How long does it take for disseminated gonorrhea?

DGI can develop within 2 weeks of contracting gonorrhea. Once in the bloodstream, gonorrhea can affect various tissues and cause permanent damage.

How long after exposure does gonorrhea show up?

How soon do symptoms appear? In males, symptoms usually appear two to seven days after infection but it can take as long as 30 days for symptoms to begin. Often, there are no symptoms for people infected with gonorrhea; 10 to 15 percent of men and about 80 percent of women may have no symptoms.

Does gonorrhea have a short incubation period?

Gonorrhea: Gonorrhea is frequently asymptomatic (it has no symptoms). When symptoms appear, they may show up as early as two days after exposure or take as long as one month.

How common is disseminated gonorrhea?

Disseminated gonorrhea—which occurs in an estimated 0.5–3% of infected individuals—can happen within two weeks of a gonorrhea infection. When the bacteria spread, disseminated gonorrhea can cause symptoms like fevers, chills, and a general feeling of being unwell.

How do I know if I have DGI?

A subacute onset of fever, chills, sweats, and malaise may indicate the presence of gonococcal endocarditis. Patients with endocarditis may develop atypical chest pain, cough, and dyspnea and may also develop the arthralgias and rash typical of DGI.

Will DGI go away on its own?

Rash associated with DGI disappears after 4–5 days without treatment. Patients with tenosynovitis who do not improve with IV antibiotics may require tenosynovectomy and drainage. Gonococcus and chlamydial infections coexist in a significant percentage of community patients.

How do you get disseminated gonococcal infection?

DGI occurs when the sexually transmitted pathogen Neisseria gonorrhoeae invades the bloodstream and spreads to distant sites in the body, leading to clinical findings such as septic arthritis, polyarthralgia, tenosynovitis, petechial/pustular skin lesions, bacteremia, or, on rare occasions, endocarditis or meningitis.

How rare is DGI?

DGI is uncommon and thought to occur in 0.5-3% of untreated gonorrhea cases.

Can you have gonorrhea for 10 years and not know it?

If gonorrhea remains undetected and undiagnosed for a long period of time, the infection is likely to spread and affect other parts of the body. Patients who have carried the infection for a long time are at risk of complications and may begin to experience gonorrhea symptoms months or even years after infection.