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Gonorrhea: Signs And Symptoms
Gonorrhea is a very common sexually transmitted infection (STI) that you may hear referred to as "the clap" or "the drip." An infected person can pass it to a partner during vaginal, anal, and/or oral sex. It can also be spread via contaminated sex toys and close genital-to-genital contact, even if there's no penetration. You can also get it if the infection touches your eyes. If left untreated, it can cause serious complications, including:
Gonorrhea symptoms normally show up within 14 days after you get the infection. Some people don't experience any symptoms until after they've had the infection for months. Many people with gonorrhea — usually people with vaginas — never have symptoms at all.
Know the signs of this common STI so you'll have a better chance of recognizing and curing it quickly.
You get gonorrhea from a bacterium. This germ infects you when someone who has it passes it to you during sexual contact. The most common symptoms show up in the mucous membranes (the linings of certain openings in your body) involved in these types of intercourse. These include your genital tract, rectum, and throat.
Gonorrhea can also cause problems with other parts of your body, such as your joints, or even your eyes.
Often, gonorrhea has no symptoms. Symptoms typically don't start immediately, because the infection may not trigger your immune system for up to several weeks. Most people who contract gonorrhea will begin to have symptoms within 14 days.
It's possible for people with penises not to have any symptoms. But when they do have symptoms, they commonly include:
People with vaginas are more likely to not have symptoms of gonorrhea than people with penises. People with vaginas also tend to have milder symptoms. Its symptoms can be mistaken for those of a bladder infection. The symptoms include:
Pelvic pain can be a symptom of gonorrhea for women and those assigned female at birth. (Photo Credit: Moment/Getty Images)
Symptoms of gonorrhea can affect any infected area. It generally depends on what type of sex has spread the infection. You may experience symptoms in the following areas of your body:
Rectum
Gonorrhea in your rectum typically occurs following unprotected anal sex. However, if you have gonorrhea, you can spread the infection from your genitals to your rectum. For example, if you touch your rectum with infected toilet paper after wiping your vagina, you may spread the infection. Most of the time, you won't have any symptoms. Possible symptoms include:
Throat
Unprotected oral sex can lead to gonorrhea infection in your mouth and throat. Such infections usually don't cause symptoms. When symptoms do occur, they can include:
Eyes
If you touch your eyes after touching bodily fluids infected with gonorrhea, you could get gonococcal conjunctivitis, a contagious eye infection sometimes referred to as pink eye. Symptoms include:
Joints
If the bacteria that cause gonorrhea infect your joints, it's called septic arthritis. You'll notice the affected joints are painful, red, swollen, and warm to the touch. It'll hurt to move them.
Gonorrhea infections can lead to many complications if they go untreated. Some complications can be quite serious, even life-threatening. These complications and their symptoms include:
Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)
PID is a serious infection that develops in your uterus, fallopian tubes, and/or your ovaries. It can lead to infertility, chronic pelvic pain, ectopic pregnancy, and potentially life-threatening abscesses called tubo-ovarian abscesses (TOA). Symptoms of PID include:
Epididymitis
This is inflammation of the epididymis, a tube that leads from each testicle to another tube called the vas deferens. Both the epididymis and the vas deferens are parts of male reproductive organs. The epididymis stores sperm as it matures, while the vas deferens moves that sperm along shortly before you ejaculate. If left untreated, epididymitis can become chronic. It can also lead to infertility and cause the death of tissue in your testicles. The symptoms of epididymitis include:
Prostatitis
This is an often painful swelling of the prostate gland, a part of the male reproductive system that helps make semen. It can lead to sexual dysfunction, inflammation in other parts of your reproductive system near your prostate, an abscess in your prostate, and dangerous bacterial infections of your bloodstream, called bacteremia, which can cause sepsis. The symptoms include:
Urethritis
This is swelling of the urethra, the tube that carries pee from your bladder to the outside of your body. If left untreated, it can cause blockages of the urethra, boosting your risk of infections in your bladder and kidneys. Urethritis may not cause symptoms, but if it does, they can include:
Sepsis
This is a life-threatening medical emergency. It occurs when your immune system goes haywire in response to an infection. Rather than continuing to fight that infection, your immune system begins to attack your organs and other parts of your body. This causes damaging inflammation. Sepsis can also trigger blood clots that can block the flow of blood to essential organs, leading to damage or organ failure. Gonorrhea infections, as well as infections that can occur when gonorrhea goes untreated, can result in sepsis. It requires immediate treatment and can be quickly fatal. Sepsis has many potential symptoms because it can affect many parts of the body. These symptoms include:
If you notice any of the symptoms listed above, get tested for gonorrhea. You should also be tested if you're having sex with someone who has symptoms.
