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Summary

Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted infection (STI). 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

Start Here

• About Gonorrhea (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

• Gonorrhea Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, and Syphilis (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)
• Epididymitis (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• Drug-Resistant Gonorrhea (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Images

• Primary Gonorrhea Infection (VisualDX)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Gonorrhea (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Prevalence of gonococcal and chlamydial infections among men who have sex...
• Article: Common Patterns and Unique Threats in Antimicrobial Resistance as Demonstrated by...
• Article: Gonococcal infections and risk factors for reinfection: a descriptive and case-case...
• Gonorrhea -- see more articles

Find an Expert

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

Teenagers

• Gonorrhea (For Teens) (Nemours Foundation)

Women

• Gonorrhea (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Condom Use: An Overview (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Endocervical Gram stain (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Gonococcal arthritis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Gonorrhea (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Rectal culture (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Urethral discharge culture (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish