Gonorrhea

What Is It?

  • Spread during VAGINAL, ANAL, ORAL sex, including sharing of sex toys. Can be on/in reproductive organs, anus and/or eyes and throat
  • 75% of women and 50% of men have no symptoms
  • If symptoms appear they usually appear within the first 3 weeks after sex
  • Symptoms are similar to Chlamydia and can include: thick, yellow or gray discharge from vagina; discharge from the penis can be yellow/greenish in color; burning or pain when you urinate or have a bowel movement in both men and women; need to urinate more often in both men and women; swollen/tender testicles in men
  • Can be treated with antibiotics; some medication-resistant strains do exist


If Left Untreated?

  • You can give it to your partners during sex
  • Can lead to more serious infection and damage reproductive organs, which can result in an inability to have children and impotence in men (no more erections)
  • Mothers can give it to baby during childbirth, can cause disfiguration and blindness in newborns if left untreated
  • Can cause heart trouble, skin-disease, arthritis and blindness
  • Can lead to Pelvic Inflammatory Disease in women
  • Can lead to Epididymitis in men

How Do I Reduce My Risk?

  • Properly used, condoms are effective at preventing Gonorrhea infection during vaginal and anal sex and oral sex on an infected penis and dental dams provide an effective barrier while performing oral sex on the vagina or anus
  • By being in an exclusive relationship with one partner; limiting number of sex partners; and choosing a partner who has had no or fewer sex partners.