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Gonorrhoea

What is it?

Gonorrhoea is a bacterial infection you can get in your penis, vagina or front-hole, bum, throat and eyes.

How do you get it?

You can get gonorrhoea from vaginal or front hole sex, anal sex, oral sex and rimming bums. Using fingers or hands in the vagina or front hole or bum can also pass on gonorrhoea.

Gonorrhoea can be passed on to babies during the birth. It can affect their eyes and cause a serious infection. If this happens, it can be treated with antibiotics.

What are the signs?

There can be no symptoms, especially if the infection is in your bum, throat or vagina or front-hole.

The common symptoms are:

  • pain or discomfort when peeing
  • a yellow or white discharge from the penis
  • redness around the opening of the penis
  • sore throat
  • discharge from your bum or discomfort during bowel movements (shitting)
  • unusual vaginal or front-hole discharge
  • irregular vaginal or front-hole bleeding
  • red, infected eyes – similar to conjunctivitis

These symptoms usually take between 2 and 10 days to show up after being infected.

Tests for Gonorrhoea

A doctor can test for gonorrhoea with a urine (pee) test and swabs of the throat, vagina or front hole and bum. 

Treatment for Gonorrhoea

Gonorrhoea is treated with antibiotics (drugs that kill certain germs). You should not have sex until 7 days after you have finished your antibiotics, and you should tell your previous sexual partners so they can get tested too. This protects your sexual partner(s) and also prevents you becoming re-infected.

Preventing Gonorrhoea

Using condoms and lube reduces the risk of getting or passing on chlamydia, but you can still get it or pass it on even when you use condoms. So getting tested regularly is really important.

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