During pregnancy, gonorrhea infections can cause premature labor and stillbirth. To prevent serious eye infections that can be caused by gonorrhea, drops of antibiotics are routinely put into the eyes of newborn babies immediately after delivery. Symptoms appear in men in one to 14 days. Eighty percent of the women with gonorrhea and 10 percent of the men with the hepatitis B disease show no symptoms. If they appear, they appear in women within 10 days.
Gonorrhea is spread by vaginal, anal and oral intercourse.
It can be detected by a microscopic examination of urethral or vaginal discharges. Cultures are taken from the cervix, throat, urethra or rectum. Both partners can be successfully treated with oral antibiotics. Often people with gonorrhea also have chlamydia. They must be treated for both infections at the same time.