What is gonorrhoea and how common is it?
Gonorrhoea is a treatable sexually transmitted infection (STI) affecting the vagina, penis, rectum, and throat. Many people who have gonorrhoea do not experience symptoms, however, without treatment, infection can cause testicular pain, pelvic inflammatory disease (infection of the womb and fallopian tubes), and infertility (not being able to get pregnant).
Gonorrhoea cases have increased over recent years particularly in people aged 15 to 24 years and in gay, bisexual or other men who have sex with men (GBMSM).
How is gonorrhoea transmitted?
Gonorrhoea is easily passed between people through:
- unprotected oral, vaginal, or anal sex
- exposure to body fluids of someone with gonorrhoea (such as when sharing sex toys or mutual masturbation)
It is important to note that gonorrhoea does not survive for long outside the body.
Gonorrhoea is not passed on through:
- sharing towels
- baths and swimming pools
- toilet seats
- saunas and steam rooms
What are the symptoms of gonorrhoea?
Gonorrhoea does not always cause symptoms. When it does, symptoms usually appear from two days to two weeks after sex with someone with the infection.
Symptoms of gonorrhoea can include:
- changes in vaginal discharge
- lower abdominal pain, and pain when passing urine or during vaginal sex
- green or yellow discharge from the penis and pain when passing urine (peeing)
- rectal discharge and pain when passing stools
- Infection of the throat does not usually cause symptoms
How is gonorrhoea diagnosed?
The tests for gonorrhoea are painless, reliable, and free. You can usually collect the sample yourself if you don’t have any symptoms. Most tests require samples to be sent to a laboratory. Results may take up to 14 days to come back.
Gonorrhoea tests for women with symptoms include swabs (small cotton bud) taken from the vagina and cervix during an internal examination. Gonorrhoea tests for men include a urine sample with swabs from the urethra or rectum if there is discharge. If you are coming to the clinic, try not to urinate (pee) for 2 hours before your appointment as this may alter the test results. A swab of the throat and rectum may be recommended depending on the type of sex you have. Blood tests are not used for diagnosing gonorrhoea.
If there is a high likelihood that you have gonorrhoea, for example, if you’re experiencing symptoms or have had unprotected sex with a partner diagnosed with gonorrhoea, you may begin treatment before receiving your lab results.
It can take up to 2 weeks after sexual contact for the test to detect gonorrhoea; this is known as the window period. If you want to rule out gonorrhoea, and you have no symptoms, it is recommended to test 2 weeks after having sex.
Where can I get a free test for gonorrhoea in Brighton and Hove?
Gonorrhoea testing is free and there are lots of testing options available depending on where you live and why you want to test.
How is gonorrhoea treated?
If you are diagnosed with gonorrhoea, you will be offered antibiotics. For most people this would be one injection of an antibiotic called ceftriaxone. There are alternative options for people with specific allergies or who can’t have an injection.
In recent years, some strains of gonorrhoea have developed resistance to antibiotics. If you are being treated for gonorrhoea, we will do an additional test to check for antibiotic resistance.
Are there any side effects to the treatment for gonorrhoea?
Ceftriaxone is generally well tolerated. Most common side effects include pain at the site of injection, headache, nausea and diarrhoea. In rare cases, allergic reactions may occur. If you are experiencing side effects or have concerns about your treatment, speak to a member of staff at the clinic or attend your local emergency department.
People with previous severe penicillin allergies are at higher risk of allergy to ceftriaxone. Please inform your clinician if you have had a previous reaction to cephalosporins or penicillin.
What follow up is required after treatment?
If you were diagnosed with gonorrhoea in the throat, or if you are pregnant, or if you received a different antibiotic to ceftriaxone, you will be asked to return in 2 weeks for a ‘test of cure’, which checks whether the gonorrhoea has been successfully treated.
You may be contacted by telephone by our health advisers to check if there were issues with your treatment and to ask whether your sexual partners have been treated. It is important that your sexual partners are notified about the infection and are also tested and treated. Untreated partners can pass the infection back to you and others, leading to ongoing transmission of the infection. Our health advisers can offer guidance on partner notification and resources to support this process.