Gonorrhea

What is gonorrhea?

Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae. This common STI tends to target warm, moist areas of the body, including the:

• Urethra, or tube that drains urine from the bladder
• Eyes
• Throat
• Vagina
• Anus
• Female reproductive tract, which includes the fallopian tubes, cervix, and uterus

Gonorrhea can affect people of any age or gender, but it’s particularly common among teenagers and young adults between the ages of 15 and 24. Untreated gonorrhea can lead to long-term health concerns and, in some cases, infertility. But treatment with antibiotics can cure the infection and help lower your chances of experiencing health complications.

How is gonorrhea transmitted?

You can contract or transmit gonorrhea by having oral, anal, or vaginal sex. Using a condom or other barrier method when engaging in sexual activity can go a long way toward lowering your chances of transmitting or contracting STIs like gonorrhea. Just keep in mind these barrier methods won’t always completely eliminate your risk, especially if you don’t use them properly.

If you’ve developed gonorrhea before, you have a higher chance of contracting it again. Untreated gonorrhea can also increase your risk of contracting other STIs. Gonorrhea can also be transmitted from mother to baby during delivery.

What are the symptoms?

A male may develop noticeable symptoms of gonorrhea within 2 to 30 days after exposure. That said, it may take several weeks for symptoms to appear, and you might not experience any symptoms at all. Burning or pain during urination may be the first symptom you notice. Other possible symptoms include:

• Greater frequency or urgency of urination
• A pus-like discharge or drip from your penis (this discharge could be yellow, white, beige, or greenish)
• Discoloration and swelling at the penis opening
• Testicular swelling or pain
• Itching and soreness in your anus
• Rectal bleeding or discharge
• Pain when having bowel movements

Females usually don’t develop any symptoms of gonorrhea. Their symptoms are often fairly mild. What’s more, they can seem very similar to symptoms of vaginal yeast or other bacterial infections, which can make them even more difficult to recognize.

Possible symptoms include:

• Watery, creamy, or greenish vaginal discharge
• Pain or burning while urinating
• An urge to urinate more frequently
• Heavier periods or spotting between periods
• Pain during penetrative vaginal sex
• Sharp pain in your lower abdomen
• Itching and soreness in your anus
• Rectal bleeding or discharge
• Painful bowel movements

Gonorrhea can also affect your mouth and throat. Oral gonorrhea symptoms can include:

• A persistent sore throat
• Inflammation and redness in your throat
• Swelling in the lymph nodes in your neck
• Gonorrhea can also cause a fever.

Rarely, gonorrhea may spread to your eyes. This typically happens if you touch your genitals, or the site of the infection, and then touch your eye before thoroughly washing your hands. Symptoms of gonococcal conjunctivitis, or gonorrhea of the eye, can include:

• Eye pain, irritation, and tenderness
• Swelling in your eyelid
• Eye inflammation and redness
• Stringy white or yellow mucus around your eye

Tests for gonorrhea

Testing your urine. Often, a urine test can detect gonorrhea. Testing a sample of fluid. A healthcare professional may also swab your penis, vagina, throat, or rectum to get a sample of fluid for testing. This type of test requires a laboratory culture, which can take several days. Testing your blood. In rare instances, a healthcare professional may use a blood test to detect gonorrhea.

Complications of gonorrhea

Females: If you are a female and have gonorrhea, you have a higher chance of experiencing long-term complications of untreated gonorrhea. Untreated STIs like gonorrhea and chlamydia may move into the reproductive tract and affect the uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries. This can lead to a condition known as pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). PID can cause severe, chronic pain and damage to the reproductive organs. Blocking or scarring of the fallopian tubes, another possible complication, can make it more difficult to become pregnant. It can also cause ectopic pregnancy, which happens when a fertilized egg implants outside the uterus. Gonorrhea may also pass to a newborn infant during delivery.

Males: If you are male, untreated gonorrhea may lead to:

• Scarring of the urethra
• A painful abscess inside your penis, which can affect your fertility
• Epididymitis, or inflammation of the semen-carrying tubes near your testicles

An untreated infection can also spread to your bloodstream, where it can cause rare but serious complications such as arthritis and heart valve damage.

Treatment of gonorrhea

Modern antibiotics can cure gonorrhea, in most cases. Still, the emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains of gonorrhea poses some challenges for successful treatment. That’s why you’ll generally receive both an injection and oral dose of antibiotics. If the first treatment approach doesn’t work, a healthcare professional will prescribe another antibiotic, which you’ll take once or twice a day for 7 days. It’s important to take all of your medication to completely treat the infection, even if your symptoms go away before you finish your prescription.