Gonorrhea: Taking Care of Yourself

Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted disease (STD). STDs (also called sexually transmitted infections, or STIs) spread through sex with an infected person. It is important for you and your partners to get treatment with an antibiotic right away. Gonorrhea that isn't treated can cause long-lasting problems and spread to other people.

Treatment:

• If the area where you got the antibiotic shot is sore, try putting a cool wet washcloth on it.

• If you got a prescription for antibiotics to take by mouth, be sure you take the medicine exactly as the health care provider recommended. 

• Tell all sexual partners from the past 2 months to get treatment too, even if they don't have signs of gonorrhea.

• Don't have sex until treatment is done and you and your partner have no signs of gonorrhea or other STDs. This is usually at least 1 week after treatment starts.

Follow up:

• Go for follow-up STD testing as recommended by the health care provider.

• Get all doses of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine (shot). HPV is an STD that can lead to some kinds of cancer and genital warts.

• You were prescribed antibiotics but can't get or take them.

• You are not getting better after a few days on the antibiotics.

• You get better, then develop signs of an STD (belly pain, fever, abnormal discharge, pain when peeing, or genital warts or sores).

• You start to have joint pain.

• For girls: You have severe belly pain.

• For guys: You have swelling or severe pain in the testicles.

What are the signs of gonorrhea? Signs of gonorrhea include pain in the belly or back; fever; unusual discharge from the vagina, penis, or anus; and pain when peeing. Even if there are no signs of gonorrhea, treatment is needed to help prevent long-lasting problems and stop the infection from spreading to others.

How is gonorrhea diagnosed? To find out if someone has gonorrhea, health care providers might do tests on:

• fluid or discharge from the vagina, urethra, throat, or anus

• urine (pee)

What happens if gonorrhea is not treated? If it's not treated, gonorrhea can lead to:

• permanent damage to a girl's reproductive system, making it hard or impossible for her to get pregnant later on

• swelling in a guy's testicles and tubes at the back of the testicles, possibly preventing him from fathering kids later on

• problems in the joints

Can I get gonorrhea again? Yes. People can get gonorrhea again if their partners aren't treated with antibiotics or if they have sex with someone else who has gonorrhea.

How can I avoid getting another STD? The best way to avoid an STD is not to have sex (vaginal, oral, or anal). If you do have sex, you should:

• Use a condom every time you have sex (vaginal, oral, or anal).

• Have only one partner, who has been tested and does not have an STD. That partner should not have sex with other people.