At your appointment, your doctor will ask about your sex life to get a better idea of your risk for this STI. They'll also ask what symptoms you are having and when they started.
To test you for the infection, they'll take a sample from or swab one or more of the following places:
Your doctor will send the sample to a lab, where it'll be tested for the bacterium that causes gonorrhea. Having it increases your chances of getting other STIs (such as chlamydia), so your doctor may recommend that the lab test your sample for those, too.
If you're a woman or AFAB, there are also home test kits that you can use to check for gonorrhea. These come with swabs you use on your vagina to collect a sample. You mail the sample to a lab. The lab will contact you with your results.
Gonorrhea is a common and serious sexually transmitted infection (STI). For many people, it does not cause symptoms. When symptoms do occur, some of those will depend on whether you have a penis or vagina. If you have symptoms or think that you may have gonorrhea, see a doctor right away. The infection usually can be treated with a single dose of antibiotics. Without treatment, it can cause potentially life-threatening complications, such as sepsis.
How serious is gonorrhea?
It can be very serious. If untreated, gonorrhea can lead to a long list of complications, including infertility, liver, heart, and brain damage, and sepsis.
Can gonorrhea be cured?
Most of the time, gonorrhea can be cured by a single injection of antibiotics. However, antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea is becoming more common. That makes it even more important to avoid the infection in the first place. Practice safe sex and avoid sex with people who have gonorrhea or symptoms of gonorrhea.
What is the 7-day antibiotic for gonorrhea?
The antibiotic is called ceftriaxone. It's given once, by injection. You should avoid sex for at least 7 days after your injection to keep the infection from spreading. The CDC recommends that you get tested for gonorrhea 3 months after treatment to be sure you have not been reinfected. Your sexual partner or partners also should be treated.
How transmissible is gonorrhea from women to men?
There's about a 1 in 5, or 20%, chance of an infected woman passing gonorrhea to a male partner if they did not use a condom during sex.
Can You Get Infected With HIV From Oral Sex?
If you're worried about HIV infection, you may wonder whether it's safe to have oral sex. While it's not risk-free, the chances of spreading the virus that causes AIDS are very low if you take the right precautions.
The chance that you will get HIV from receiving oral sex -- that means a partner's mouth is on your genitals -- is very low compared to unprotected vaginal or anal sex. But it's not easy to know what the actual risk is. This is because most people who have oral sex also have vaginal or anal sex. It's tricky to figure out each factor on its own.
It's thought to be riskier to give oral sex rather than to receive it. This is because you may have small cuts or sores in your mouth, even if you are not aware of them. There's also risk from a partner's fluids, which may get into contact with your mouth and throat.
Mouth-to-penis oral sex is thought to be riskier than mouth-to-vagina oral sex. But the risk is still much lower than with other types of intercourse.
The chance of being infected with HIV from anilingus (oral-anal sex) is also considered to be very low. The bigger risk is that you become sick from certain other viruses or bacteria that live in your partner's anus.
There is HIV virus in body fluids like vaginal secretions and semen. If those fluids are present, they can enter the bloodstream of someone who doesn't have HIV through an opening such as a mouth sore or a genital ulcer.
Your chances are higher of getting HIV if you:
Since there is still a chance that you could get infected with HIV through oral sex, you should always take precautions. Here is what you can do to lower your risk:
Do not let a male partner ejaculate in your mouth. You can do this if you remove your mouth from their penis before they ejaculate, or if your partner uses a condom.
Use a condom or dental dam. A dental dam is a thin square piece of latex or silicone that you place over the vagina or anal area during oral sex. You can also cut a latex condom lengthwise and use it the same way.
Both of these barriers also lower the risk of infection from other STDs such as gonorrhea of the throat or hepatitis. Use a new one every time you have oral sex. Check the expiration date on the package, and make sure there are no tears or defects.
Don't use oil-based products like baby oil, lotion, petroleum jelly, or cooking oil on condoms or dental dams because that can cause them to break. If you need lubrication, use a water-based or silicone-based product instead. Ask your partner to use a condom, or if you are a woman, use a dental dam during your period, as the virus can be present in menstrual blood.
