Gonorrhea Symptoms in Women and Men

What gonorrhea symptoms look like

Gonorrhea symptoms in men are the most noticeable of the bacterial STDs: burning when urinating and a white, yellow or green discharge from the penis, usually starting within two weeks of exposure, sometimes with a painful or swollen testicle. In women the signs are milder and easily mistaken for a bladder or vaginal infection: increased discharge, burning when urinating, bleeding between periods, pain during sex, or pain low in the belly. A rectal infection can cause itching, soreness, discharge or bleeding, and a throat infection usually causes nothing, or at most a sore throat.

Gonorrhea and chlamydia look almost identical from the outside and often occur together. Gonorrhea discharge tends to be thicker and more colored, but no one can tell the two apart by looking, which is why they are tested together.

Why most people have no symptoms

The CDC estimates that most women with gonorrhea, and a meaningful share of men, have no symptoms, and that infections of the throat and rectum are almost always silent. Silent infection still spreads and still causes pelvic inflammatory disease in women and epididymitis in men. A test is the only way to know. Symptoms do not shorten the time an infection takes to show up on a test, and having none does not mean you are clear.

What else causes the same symptoms

Burning when you urinate is more often a urinary tract infection. Discharge in men can also be chlamydia, Mycoplasma genitalium or trichomoniasis; in women, bacterial vaginosis and yeast are far more common causes of discharge than gonorrhea. The gonorrhea test looks only for gonorrhea, so if it is negative and symptoms continue, see a clinician rather than assuming you are fine.

When to see a clinician rather than wait for a test

Some symptoms need a clinician, not just a lab. A sore, blister, ulcer or rash should be examined – and, where possible, swabbed – while it is there, because a blood or urine test cannot tell you what a sore is. Severe pelvic or lower-belly pain, pain or swelling in a testicle, a fever with pelvic pain, vision or hearing changes, a severe headache, or yellowing of the skin or eyes need prompt medical care. If you are pregnant, tell your prenatal provider about any symptom or exposure. And if you may have been exposed to HIV in the last 72 hours, go to an urgent care or emergency room today and ask about PEP, which can prevent infection only if it is started in time. Gonorrhea can, rarely, spread through the bloodstream to the joints and skin: a swollen, painful joint with a fever needs prompt care.

How gonorrhea is tested, and what the test cannot tell you

The test is a nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) from a small urine sample – no swab, no exam – and it works whether or not you have symptoms. A urine test checks the urethra or cervix; it does not rule out gonorrhea in the throat or rectum, where the infection is common and silent, so tell the care advisor about any oral or anal exposure. Most people test for gonorrhea and chlamydia together with the Chlamydia & Gonorrhea test. The timing after exposure is on our When to Get Tested page, or call (866) 872-1888. More about the test is on our gonorrhea testing page.

After a positive result

Gonorrhea is curable, but because the bacteria have become resistant to most older antibiotics, the CDC-recommended treatment is a single antibiotic injection, not a course of pills. A member of our care team calls you, explains the result, and arranges a consultation with a physician who tells you where to get the injection and what it involves. Avoid sex for seven days after treatment and until symptoms have resolved and partners have been treated. A throat infection needs a test of cure one to two weeks after treatment; an uncomplicated genital or rectal infection treated with the recommended injection does not. Everyone should retest about three months after treatment, because re-infection is common. Recent partners need to be told and tested.