Gonorrhea
Gonorrhea is a bacterial sexually transmitted infection (STI). Learn more about testing, prevention, and treatment for gonorrhea.
What is gonorrhea?
Gonorrhea is a bacterial infection spread through sexual contact. It commonly appears in the throat, anus, penis, or vagina. If left untreated, gonorrhea can result in serious conditions like pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, and other health problems.
How is gonorrhea spread?
Gonorrhea can be spread through anal, oral, or vaginal sex—as well as through contact that doesn’t involve penetration.
What are the symptoms of gonorrhea?
Most people who have gonorrhea don’t show any symptoms—but if they do, the symptoms can appear either very quickly or within a few weeks.
It’s important to know that you don’t need to show symptoms to pass on gonorrhea. You also don’t need to show symptoms for a provider to test for chlamydia. The incubation period, or the time between exposure and when symptoms first appear, is 1 to 14 days.
The symptoms for gonorrhea are similar to the symptoms for chlamydia, another bacterial infection. Symptoms can include:
- A burning sensation when you pee
- Abnormal and/or discolored discharge from the penis or vagina
- A sore throat after performing oral sex
- Abnormal discharge, pain, and/or bleeding in the rectum
- Abnormal swelling in the testicles and/or scrotum
- Pain while ejaculating
If you experience any of these symptoms, see your health care provider right away to get tested and treated.
When should I get tested for gonorrhea?
Are you sexually active? STIs are a risk at any age if you’re sexually active with more than one partner or if you and your partners haven’t been tested regularly. Gonorrhea and chlamydia testing are often performed together, since symptoms are similar and people who have one infection often test positive for the other. Testing for gonorrhea can be performed as soon as you think you’ve been exposed, but the most accurate test results are generally two to three weeks after exposure. Learn more about testing for STIs.
How do I get tested for gonorrhea?
There is no reliable blood test that can detect the presence of gonorrhea, which means samples must be taken from the parts of your body used when you have sex. Three-site testing is a testing method for gonorrhea that tests swab samples taken from your throat, penis, and anus. When you go for testing, you want to be sure to tell your provider about every part of your body that may have come in contact with gonorrhea, or any other STI. If you had oral sex, make sure your doctor swabs your throat. If you bottomed for anal sex, that means a swab of your anus—and so on. Although there is a swab test for the penis, your doctor will most likely test a sample of urine. However, urine tests can’t detect infection of gonorrhea in your throat or anus.
While gonorrhea is curable, it’s possible to get re-infected. That’s why it’s a good idea to get tested for these and other STIs every three to six months, especially if you have multiple partners or don’t always use condoms.
What is the treatment for gonorrhea?
If you test positive for gonorrhea, your provider will prescribe antibiotics to cure the infection. However, antibiotics will not prevent you from getting it or any other STI again. It’s possible that you—and your sex partners—can get reinfected and pass the STI to others.
In 2023, a new strain of gonorrhea was identified in Massachusetts. This new strain has reduced response to the antibiotics used to treat it. This means in the future it may be much harder to treat and cure infection. It’s serious news, but there are precautions you can take to help protect yourself and your partners.
How can I prevent gonorrhea?
The only proven way to prevent getting gonorrhea is to abstain from any kind of sexual activity. Learn about ways you can reduce the risk of getting or passing on gonorrhea and other STIs.
I tested positive for gonorrhea. What should I do next?
Learn what you can do after a positive STI test result, including how to protect partners.
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