Gonorrhea:
Fast Facts
Sometimes, there are no symptoms. Many people with gonorrhea are asymptomatic, which means they don’t show any symptoms of infection.
If there are symptoms, they typically show in two days to five days in males, with a possible range of one to 30 days. In females, symptoms develop within 10 days of infection.
Possible symptoms in males:
Women are usually asymptomatic, but might experience:
When the infection spreads to the fallopian tubes, some women still have no signs or symptoms. Others may have one or more of the following symptoms, which can be a sign that the infection has progressed to pelvic inflammatory disease (PID): lower abdominal pain, lower back pain, pain during intercourse, bleeding between menstrual periods, nausea, fever.
It is possible to have a rectal or anal gonorrhea infection. In about 90% of cases, there are no symptoms. If there are symptoms, they may include anal or rectal itching, discharge, and pain during defecation (pooping).
Gonorrhea infections of the mouth and throat also usually have no symptoms, but a person may experience soreness and redness in the mouth or throat. A culture test is used to determine if gonorrhea is causing these symptoms.
Since symptoms may not be present, the only way for a person who has been at risk for gonorrhea to tell whether they’re infected is to be tested. There are different testing options for gonorrhea such as urine or swab tests. It may be helpful to speak to your healthcare provider about what testing options they have available.
Yearly gonorrhea testing is recommended for all sexually active women younger than 25 years, as well as older women with risk factors such as new or multiple sex partners, or a sex partner who has a sexually transmitted infection (STI). Even when women do have symptoms, they can be mistaken for a bladder infection or other vaginal infection, so that’s testing is important.
The standard recommended treatment for gonorrhea is a single injection of an antibiotic (ceftriaxone). In late 2025, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved two new drugs to treat gonorrhea just weeks after the World Health Organization (WHO) sounded the alarm about antibiotic resistant infections. The two new drugs—gepotidacin and zoliflodacin—are both new kinds of antibiotics and represent the first completely new treatment options in over thirty years.
Patients with gonorrhea should also be treated for chlamydia (unless testing has ruled out chlamydia infection). People infected with gonorrhea are often also infected with chlamydia, so treatment is often prescribed for chlamydia as well, since the cost of the treatment is less than the cost of testing for chlamydia.
Here are some important points about treatment:
If untreated, gonorrhea can cause complications. Untreated gonorrhea infections in men may lead to:
Untreated gonorrhea infections in women may lead to:
About 1% of people with gonorrhea may develop disseminated gonococcal infection (DGI), which is sometimes called gonococcal arthritis. DGI occurs when gonorrhea infection spreads to sites other than genitals, such as the blood, skin, heart, or joints.
Symptoms of DGI include fever, multiple skin lesions, painful swelling of joints (arthritis), infection of the inner lining of the heart, and inflammation of the membrane covering the brain and spinal cord (meningitis). DGI can be successfully treated using antibiotic regimens similar to those recommended for treating uncomplicated gonorrhea.
Gonorrhea can be passed from mother to newborn as the baby passes through the infected birth canal. Complications in infants include blindness, from untreated eye infections.
There are many ways to prevent gonorrhea and other STIs, including mutual monogamy (having sex with only one uninfected partner), using condoms for vaginal and anal sex, and condoms or other barrier methods during oral sex.
Telling a partner can be hard, but keep in mind that most people with an STI don’t know they have it. It’s important that you talk to your partner as soon as possible so she or he can get treatment. It is possible to pass gonorrhea back and forth, so if you get treated and your partner doesn’t, you may get infected again.
Learn more about these two common—and curable—infections in this printable fact sheet. It covers the many things these two STIs have in common and includes information on testing, treatment, and staying healthy.
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A study revealed that the majority of young people would prefer testing for STIs at home over going to a doctor’s office or clinic.
Many STIs have no signs or symptoms in the majority of people infected. The only way to know if you have an STI is to get tested.
A completely at-home PCR test for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and trichomaniasis could allow people to test themselves and get results and treatment within a matter of hours.
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For the first time, the Food and Drug Administration has given market authorization to an at-home test for chlamydia and gonorrhea.
ASHA believes that all people have the right to the information and services that will help them to have optimum sexual health. We envision a time when stigma is no longer associated with sexual health and our nation is united in its belief that sexuality is a normal, healthy, and positive aspect of human life.
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