men & women
Gonorrhoea
Gonorrhoea is a bacterial sexually transmitted infection that can cause discharge and painful urination, is often silent in the throat or rectum, and is treated with an antibiotic injection plus tablets.
Symptoms
1
Thick yellow or green discharge from the penis or vagina
2
Burning pain when urinating
3
Often no symptoms in the throat or rectum
4
Rectal discomfort or discharge
5
Bleeding between periods in women
6
Testicular pain in men
Causes and how it spreads
Gonorrhoea is caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae and spreads through vaginal, anal or oral sex. Throat and rectal infections are usually symptomless, which is why site-specific swabs matter when your history suggests them.
How PVT tests for it
PVT uses molecular (NAAT) testing on urine or swabs, processed by an accredited pathology laboratory. Where your history suggests throat or rectal exposure, those sites are swabbed too, because a urine test alone can miss them.
Treatment
Gonorrhoea is treated with an antibiotic injection plus tablets, reflecting rising antibiotic resistance worldwide. Throat infections are harder to clear, so a test-of-cure is done after treating them. Partners need treatment at the same time, and a three-month recheck confirms you remain clear.
When to see a doctor
Test if you have discharge or burning urination, if a partner has been diagnosed, or after unprotected sex with a new partner, including oral sex. Untreated gonorrhoea can cause pelvic inflammatory disease, testicular infection and joint problems.
Related service
Sexual Health Screening
Sexual health screening at PVT is confidential doctor-led testing for sexually transmitted infections, for men and women, with results and treatment handled privately.
Questions about
Gonorrhoea
Can you get gonorrhoea from oral sex?
Yes. Gonorrhoea infects the throat readily and almost never causes symptoms there. Throat infections matter because they pass on easily and are harder to treat, which is why a test-of-cure follows treatment of a throat infection.
Why does treatment involve an injection?
Because gonorrhoea has developed resistance to many older antibiotics. Current guidelines use an antibiotic injection combined with tablets to make sure the infection clears fully the first time.
How quickly do gonorrhoea symptoms appear?
In men who develop symptoms, discharge and burning typically start two to seven days after exposure. Many infections, especially in women and at the throat or rectum, cause nothing noticeable at any stage.
Is gonorrhoea curable?
Yes, with the correct combination treatment it is cured. Your doctor will arrange a test-of-cure where needed, treat partners, and recheck you at three months because reinfection is common.