If you are wondering how long can gonorrhea lay dormant, you will be surprised to learn that while the bacterium causing the infection does not lie dormant, it can take a few days before the symptoms appear. (See Reference 1)

Unfortunately, since gonorrhea is caused by a bacterium, it does not lie dormant like a virus would. It bacteria can wreak havoc in the infected person without even showing any obvious signs of infection. And, this happens to be the case in several women who get the infection. Many of the women do not display any obvious signs of gonorrheal infection, and the minute signs that are present are often mistaken for urinary tract infection and hence, neglected. (See Reference 2) It is only when the infection becomes severe, these women opt to visit a doctor, but by then the bacterium would have caused irreparable damage to the body. The signs of the infection include burning while passing urine, discharge from the vagina and bleeding in between the menstrual periods. Even if the infection is not severe, women can develop complications like pelvic inflammatory disease if they do not seek medical treatment. (See Reference 2)

In some men too, the infection may not show obvious signs, but in others the symptoms of the infection can appear any time from the 1st to the 14th day after being exposed to the bacterium. (See Reference 2) The initial signs of gonorrhea in men include a burning sensation while passing urine, and later on appearance of discharge from the penis. The discharge is thick and can be white, green or yellow in color. If the man does not seek treatment, then the infection can turn painful and cause inflammation of the testicles. (See Reference 2)

Gonorrhea is an STD that is caused by a bacterium known as Neisseria gonorrheae. This bacterium thrives in warm and moist places and hence, favors the reproductive tract of women, and the urinary canal of men as well as women. (See Reference 2) It can also infect the throat, anus and eyes. The gonorrheal infection of the eyes is prevalent in newborn infants whose mothers have the infection at the time of delivery. In the US, gonorrhea is quite a common STD, and thousands of new cases are reported to the CDC every year. However, the CDC estimates that only half of the cases are reported and there might still be thousands of cases that do not get reported. In the year 2009, more than 300,000 new cases of the infection were reported to the CDC. (See Reference 2)

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