People who are sexually active can get gonorrhea, a common, treatable, sexually transmitted disease (STD).
Gonorrhea is an STD that can cause infection in the genitals, rectum, and throat. It is very common, especially among young people ages 15-24 years.
You can get gonorrhea by having vaginal, anal, or oral sex with someone who has gonorrhea. A pregnant person with gonorrhea can give the infection to their baby during childbirth.
The only way to completely avoid STDs is to not have vaginal, anal, or oral sex.
If you are sexually active, the following things can lower your chances of getting gonorrhea:
Sexually active people can get gonorrhea through vaginal, anal, or oral sex without a condom with a partner who has gonorrhea.
If you are sexually active, have an honest and open talk with your healthcare provider. Ask them if you should get tested for gonorrhea or other STDs. If you are a sexually active gay or bisexual man, you should get tested for gonorrhea every year. If you are a sexually active woman, you should get tested for gonorrhea every year if you are:
Gonorrhea often has no symptoms, but it can cause serious health problems, even without symptoms.
Most women with gonorrhea do not have any symptoms. Even when a woman has symptoms, they are often mild and can be mistaken for a bladder or vaginal infection. Symptoms in women can include:
Men who do have symptoms may have:
Rectal infections may either cause no symptoms or cause symptoms in both men and women that may include:
See your healthcare provider if you notice any of these symptoms. You should also see a provider if your partner has an STD or symptoms of one. Symptoms can include an unusual sore, a smelly discharge, burning when peeing, or bleeding between periods.
Most of the time, a healthcare provider will use a a urine sample to diagnose gonorrhea. However, if you have had oral and/or anal sex, your healthcare provider may use swabs to collect samples from your throat and/or rectum. In some cases, a healthcare provider may also use a swab to collect a sample from a man’s urethra (urine canal) or a woman’s cervix (opening to the womb).
Yes, the right treatment can cure gonorrhea. It is important that you take all of the medicine your healthcare provider gives you to cure your infection. Do not share medicine for gonorrhea with anyone. Although medicine will stop the infection, it will not undo any permanent damage caused by the disease.
It is becoming harder to treat some gonorrhea, as drug-resistant strains of gonorrhea are increasing. Return to a healthcare provider if your symptoms continue for more than a few days after receiving treatment.
Wait seven days after finishing all medicine before having sex. You and your sex partner(s) should avoid having sex until you have each completed treatment and your symptoms are gone. This will help prevent you and your partner(s) from giving or getting gonorrhea again. Those with gonorrhea should be retested about three months after treatment of an initial infection, even if their partners received successful treatment.
If you’ve had gonorrhea and took medicine in the past, you can still get it again. This happens if you have sex without a condom with a person who has gonorrhea.
Untreated gonorrhea can cause serious and permanent health problems.
In women, untreated gonorrhea can cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). Some of the complications of PID are:
In men, gonorrhea can cause a painful condition in the tubes attached to the testicles, which can, in rare cases, lead to infertility.
Rarely, untreated gonorrhea can also spread to your blood or joints. This condition can be life-threatening.
Untreated gonorrhea may also increase your chances of getting or giving HIV.
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