Knowing Gonorrhea
Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted disease caused by a bacterium called Neisseria gonorrhoeae. This bacterium can grow and multiply rapidly in warm and damp areas of the reproductive tract that includes the cervix, uterus and fallopian tubes in women and urethra in men. Neisseria gonorrhoeae can grow in the eyes, throat, mouth, and anus.
Gonorrhea is usually transmitted during sexual intercourse. Not all cases of gonorrhea exhibit symptoms.
There are few kinds of tests that are used to diagnose gonorrhea infection. Most of the tests for gonorrhea require the use of a sample of the fluid in the body from the area affected by infection.
-Nucleic acid hybridization test. This test is also known as DNA probe test. In this test for gonorrhea, genetic material or DNA of the gonorrhea bacteria is detected. The examination is done by getting samples of body fluids from the possibly affected areas which are regularly in the cervix for the women and urethra for the men. Samples accumulated from the throat of a patient do not constantly give accurate results.
-Nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT). This test detects and makes multiple copies of the genetic material of the bacteria that causes gonorrhea. This includes polymerase chain reactions (PCRs) and transcription mediated amplification (TMA). NAATs precise tests for gonorrhea. They can be completed one or the other by a body fluid sample of the possibly compromised and infected area.
-Gonorrhea culture. This is concluded and done on a body fluid sample collected from the cervix, urethra, and the throat, in the eye, rectum, or any other possibly infected area. The sample is mixed with elements that encourage the gonorrhea bacteria's growth. Contrasting any other tests for gonorrhea, a culture can influence if the gonorrhea bacteria is resistant to specific antibiotics.
-Gram stain. This test is done on a body fluid sample taken from the man's private area or rarely, from the neck of the womb of a woman or the cervix. The sample is dispersed on a microscope slide and tainted with a dye that will help identify the presence of gonorrhea bacteria. A gram stain is not that reliable than molecular probe test for gonorrhea detection, but this test generates faster results. Gram stain testing done on a body fluid sample from a woman's cervix does not produce accurate results.
-Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA, EIA). This is executed on a sample fluid from the penis or the cervix. This test for gonorrhea detects gonorrhea antigens that trigger an individual's immune system to struggle and fight the gonorrhea infection. An EIA test is less precise and less reliable for diagnosis gonorrhea than a gonorrhea culture.
Tests for gonorrhea are done so that health professionals know if it is gonorrhea that is causing the symptoms like painful urination, itching or bleeding of the anus, vaginal bleeding or atypical vaginal discharge. Because gonorrhea infection does not always cause symptoms, in order to be completely sure that you don't have gonorrhea, you should be sure to get tested every now and then.