Don't brush your teeth just before oral sex. If you do, your mouth or gums may bleed, which raises chances of infection.
Skip oral sex during risky times. This includes a time when you have sores around your mouth, genitals, or anus (for example, a herpes outbreak), gum damage, a throat infection, or after dental work.
If your partner is HIV-positive, the risk is also lower if they currently take medicine to treat HIV (antiretroviral therapy or ART). This suppresses the virus so it can't spread as easily. You can also take medicine that prevents HIV. Talk to your doctor about your options.
FAST FACTS ABOUT STD'S
FAST FACTS ABOUT STD'SFAST FACTS ABOUT STD'S
(You may also want to check out Unspeakable.Com's STD Clinic Locator)
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)What It Is: The virus that causes Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). HIV works by attacking the body's immune system, leaving it susceptible to fatal infections and cancers.How You Can Get It: Through vaginal, oral, or anal sex. You can't get contract HIV from kissing, hugging, shaking hands, or even donating blood. You can, however, get it through using infected needles.Symptoms: You can be infected with HIV and have no symptoms; AIDS takes an average of 7-9 years to develop once HIV enters the body. Symptoms of AIDS, which are caused not by HIV but by the infections that take advantage of the body's weakened immune system, include rapid weight loss, chronic fever, diarrhea, fatigue, shortness of breath, difficulty swallowing, and nightsweats. These symptoms can last for weeks or months at a time, and will not go away without treatment. With that said, these are symptoms that are seen in many other diseases that are not AIDS-related, so don't panic and assume that one or more of these mean you have HIV or AIDS.Detect It: A blood test will determine whether or not you have HIV. The test can be done at an AIDS testing center, clinic, doctor's office, or even with a home test kit. You can request that testing be confidential.Is It Curable?: No. Contrary to popular belief, there is no cure yet for HIV/AIDS.Is It Treatable?: Yes, but not universally. Although there have been new developments in treatment over the last few years, and many patients' lives have been prolonged, different people respond to these medications in different ways. Treatment to slow HIV's attack on the immune system, which involves combining two classes of drugs, is complicated. The other major focus of HIV treatment is preventing and alleviating AIDS-related infections.Prevent It: Practicing safe sex. Until you trust your partner and know that she or he has been tested for HIV, use a latex condom.Where To Get Help: The CDC National AIDS Hotline, 1-800-342-AIDS; Planned Parenthood's clinic locator, 1-800-230-PLAN.
"HIV - Get Tested!" Week will take place from December 1-9, 2000 in Baltimore, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and Washington, D.C. Visit www.HIVGetTested.Com for details on where to go for free, confidential testing and counseling.
HEPATITIS BWhat It Is: An infection of the liver causes by a virus which is 100 times more infectious than HIV. About 300,000 American contract hepatitis B every year. Although most people recover, some become chronic carriers of the disease. This means more problems down the road, such as liver cancer.How You Can Get It: Hepatitis B is spread like HIV: through contact with infected blood or bodily fluids. You can contract the virus through vaginal, oral, or anal sex.Symptoms: Poor appetite, vomiting, nausea, headaches, yellowing of the eyes and skin, dark urine, general fatigue. These usually show up within 2 to 6 weeks after infection. If you're a chronic carrier who has no symptoms, you can still pass it (unknowingly) to others.Detect It: If you are experiencing symptoms, or have had sexual contact with someone who has hepatitis B, you can get diagnosed through a blood test.Is It Curable?: Yes.Is It Treatable?: Treatment includes rest, diet, and medication. If your partner or anyone else you come in close contact with is diagnosed with the disease, you can get immunized.Prevent It: Practice safe sex by using a latex condom. To minimize your risk of getting hepatitis B, never share needles, syringes, or any instruments used for ear-piercing, tattooing, and hair removal. Don't share toothbrushes or razors either. If you find that you've contracted hepatitis B, avoid sex and other close contact (even kissing), until cleared by a doctor.Where To Get Help: The National STD hotline at 1-800-227-8922; Planned Parenthood's clinic locator, 1-800-230-PLAN.
