Gonorrhea symptoms usually manifest in 2-5 days after birth. Prenatal screening of pregnant women helps prevent this infection. Sexual abuse should be considered when cases are found in preadolescent children. To confirm a diagnosis, a doctor takes specimens of the discharge or infected area. Blood tests for syphilis should be performed on all persons who have gonorrhea.
Antibiotic therapy is used once the presence of the infection has been confirmed.
Gonorrhea can be cured. Law in Arizona requires antibiotic ointment, to be placed in the eyes of all newborn infants in an effort to prevent gonococcal eye disease. During treatment, infected individuals should abstain from sexual contact because gonorrhea is contagious. In men, gonorrheal infection can lead to epididymitis. In woman, it can spread to the uterus and fallopian tubes, causing pelvic inflammatory disease, which could result in scarring of the tubes and infertility.