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GPhC reg. no. 1120610
All medications from licensed pharmacies
GPhC reg. no. 1120610
Gonorrhoea, which is also known as ‘the clap’, is a sexually transmitted infection (STI). It is the most common STI in the UK after Chlamydia and is found in semen and vaginal fluid. Gonorrhoea is caused by the Neisseria gonorrhea bacterium.
The rates of Gonorrhea infection have increased by roughly forty per cent in the last ten years. The good news is that it is a treatable condition.
In men, a Gonorrhoea infection is usually accompanied by a discharge from the urethra, and most men will display symptoms within three to five days of infection, though sometimes it can take as long as thirty days for any symptoms to manifest. Other symptoms include pain and a burning sensation when peeing.
Quite often women who have a Gonorrhoea will not have any symptoms. If they do, the most common is a yellow discharge from the vagina, bleeding between periods and pain when passing urine.
If oral sex has taken place with a person infected with gonorrhoea then the infection can also affect the throat, usually experienced as a sore throat.
If Gonorrhoea is left untreated it can cause serious health problems in both men and women.
Gonorrhoea is a treatable infection, though the bacterium, which causes it, has become resistant to certain antibiotics such as Ciprofloxin, which was traditionally used to fight it.
There are, however, still a few antibiotics that are effective against Gonorrhoea. The first line treatment is now an injection of Ceftriaxone combined with a 1000mg single dose of Azithromycin. If patients are unwilling or unable to have the injection then Cefixime is given orally with a one off 1000mg dose of Azithromycin.
Symptoms usually start to go away two to three days after the treatment but sometimes this may take longer.
It is easy to detect Gonorrhoea. This can be done either with a urine sample or with a urethral or vaginal swab. The test can be carried out at your local GUM clinic or online.