GENITAL HERPESWhat It Is: A viral infection that often causes sores in the genital area. If these sores are open and exposed to body fluids that carry HIV (through sex with someone who has HIV), genital herpes increases the risk of contracting HIV. Once you contract herpes, you have it for life, along with the estimated 40 million people who also have it. Each year, about 500,000 new people get herpes, and even more who have it but experience no symptoms.How You Can Get It: By touching sores and blisters through vaginal, oral, or anal sex; you can also be exposed to the virus by kissing or caressing the infected areas. Areas where sores form are contagious for days before any visible symptoms break out.Symptoms: Small red bumps that turn into blisterlike sores on the genitals, rear end, thighs, fingers, mouths, etc. Women often experience vaginal discharge and/or burning. Other symptoms include fever, muscle aches, and headaches. All these pop up from between 2 to 20 days after sex with an infected partner. But here's the kicker: some people experience no symptoms.Detect It: A physical examination and/or a clinical test will determine whether you have herpes. The test involves collecting a small amount of fluid from a sore and sending it to a lab to see if the herpes virus is present.Is It Curable?: No.Is It Treatable?: Yes. Prescription antiviral drugs can reduce pain, length, and frequency of herpes outbreaks. The earlier you get treatment, the more effective it will be.Prevent It: Practicing safe sex. Limit the number of sex partners, use a condom all the time, and if you think you might be infected, don't hesitate to get tested.Where To Get Help: The National Herpes Hotline, 1-919-361-8486; The National STD hotline at 1-800-227-8922; Planned Parenthood's clinic locator, 1-800-230-PLAN.
CHLAMYDIAWhat It Is: A bacterial infection that can cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and/or sterility if not treated in time. Chlamydia has the dubious honor of being the number one bacterial STD in the U.S. Today, with 4 million new cases every year. It's also known as a "silent epidemic" because 75% of the women and 50% of the men with the disease have no symptoms.How You Can Get It: Vaginal or anal sex.Symptoms: Others experience abnormal vaginal bleeding, whitish vaginal or penile discharge, painful or burning urination. Women may also experience lower abdominal pain, painful intercourse, and bleeding between periods. Men may have burning and itching around the opening of the penis and/or pain and swelling in the testicles.Detect It: With a test from a urine sample or a sample of fluid taken from the infected area.Is It Curable?: Yes.Is It Treatable?: Yes. Prescription antibiotics will do the trick. Douches, however, will not—and may cause someone to get treatment too late to keep the disease from spreading.Prevent It: Once again, safe sex is the solution. Approach sexual relationships responsibly, always use a condom, and avoid sexual contact until you can be tested and treated for chlamydia. If you find that you are infected, make sure your partner gets treated so that you won't get re-infected yourself.Where To Get Help: The National STD hotline at 1-800-227-8922; Planned Parenthood's clinic locator, 1-800-230-PLAN.
GONORRHEAWhat It Is: A bacterial infection in the vagina or cervix. If left untreated, it can spread to other parts of the body, such as the rectum, urethra, and uterus, potentially causing sterility. Occasionally, gonorrhea that goes without treatment can be fatal. About 1 million people in the U.S. Contract gonorrhea every year.How You Can Get It: Vaginal, oral, or anal sex.Symptoms: Some people have no symptoms; others experience a burning feeling during urination, frequent urination, vaginal or penile discharge, fever, stomach pain, nausea, backache, and painful intercourse. Women can also have bleeding in between periods; about half of the women with gonorrhea have no symptoms.Detect It: Gonorrhea is determined with a medical test in which a sample of fluid is taken from the penis or vagina, then sent to a lab for results.Is It Curable?: Yes.Is It Treatable?: Yes. Prescription antibiotics will kill the infecting bacteria. Treatment that's not completed can spell serious problems down the road, such as abdominal pain, sterility, tubal pregnancy, and painful joints. If you are being treated for gonorrhea, you must stop having sex until you're cured; the same goes for your partner. This will help you avoid getting reinfected or transmitting the disease to someone else.Prevent It: Approach your sexual relationships safely and responsibly: limit the number, always use a condom, and, if you think you may be infected, avoid sexual contact until you can get tested.Where To Get Help: The National STD hotline at 1-800-227-8922; Planned Parenthood's clinic locator, 1-800-230-PLAN.
