Gonorrhea

Nearly 1 million people in the United States become infected with gonorrhea each year. Hush Care, an online sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing company serving the entire state of Texas, offers STI testing and treatment discreetly and confidentially. Schedule a convenient STI screening today by filling out the Hush Care online intake form.

What is gonorrhea?

Gonorrhea is a common STI caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae. It’s sometimes referred to by the slang expressions drip or the clap. It’s the second most commonly diagnosed bacterial STI after chlamydia.

Gonorrhea spreads through vaginal, anal, and oral sexual contact as well as from mother to child during childbirth. While gonorrhea typically causes no symptoms, it can lead to infertility and other complications when not treated.

What are the symptoms of gonorrhea?

Gonorrhea can cause the following symptoms:

• Pain during urination
• Unusual (white or yellow) vaginal discharge in women
• Green, yellow, or white penis discharge in men
• Bleeding between periods in women
• Pain during sex
• Pelvic pain in women
• Swollen testicles or testicular pain in men
• Itchy, sore, or scratchy throat (gonorrhea in the throat)
• Anal discharge, itching, or pain

However, many people don’t experience symptoms and often don’t know that they have an STI. Up to half of women with gonorrhea develop no symptoms.

The symptoms can take several weeks after infection to appear. That’s why routine STI screening is necessary if you’re sexually active.

When not treated, gonorrhea can cause complications like infertility, painful joints, heart or brain damage, liver inflammation, pain, pregnancy complications, blindness in infants born to infected mothers, and other health problems.

What are the risk factors for gonorrhea?

Gonorrhea risk factors include:

• Having unprotected vaginal, anal, or oral sex
• Not using a condom or a dental dam during sex
• Close genital (skin-to-skin) contact with an infected person
• Having multiple or new sex partners
• History of STIs
• Being younger than 25
• Being a man who has sex with other men

However, kissing, sharing drinks and foods, and toilet seats do not spread gonorrhea. 

How is gonorrhea diagnosed?

The Hush Care experts have you fill out a discreet online intake form and order lab tests that screen for gonorrhea. Tests include urinalysis or swabs of fluid from your genital area. Your provider reviews your test results and provides a medication prescription if necessary to treat gonorrhea or another STI.

How is gonorrhea treated?

Antibiotics treat (cure) gonorrhea. Your partner must also be treated. If you have more than one STI, you might need to take several medications to treat them all. It’s vital to take all drugs exactly as directed and avoid sexual activity until given the OK.

Gonorrhea often clears in a week or two after beginning treatment. Take precautions to avoid re-infection with gonorrhea and other STIs. 

Get screened and treated for gonorrhea by filling out the discreet Hush Care online intake form today.