GONORRHOEA – GENERAL INFORMATION
The gonococcus is a very fragile organism and dies very rapidly if it is not within the warm human body. Small falls in temperature kill it, and even if the infected discharge from a man’s urethra contaminates clothes or other articles, those articles are rarely infectious, as drying quickly kills the gonococcus. For this reason the myth that you can get gonorrhoea from an infected towel, a lavatory seat, or infected clothing should be remembered for what it is – a myth!
You will know if you have been infected between 3 and 5 days after sexual intercourse. The first thing you notice is that you have developed discomfort or tingling in your urethra. Very quickly a discharge appears which is creamy, thick, and purulent, and which drips from your penis. You will also find that it is uncomfortable to pass urine and, when you do, you get a burning feeling in your urethra. The area around the eye of your penis is usually reddened, but you feel quite well apart from these symptoms. If you do not seek treatment, the infection spreads upwards along your urethra and, in to to 14 days, the part of the urethra nearest to your bladder becomes inflamed. When this happens, the burning and pain on passing urine increase, and you may feel unwell, with headaches or fever, due to absorption into your blood of toxic products from the infection.
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