Gonorrhea

Summary

Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted disease. It is most common in young adults. The bacteria that cause gonorrhea can infect the genital tract, mouth, or anus. You can get gonorrhea during vaginal, oral, or anal sex with an infected partner. A pregnant woman can pass it to her baby during childbirth.

Gonorrhea does not always cause symptoms. In men, gonorrhea can cause pain when urinating and discharge from the penis. If untreated, it can cause problems with the prostate and testicles.

In women, the early symptoms of gonorrhea often are mild. Later, it can cause bleeding between periods, pain when urinating, and increased discharge from the vagina. If untreated, it can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, which causes problems with pregnancy and infertility.

Your health care provider will diagnose gonorrhea with lab tests. Treatment is with antibiotics. Treating gonorrhea is becoming more difficult because drug-resistant strains are increasing. Correct usage of latex condoms greatly reduces, but does not eliminate, the risk of catching or spreading gonorrhea. If your or your partner is allergic to latex, you can use polyurethane condoms. The most reliable way to avoid infection is to not have anal, vaginal, or oral sex.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Specifics

• Antibiotic-Resistant Gonorrhea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Find an Expert

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Related Issues

• Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, and Syphilis American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
• Epididymitis Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Gonorrhea National Institutes of Health

Patient Handouts

• Condom Fact Sheet in Brief Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Endocervical gram stain Medical Encyclopedia
• Gonococcal arthritis Medical Encyclopedia
• Gonorrhea Medical Encyclopedia
• Rectal culture Medical Encyclopedia
• Urethral discharge culture Medical Encyclopedia

Women

• Gonorrhea Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women’s Health

Start Here

• Gonorrhea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Primary Gonorrhea Infection VisualDX

Teenagers

• Gonorrhea Nemours Foundation

Statistics and Research

• Gonorrhea Statistics Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Diagnosis and Tests

• Gonorrhea Test National Library of Medicine

Encyclopedia

• Gram stain of urethral discharge Medical Encyclopedia

Journal Articles

• Gonorrhea