Also called: The clap
Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Gonorrhea
Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted infection (STI). It is most common in young adults. The bacteria that cause gonorrhea can infect the genital tract, mouth, or anus. You can get gonorrhea during vaginal, oral, or anal sex with an infected partner. A pregnant woman can pass it to her baby during childbirth.
Gonorrhea does not always cause symptoms. In men, gonorrhea can cause pain when urinating and discharge from the penis. If untreated, it can cause problems with the prostate and testicles.
In women, the early symptoms of gonorrhea often are mild. Later, it can cause bleeding between periods, pain when urinating, and increased discharge from the vagina. If untreated, it can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, which causes problems with pregnancy and infertility.
Your health care provider will diagnose gonorrhea with lab tests. Treatment is with antibiotics. Treating gonorrhea is becoming more difficult because drug-resistant strains are increasing. Correct usage of latex condoms greatly reduces, but does not eliminate, the risk of catching or spreading gonorrhea. If your or your partner is allergic to latex, you can use polyurethane condoms. The most reliable way to avoid infection is to not have anal, vaginal, or oral sex.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
It sits within Infections, Sexual Health Issues, Female Reproductive System and Male Reproductive System.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Gonorrhea
179 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- National Rapid TLC: Testing and Linkage to CareUnity Health Toronto
- Single Arm Trial of Menstrual Cups Among Economically Vulnerable Women to Reduce Bacterial Vaginosis and STIsRush University Medical Center
- 500-mg Versus 1000-mg Ceftriaxone for Uncomplicated Gonorrhea InfectionNational Taiwan University Hospital
- A Randomized Controlled Trial of Doxycycline Post Exposure Prophylaxis to Prevent Incident Bacterial STIs Among Women in the United StatesTulane University
- A Study to Evaluate the Performance, Usability, and Contrived Result Interpretation of iStatis Gonorrhea Antigen TestbioLytical Laboratories
- Metagenomic Analysis of the Pharynx in High Risk PartnersGuy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust
Research already completed
- Safety and Efficacy Study of Meningococcal Group B Vaccine rMenB+OMV NZ (Bexsero) to Prevent Gonococcal InfectionNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
- A Study of the Cobas® Liat CT/NG/MG Test Versus Current Standard Practice for Managing Participants at Increased Risk of Sexually Transmitted InfectionsHoffmann-La Roche
- Antibacterial Mouthwash for Pharyngeal Gonorrhea PreventionUniversity of California, Los Angeles
- Inflammation in Methamphetamine and STIs (IMSTI)University of California, Los Angeles
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- About GonorrheaCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
Diagnosis and Tests
- Gonorrhea TestNational Library of Medicine
Related Issues
- Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, and SyphilisAmerican College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
- EpididymitisMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: GonorrheaNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Gonorrhea. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Gonorrhea, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.