Gonorrhea is a curable sexually transmitted infection (STI) passed on during vaginal, anal, and oral sex. Gonorrhea can also be spread from a pregnant person to their baby during childbirth. In addition to genital infections, it is possible to have a rectal, anal, or throat infection.
Anyone who is sexually active can get gonorrhea. If it’s untreated, gonorrhea can cause serious health problems.
Gonorrhea is passed on during vaginal, anal, and oral sex (performing or receiving). It can also be passed on by sharing sex toys.
Rarely it can be passed on by infected semen or vaginal fluid coming into contact with your eye.
A pregnant person can pass gonorrhea on their baby.
Many men infected with gonorrhea have symptoms, while most women do not. The only way to find out if you have gonorrhea is to get tested.
People with gonorrhea in the throat and rectum have even fewer symptoms and are usually symptom-free.
If a person does have symptoms, these usually appear within about two weeks of being infected. Sometimes symptoms don’t appear until many months later. Symptoms may go away on their own, but this doesn’t mean the gonorrhea has gone.
Symptoms of gonorrhea include:
If the infection spreads to the fallopian tubes, (connected to the uterus), symptoms may include:
This can be a sign that the infection has progressed to pelvic inflammatory disease (see more on this below).
Gonorrhea in the rectum does not usually have symptoms, but may cause anal discomfort, pain, or discharge.
Gonorrhea in the throat usually has no symptoms but may cause a sore throat.
Gonorrhea in the eye may cause irritation, pain, redness, swelling and/or discharge (conjunctivitis) in and around the eyes.
If it’s treated early, gonorrhea won’t usually cause any serious problems. If it’s not treated, it can spread to other parts of the body and may cause long-term health problems.
In a person with a uterus, gonorrhea can cause an infection called pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). If PID isn’t treated and cured it can cause pain, ectopic pregnancy and can eventually cause infertility (the inability to get pregnant).
During pregnancy, gonorrhea can be associated with miscarriage, premature labor, and the baby being born with conjunctivitis (inflammation of the eye) which can lead to permanent vision damage.
In a person with a penis, gonorrhea can spread to the testicles causing pain and swelling called epididymo-orchitis. Very rarely, there is a possibility it could affect your fertility.
Untreated gonorrhea can also cause arthritis (inflammation of the joints) or septicemia (infection in the bloodstream), but this is rare.
It’s a good idea to get tested if you or a sexual partner:
Yearly gonorrhea testing is recommended for all sexually active cis women younger than 25 years, as well as older cis women with new or multiple sex partners, or a sex partner who has an STI.
It’s possible to be tested within a few days of having sex especially if you have symptoms, but if you have no symptoms, you may want to wait up to two weeks after the last sexual contact before getting a test. This is because it can take up to two weeks before gonorrhea shows up on a test. Testing too early may give you false reassurance (i.e., your test result may be negative when you are actually infected).
Gonorrhea is usually easy to treat and cure, typically with a single antibiotic injection. Sometimes it takes more than one type of antibiotic to cure gonorrhea. With effective treatment, any symptoms should improve within a few days. It is important to treat it early so it’s less likely to cause any health problems.
If you test positive for gonorrhea, you will need to visit a local clinic or health care provider for treatment.
Patients with gonorrhea should also be treated for chlamydia (unless testing has ruled out chlamydia infection). People infected with gonorrhea are often also infected with chlamydia, so treatment is often prescribed for chlamydia as well, since the cost of the treatment is less than the cost of testing for chlamydia.
Gonorrhea treatment is safe to take during pregnancy and stops you passing gonorrhea on to the baby during the birth.
You should not have oral, anal, or vaginal sex until 7 days after you and any partner(s) have finished treatment and the symptoms have gone. Ideally wait until you have also had a test to check if the gonorrhea has gone.
Whether or not you have symptoms, it’s important to have another test 1-2 weeks after finishing treatment to check if the gonorrhea has been cured.
To help prevent gonorrhea and other STIs:
