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Complete Guide to Gonococcal Arthritis: An STD that Causes Joint Pain

2023-02-07

Gonococcal arthritis, a form of infection that transmits via physical relations, is brought on by one prevalent STD, gonorrhea. The microbial infection stretches to your joints all through your body as it gets into your bloodstream. Gonococcal arthritis is a condition that can be managed. The majority of signs typically get better within 1-2 days of starting treatment. Even though this disease is an STD that causes joint pain, treatment will probably allow you to fully heal.

Get an STD instant test if you think you may have gonococcal arthritis following sexual activity. To make sure that you begin treatment as quickly as possible, services like Rapid STI Testing can put you in touch with a lab in your neighborhood. Let's get to the types of STDs that affect your joints.

What are the Types of STD That Causes Joint Pain?

The STDs gonorrhoea and chlamydia both result in joint pain. Although we will go over the main distinctions here, it is always recommended to undergo same-day STD testing to determine which STI you may have.

Several weeks after the first infection, both STDs' main symptoms start to manifest. They consist of:

  1. Mild fever

  2. Fatigue

  3. Joint discomfort or burning

  4. Lower back pain that radiates

  5. Swelling of the joints

Gonorrhea

A disease called gonorrhea can harm the genitalia, rectum, eyes, throat, and joints. It affects women under the age of 25 and men who've had intimate relations with other men highly. Men and women who have gonorrhea experience pain when urinating and during sexual activity. A pus-like substance in men and abnormal discharge or bleeding in females from genitals after intercourse are common symptoms.

Antibiotics are prescribed by doctors to soothe gonorrhea in both males and females. Specialists firmly suggest that if you are diagnosed with Gonorrhea, it's important that you must get your significant other also get checked. Even if they don't show any symptoms indicating that they might have as well caught the disease, there's a possibility. They will likely have to receive the same treatment as you.

Chlamydia

If you think you might have gonorrhea or chlamydia because of their related symptoms, STI testing is crucial. Reactive instead of septic arthritis can result from chlamydia. Chlamydia frequently causes painful urination, testicles, or sexual activity. Additionally, you might experience irregular discharge from your genitals, as well as rare post-sex vaginal bleeding.

Antibiotics are another method of treatment for chlamydia, and many side effects disappear within two weeks. Patients must refrain from intercourse during the healing process because relapses are possible. Ensure you and your partner(s) receive proper care.

How can STDs cause joint pain?

Due to the absence of typical side effects, STDs can occasionally go unobserved. The disease is more likely to enter the bloodstream in situations of gonorrhea and chlamydia. Septic or reactive arthritis may result from an STD that causes joint pain and pain in muscles.

Your body's veins carry nutrients and oxygen to the living cells and tissues. Once bacteria get into your bloodstream, they spread rapidly to every area of your body. Your joints lack the same infection-fighting mechanisms as other internal organs. So, septic arthritis has a simple entry point into joints. Joint inflammation, which inhibits blood circulation and raises the possibility of harm, is the body's normal reaction.

Moreover, when the body targets its tissues, misinterpreting them for an outside force like a disease or a bacterium, it results in reactive arthritis. Along with other organs, the urinary system and eyes may be impacted by reactive arthritis. Your body detects the disease as the bacteria scatter and respond so strongly that it starts attacking their cells even though the infection has subsided. A condition called an autoimmune disorder.

Gonorrheal Arthritis: What Is It?

When inflammation occurs in one or more joints, arthritis develops. There are numerous types of arthritis, and while older adults are frequently affected, young individuals are also at risk. Untreated gonorrhea infection may lead to gonococcal arthritis, a sort of septic arthritis.

Additionally, potential partners can contract gonorrhea via intercourse. The joints are used by gonorrheal bacteria to spread the infection, which results in arthritis. Joint and tissue distress can both be brought on by gonococcal arthritis. The disease is rare, but it needs to be treated right away if it is found.

According to statistics, female bodies are more susceptible to developing gonococcal arthritis than males. The greatest risk of developing gonococcal arthritis is among females in their teens and early 20s because these age groups also are more susceptible to contracting gonorrhea.

What are the symptoms of Gonococcal Arthritis?

The common symptoms are your wrists, ankles, knees, and elbows; they may all sense pain if you have gonococcal arthritis. It will be painful to move, while red, swollen joints are possible symptoms. At last, when urinating, you might experience pain or burning.

Sadly, mothers can transmit untreated gonorrhea to fetuses during childbirth, making infants also susceptible to developing gonococcal arthritis—although they make up a relatively small portion of those affected by the condition.

Gonococcal arthritis in newborns can cause symptoms like:

  1. crying and irritability

  2. Not wanting to eat

  3. Fever Spasms or uncontrollable arm- or leg-movements

All of these signs indicate that your infant must get checked for STDs. Do not disregard your signs and go for a checkup whenever you experience these symptoms.