Private Gonorrhea Testing Near You

What gonorrhea is, and why it matters more than it used to

Gonorrhea is a bacterial infection and the second most commonly reported STD in the United States, with about 600,000 cases reported to the CDC in 2023. It spreads through vaginal, anal and oral sex, and it can infect the urethra, cervix, rectum and throat. Like chlamydia, which it very often travels with, it frequently causes no symptoms at all, especially in women.

When there are symptoms they tend to be more noticeable than chlamydia’s: in men, burning when urinating and a white, yellow or green discharge from the penis, sometimes with a painful or swollen testicle; in women, increased discharge, burning when urinating, or bleeding between periods that is easy to mistake for a bladder or vaginal infection. A throat infection usually feels like nothing at all, or at most a mild sore throat.

What has changed in recent years is the bacteria itself. Gonorrhea has become resistant to most of the antibiotics that used to cure it, which is why it is treated differently from other STDs and why finding it early – before it spreads to anyone else – matters more than it used to.

Why it is worth finding early

Untreated gonorrhea can cause pelvic inflammatory disease in women, with the same risks of chronic pain, infertility and ectopic pregnancy as chlamydia, and epididymitis in men. Rarely it can spread through the bloodstream to the joints and skin. It also raises the chance of catching or passing on HIV. Prompt treatment reduces the risk of complications, and gonorrhea is cured with the CDC-recommended antibiotic injection.

The CDC recommends yearly screening for sexually active women under 25, for older women with risk factors such as a new partner or more than one partner, and for men at higher risk – and a test any time a partner tells you they have tested positive, whether or not you have symptoms.

How the test works

Our gonorrhea test is a nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT), the most accurate type available, which detects the genetic material of the bacteria whether or not you have symptoms. It needs only a small urine sample: no swab, no exam. Sign in at the kiosk with your name and date of birth, give the sample in a private restroom, and you are done in about five minutes.

A urine test checks for urogenital gonorrhea. It does not rule out infection in the throat or rectum, where gonorrhea can live without any symptoms, so tell your care advisor about any oral or anal exposure and they will explain whether additional testing or a different provider is appropriate. Most people test for gonorrhea and chlamydia together – the Chlamydia & Gonorrhea test checks for both from the same urine sample.

Before you go: The only preparation: don’t urinate for about an hour before you go in. The test uses the first part of the stream, and a gap of an hour or more gives it the most to work with. Nothing else to do – no fasting, no swab, no undressing. Every test we offer is FDA-cleared and run in a CLIA-certified laboratory, the same tests a hospital or doctor’s office would order.

When to test

If you have symptoms, test now. If you had an exposure and feel fine, the timing for gonorrhea and every other test is on our When to Get Tested page. Or call (866) 872-1888, tell a care advisor what happened and when, and they will tell you which day to go in and whether anything should be repeated later.

After a positive result: treatment and partners

Gonorrhea is cured, but because of antibiotic resistance it is not treated with a simple pill course the way chlamydia is: the CDC-recommended treatment is a single antibiotic injection, which has to be given in person. When your result is positive, 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. If you have severe pelvic or testicular pain, a fever, or you are pregnant, get prompt medical care rather than waiting. Avoid sex until seven days have passed after treatment and any symptoms have resolved; partners must also have been treated. Let recent partners know so they can be tested and treated too – the care team can help with that conversation.

Two different follow-ups matter here. A test of cure – a repeat test one to two weeks after treatment to confirm the infection is gone – is recommended for a throat infection, but not for an uncomplicated urogenital or rectal infection that was treated with the recommended injection. Separately, the CDC recommends everyone test again about three months after treatment, because re-infection from an untreated partner is common. When it is time, call and we will set it up.

Getting tested privately

We do not bill your insurance. Your testing information is handled confidentially by the physicians and laboratories providing your care. Your lab visit does not announce why you are there: our partner labs collect samples for many different kinds of testing, and to other people in the waiting room you are simply another person having a routine lab visit. The charge on your card shows as RSC Health, and your result goes only to your private online account. Order online, or call (866) 872-1888 and a care advisor will place the order with you and find a lab near you.