Cao Kaiyong's Mailbox: Symptoms and Dangers of Chancroid and Gonorrhea

**Cao Kaiyong's Mailbox**

What is chancre?

**Dr. Cao:**

Recently, my urinary tract has become red, swollen, and ulcerated, and the pain is unbearable. What kind of illness is this? Can it be cured?

Lei ××

Mr. Lei:

Based on your described symptoms, you may have chancre. Please go to the hospital for diagnosis and treatment as soon as possible to avoid delaying your condition.

Infantile malnutrition is a surgical condition characterized by swelling, pain, and ulceration of the external genitalia (penis, glans, foreskin, and perineum).

The common causes of chancre are mainly two types: damp-heat accumulation in the lower body and internal accumulation of toxic heat. Damp-heat accumulation in the lower body can be caused by uncleanliness of the vulva, resulting in maceration of dirt; unclean sexual intercourse, damaging the penis and allowing external infection with toxins; or a constitution with pre-existing dampness, where dampness stagnates and transforms into heat over time, leading to the downward flow of damp-heat toxins to the vulva, resulting in chancres. Internal toxic heat is caused by excessive sexual activity or withholding ejaculation, resulting in the retention of semen and turbid blood in the penis, which accumulates heat and becomes toxic; or by prolonged use of hot medicines, causing internal heat to stagnate and become toxic, which then travels along the meridians to the vulva, resulting in chancres.

Patients with chancre should maintain a light diet during the illness, avoiding greasy and oily foods. Avoid friction and irritation to the affected area. Keep the affected area clean and apply topical medication as prescribed. After healing, pay attention to hygiene and wash the affected area frequently to prevent the accumulation of dirt. If the chancre is caused by phimosis, surgical treatment is recommended.

**Cao Kaiyong**

What are the symptoms of gonorrhea? What are the dangers?

**Dr. Cao:**

How is gonorrhea contracted? What are its symptoms and dangers?

Gong XX

Mr. Gong:

Gonorrhea is a purulent infection of the urogenital system caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Neisseria gonorrhoeae infects only humans and not any other animals. Its optimal growth temperature is 37°C–38°C. It does not readily grow outside the human body and dies within hours in a dry environment. Common disinfectants or soaps can kill it.

Gonorrhea is primarily transmitted through direct sexual intercourse. Indirect transmission can also occur through contact with an infected person's secretions, clothing, bedding, bedpan, towels, etc.

Gonococci can easily cause inflammation of the anterior and posterior urethra, seminal vesicles, and epididymis in men. In severe cases, gonococci can invade the bloodstream and cause sepsis.

In men, uncomplicated gonorrhea is simply gonococcal urethritis. The incubation period after infection is generally 2–5 days, with a minimum of 12 hours. Symptoms include urinary frequency, urgency, dysuria, purulent discharge from the urethra, and redness and swelling of the urethral opening. In men with phimosis, it can cause balanitis, post-balanitis, and even paraphimosis. When the posterior urethra is involved, terminal hematuria, bloody semen, and mild perineal distension may occur. In men with complicated gonorrhea, there may be prostatitis, seminal vesiculitis, epididymitis, urethral stricture, etc.

With adequate medication during the acute phase, uncomplicated gonorrhea can be quickly relieved, with a cure rate exceeding 90%. However, if treatment is inadequate or delayed, it can progress to the chronic phase, leading to complications or disseminated gonorrhea, making a complete cure difficult. Ultimately, it can cause urethral stricture in men and fallopian tube obstruction in women, resulting in infertility or ectopic pregnancy. In severe cases, it can be life-threatening.

**Cao Kaiyong**