SYPHILISWhat It Is: Syphilis can be very serious and actually result in death if left untreated. Like many other STD's, you can have syphilis without knowing it. About 120,000 new cases of syphilis get diagnosed in the U.S. Every year.How You Can Get It: Through oral, anal, or vaginal sex.Symptoms: The preliminary symptoms are often a painless sore around the vagina or penis, or inside the mouth or anus. Even if this sore disappeared on its own, the bacterial infection is still in the body. Later, you might develop flu-like symptoms, as well as potential hair loss and skin rashes. It's rare, but a third stage might develop years later as skin lesions, mental deterioration, loss of balance and vision, numbness, leg pain, and heart disease.Detect It: By getting a blood test; however, it takes 2 to 3 weeks after infection for the blood test to be accurate.Is It Curable?: Yes.Is It Treatable?: Yes, with antibiotic medication.Prevent It: Approach your sexual relationships safely and responsibly: limit the number, always use a condom, and, if you think you may be infected, avoid sexual contact until you can get tested.Where To Get Help: The National STD hotline at 1-800-227-8922; Planned Parenthood's clinic locator, 1-800-230-PLAN.
TRICHOMONIASISWhat It Is: "Trich" is an infection causes by the parasite Trichomonas vaginalis. It hits about 2 to 3 million Americans every year, and weakens the immune system, making an infected person more susceptible to HIV.How You Can Get It: Vaginal sex.Symptoms: Heavy greenish discharge with a foul odor, vaginal itching and/or burning, abdominal pain, frequent urination, painful intercourse. A woman's symptoms can get worse after her period. Most men with trich have no symptoms, but might have symptoms like unusual penile discharge, painful urination, and tingling inside the penis.Detect It: By getting a medical test in which a sample of fluid is taken from the penis or vagina, then sent to a lab for results.Is It Curable?: Yes.Is It Treatable?: Prescription antibiotics.Prevent It By: Practicing safe sex and knowing your partner's sexual history. Because Trichomonia can survive on objects such as sheets, towels, and clothing, it can potentially be transmitted by sharing these. Even though men with the disease are almost always without symptoms, it's extra-important that they be treated so they don't infect others.Where To Get Help: The National STD hotline at 1-800-227-8922; Planned Parenthood's clinic locator, 1-800-230-PLAN.
GENITAL HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS (HPV)What It Is: A viral infection that causes genital warts; there are actually over 60 different types of this virus. About 40 million Americans are diagnosed with HPV, with 1 million new cases every year. If HPV goes too long without treatment, the risk of cervical cancer increases.How You Can Get It: Vaginal or anal intercourse; however, you can also contract HPV simply by touching the infected area.Symptoms: Warts on the genitals and anal area. A person may be infected and contagious with no visible warts. Either way, HPV can cause abnormal cell growth on the female cervix. Visible signs of HPV show up within 3 weeks to 6 months after having sex with someone who's infected.Detect It: A doctor can examine the potentially infected area for warts and other unusual tissue. Women can also have a Pap smear, which will detect changes to the cervix that may be caused by HPV.Is It Curable?: No.Is It Treatable?: The warts can be removed, but often return because the virus stays in the body. Your doctor can remove smaller warts, and severe cases can be treated with laser surgery.Prevent It: Condoms provide limited protection. The best way to reduce your risk of getting HPV is to limit your sexual partners. Women should have Pap smears every 6 months to screen for HPV.Where To Get Help: HPV Hotline at 1-877-HPV-5868; the National STD hotline at 1-800-227-8922; Planned Parenthood's clinic locator, 1-800-230-PLAN.
PUBIC LICE and SCABIES
What It Is: Pubic lice, also known as Crabs, are tiny insects that live on the skin. They infect the hairy parts of the body, and lay eggs on body hair. Scabies is the result of a tiny female insect, a mite, burrowing into a person's skin to lay eggs.How You Can Get It: Although these are often spread through sexual contact, you can also get them by using the same sheets, clothes, or towels as an infected person.Symptoms: Extreme itching in the genital areas. With pubic lice, you might see pinhead-sized insects or eggs on the skin or body hair. With scabies, a skin rash may develop.Detect It: A doctor's examination will determine whether you have pubic lice or scabies.Is It Curable?: Yes.Is It Treatable?: Yes, with shampoos, creams, and lotions that are often available without a prescription. Wash all infected clothing, sheets, etc. With very hot water.Prevent It: Know your partner's sexual history.Where To Get Help: The National STD hotline at 1-800-227-8922; Planned Parenthood's clinic locator, 1-800-230-PLAN.
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