Gonorrhoea

Gonorrhoea, is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) that is easily passed on through unprotected sex.

Symptoms

Symptoms of gonorrhoea usually appear within around 2 weeks of being infected, though can take months.

About 50% of women and 10% of men don’t experience any symptoms and are unaware that they’re infected.

Women

• Pain in the lower tummy, bleeding after sex or bleeding between periods (these are less common)
• Unusual discharge from the vagina
• Pain or burning when weeing

Men

• Swelling of the foreskin or pain and tenderness in the testicles (these are less common)
• Unusual discharge from the penis or anus
• Pain or burning when weeing

Gonorrhoea
can be passed
on through:

• Unprotected sex (vaginal, anal or oral)
• Sharing unwashed sex toys

People can develop an infection in the anus, throat or eyes by having unprotected anal or oral sex. If infected sperm or vaginal fluid comes into contact with the eyes, you can develop conjunctivitis.

You will be directed to a trusted website regarding Sexual Health services.

Getting checked
for Gonorrhoea

Even if you have no obvious symptoms, or if the symptoms have gone away, it’s still important to get tested for gonorrhoea. Early diagnosis and treatment of gonorrhoea helps reduce the risk of complications developing.

There are several ways to check for gonorrhoea. In most cases, a swab test will be carried out (a swab wiped over parts of the body to collect samples of discharge) or you will be asked to provide a urine sample.

If you test positive, your current and any recent sexual partners will need to be tested/treated. Your healthcare provider can advise you about contacting sexual partners though this can be done without naming you.

You can to talk to your GP, school nurse or pastoral officer if you cannot access the sexual health service or go into a pharmacy for advice.

Treatment

Gonorrhoea is usually treated with a course of antibiotics.

In most cases, the best treatment involves an antibiotic injection (usually administered in the upper outer quadrant of the bottom), however, depending on your sensitivity to treatment tablets may be offered.

If you are experiencing symptoms, they will usually improve within a few days of receiving treatment.

Read More
If gonorrhoea is left untreated, you can continue to spread the infection and there’s a risk of potentially serious complications, including pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and infertility (failure to achieve a pregnancy) in females and epididymo-orchitis (swollen infected testicles) and sterility in males.
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