In this STI Special we’re looking at Gonorrhoea. Gonorrhoea is a less common STI and can be treated with antibiotics.
Sex on Female First
Gonorrhoea is caused by the bacteria Neisseria gonorrhoeae or gonococcus and can cause unusual discharge from the penis or vagina, pain when urinating and, in women, bleeding in between periods.
The bacteria is spread by having unprotected vaginal, anal or oral sex as well as sharing sex toys that have not been washed correctly or had a new condom applied for each use.
Men are more common to suffer the symptoms with only 1 in 10 never presenting any, but half of all infected women will not show any symptoms.
This is particularly dangerous because if you are pregnant woman you can pass the infection onto your baby.
If left untreated gonorrhoea can cause long-term health problems, such as losing your fertility and pelvic inflammatory disease so it’s incredibly important to have regular sexual health tests.
The test for gonorrhoea is very easy to diagnose and can be done by a simple swab test and men can also provide a urine sample for diagnosis.
If you think you may have gonorrhoea then you can get tested at your local GUM clinic, which specialises in sexual health.
If you do happen to have gonorrhoea, luckily it’s very easy to treat and can be treated with a single dose of antibiotics which are at least 95 per cent effective. The earlier you start your treatment, the better!
It’s important to remember that just because you’ve had treatment for gonorrhoea before, it will not protect you from contracting it in the future; you can still catch it if you’ve had treatment for it before.
Although it’s one of the less common STIs, 17,000 people were diagnosed with the infection in 2009. It is mostly young people who are catching the infection; the highest rates of gonorrhoea are seen in women aged 16-19 and men aged 20-24.
Always use a condom with a new sexual partner, even if you’re on another form on contraception, to stop the spread of STIs.
Have regular sexual health checks so that if you are infected you can get the best treatment as soon as possible!
For more information about STIs visit your GP, GUM clinic or nhs.uk.