What is gonorrhoea?
Gonorrhoea is a bacterial sexually transmissible infection (STI) that can infect the cervix, urethra, rectum, throat and occasionally the eyes.
How do I know if I have gonorrhoea?
Symptoms may occur within 2–10 days after sex depending on the site infected.
Vaginal symptoms may include:
- abnormal vaginal bleeding or discharge
- stinging or burning when passing urine
- pelvic pain and/ or pain during sex
Penile symptoms may include:
- discharge from the penis
- stinging or burning when passing urine
- urethral irritation and redness at the urethral opening (pee-hole)
- testicular pain/ swelling
Gonorrhoea in the anus and throat usually has no symptoms. However anal infections can occasionally cause rectal pain, bleeding and/ or mucous discharge.
Gonorrhoea can be diagnosed by a urine swab test.
How can I get gonorrhoea?
Gonorrhoea is passed on by having oral, vaginal or anal sex without a condom, with someone who has the infection.
What is the treatment for gonorrhoea?
Gonorrhoea is treated with antibiotics. This is usually a single dose of an antibiotic by injection and an oral antibiotic. Symptoms, if any, will usually resolve shortly after commencing antibiotics.
It is important not to have any sexual contact for 7 days after you start treatment, as you may be at risk of passing gonorrhoea to your sexual partners or becoming re-infected.
Do sexual partners need treatment?
All sexual partners in the last 2 months should be tested regardless of symptoms.
You may be reinfected from untreated partners therefore it is important to avoid sex until previous partners have been tested and/ or treated.
What else should I know?
- Follow up testing is advised 3 weeks after treatment to ensure the infection has been successfully treated.
- Gonorrhoea can cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) in people with a vagina and uterus, which may lead to ectopic pregnancies, infertility or chronic pelvic pain.
- Gonorrhoea can be passed on to the baby during childbirth potentially causing conjunctivitis (eye infection).
- Using condoms and dams is the best way to reduce the transmission of gonorrhoea.