What Are the Symptoms and Complications of Gonorrhea in Women?
As noted, many women infected with gonorrhea do not initially develop visible symptoms. A small percentage of women do experience a discharge of yellow mucus and pus from the vagina, painful urination, or abnormal menstrual bleeding. Rectal pain and swelling may occur if the infection spreads to the rectum. Recent studies have found strong evidences to suggest that gonorrhea infection may facilitate HIV infection. In other words, individuals who are infected with gonorrhea are more susceptible to HIV infection if exposed to the human immunodeficiency virus. Because so many women with gonorrhea are without symptoms, infections often go untreated. As a result, the infection can “ascend” from the cervix to the upper genital tract and infect the uterus. It can infect the fallopian tubes as well, a condition known as salpingitis or pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). Other bacteria may be involved in this infection as well. Women with PID due to gonorrhea (and other bacteria) typically exper
