¤ Approximately 1,500,000 cases of gonorrhea occur each year in the United States of America.

Gonorrhea can be contracted fairly easily through receptive or insertive anal, vaginal and oral sex. The bacteria is found in the tip of the penis the anus, the vagina, the throat and the eye. Thus you can contract the bacteria simply through contact with any of the mentioned body parts of a person infected with gonorrhea. This bacteria is very contagious and can be autoinnoculated (germs from one part of your body affect another part of your body from your own hand.) Gonorrhea normally takes anywhere from one day to two weeks from symptoms to appear, and the symptoms are different depending on the infected part of the body. The most obvious symptoms of gonorrhea normally occur in males, and include:

• Painful or difficult urination.
• A puss-like yellow discharge from the penis.
• Frequent urination.
• Blood in the urine.
• Swollen glands in the groin.

• Redness of the cervix
• Discharge from the vagina.
• Pain in the pelvic area.
• Frequent urination.

The gonorrhea bacteria can also infect the eye resulting in blindness. If the disease reaches the blood stream it will infect the entire body, a condition known as "disseminated gonorrhea". The symptoms include a skin rash, fever and joint pains.

Having a gonorrhea infection weakens your immune system, making you more susceptible to other diseases. The HIV virus can easily get into your body if your urethra is irritated. If you have both HIV and gonorrhea, then you are more likely to transmit HIV to another person.