72 hours to allow bacteria to grow.

            Although the culture test is more reliable than the Gram stain test, it takes longer to get results.

            The culture test is a highly specific test, meaning that the risk of having a false positive on this test is very low.

·          People infected with gonorrhea are often co-infected with chlamydia; therefore, in patients with gonorrhea treatment is often prescribed for chlamydia as well, since the cost of the treatment is less than the cost of testing for Chlamydia trachomatis.

·          According to the 2002 CDC STD Treatment Guidelines, health care providers do not need to consider re-testing patients after treatment unless the patient still has symptoms or if reinfection is suspected.

Treatments for Gonorrhea: What You Must Know

·          Cephalosporin (sef-ah-low-SPORE-in) class:

          Cefixime (suh-FIX-I-me), taken orally in a single dose

          Ceftriaxone (sef-TRY-ux-own), a single dose injection

·          Quinolone class ( Please see information about Antimicrobial           Resistance below):

          Ciprofloxacin (sip-row-FLOX-uh-sin), oral, single dose

          Ofloxacin (oh-FLOX-uh-sin), taken orally in a single dose

          Levofloxacin (lee-voh-FLOX-uh-sin), oral, single dose

·          Patients with gonorrhea should also be treated for chlamydia (unless testing has ruled out chlamydia infection). Along with one of the above recommended treatments for gonorrhea, CDC recommends that one of the following medications be used to treat chlamydia:

            Doxycycline (dox-ih-SIGH-clean),
         orally twice  daily for 7 days

          Azithromycin (uh-zith-row-MICE-in),
         taken orally in a single dose

·          Doxycycline and quinolone treatments are not advised for pregnant women. Instead, pregnant women should be treated with cephalosporin.Pregnant women who cannot tolerate cephalosporin can be administered spectinomycin.

·          Alternative Treatment:
          Spectinomycin (spec-tin-oh-MICE-in), a single dose injection

          Quinolones other than those listed above, such as ceftizoxime (sef-tiz-OX-uh-me), cefotaxime (sef-oh-TAX-uh-me), cefotetan (sef-oh-TEE-ton), or cefoxitin (sef-OX-uh-tin)


·          Antimicrobial Resistance
          Some strains of N. gonorrhoea have been found to be resistant to treatment with quinolone. Antimicrobial resistant strains of gonorrhea are most common in Asian countries. In the US, quinolone-resistant strains have been found in Hawaii and on the West Coast.

          In Hawaii and California, quinolone should not be used to treat gonorrhea. Instead, ceftriaxone or cefixime should be used. If a person cannot tolerate ceftriaxone or cefixime, then spectinomycin can be used.

          People diagnosed with gonorrhea should tell their health care provider if they or their sex partners have recently traveled to any of these areas to ensure proper treatment

·          Follow-up Care: Protecting Your Health

          Take all medications as directed.

          All partners should be examined and treated.

          Do not have sex until you and your partner(s) have been        
       treated and cured.

          Persons with symptoms after treatment should be tested again by culture.

          Infections detected after treatment with one of the recommended treatments more commonly occur because of reinfection rather than treatment failure.


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Could you -or your partner - have
   gonorrhea and not know it ? 
     Click here to find out more .