Gonorrhoea

Symptoms of gonorrhoea

Not everyone gets symptoms of gonorrhoea. So it's important to get tested if you think you might have it.

If you do get symptoms, they usually start around 2 weeks after infection, although they sometimes do not appear until many months later.

Symptoms in women

Gonorrhoea can cause symptoms in women. These symptoms can affect anyone with a vagina:

• a yellow or greenish discharge from your vagina
• burning pain when you pee
• pain in your lower abdomen
• bleeding between your periods (this is rare)

Symptoms in men

Gonorrhoea can cause symptoms in men. These symptoms can affect anyone with a penis:

• burning pain when you pee
• fluid or discharge coming out of your penis
• sore testicles

Gonorrhoea in the anus, throat or eyes

Gonorrhoea can affect other parts of your body that come into contact with semen or vaginal fluid.

This can cause:

• pain, itching and discharge from your anus (bottom)
• a sore throat
• eye redness, pain and discharge

Self-test kits

If you do not have symptoms but want a test, you can use a self-test kit for gonorrhoea at home and send it to a lab to be tested.

If the test shows you have gonorrhoea, you'll be contacted and told what to do next.

You may be able to get a free self-test kit from:

• a sexual health clinic
• some pharmacies

You can also buy a self-test kit for gonorrhoea from some pharmacies.

What happens at your appointment

If they think you might have gonorrhoea, the doctor or nurse will ask about your symptoms and sexual partners. They may need to check your penis or vagina.

When you make your appointment, let them know if you’d like someone else to be in the room with you (a chaperone). This could be someone you know, another doctor, nurse or a trained member of staff.

They may use a swab (like a large cotton bud) to take a sample of fluid from your penis or vagina. You may be able to do the swab yourself.

You might also be asked to give a pee sample.

You might have a swab of your bottom (anus), throat or eyes if these areas are affected.

You can be tested even if you do not have any symptoms. You may also have tests for other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) at the same time.

Treatment for gonorrhoea

Gonorrhoea is treated with a single dose of antibiotics, which can be an injection or tablets.

You can start treatment before getting your test results.

You'll need to go back to the GP surgery or sexual health clinic about a week after starting treatment to be tested again to check you no longer have gonorrhoea.

Complications of gonorrhoea

If gonorrhoea is not treated, it can cause serious problems including:

• eye infection (gonococcal conjunctivitis) if you touch your eyes after touching infected fluid from your penis or vagina
• an infection of the womb, fallopian tubes and ovaries (pelvic inflammatory disease), which can lead to infertility if not treated
• infection in the testicles or prostate (prostatitis)

The sooner you get treatment, the easier these complications are to treat.

Gonorrhoea in pregnancy

Having gonorrhoea during pregnancy can increase your risk of premature birth and your baby having a low birth weight.

Theres also a risk the infection could spread to your baby's eyes (gonococcal conjunctivitis) during birth. This can cause blindness if it’s not treated with antibiotics.

If you're pregnant and think you might have gonorrhoea, it's important to get tested and treated before your baby is born.

How to prevent gonorrhoea

Gonorrhoea is spread through vaginal fluid and semen. It can pass from person to person by having vaginal, anal or oral sex without a condom.

If you have gonorrhoea when you're pregnant, it can also pass to your baby during birth.

There are some things you can do to avoid getting gonorrhoea and spreading it to others.