Gonorrhea Symptoms in Male & Female

Gonorrhea Symptoms in male and female

Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by gonococcal infection that can affect the reproductive system, mouth, throat, eyes, and rectal mucosa. Gonorrhea is mainly transmitted through oral, anal, or vaginal sex. According to the latest information from the Department of Health, 1,555 gonorrhea cases were reported in 2019, compared to 1,583 in 2020. Men have about seven times as many reported cases of gonorrhea as women.

Gonorrhea Symptoms

Many people will not show any symptoms after being infected with gonococcus, and the symptoms of gonorrhea infection and non-gonococcal infection are very similar. There are two main symptoms of gonorrhea infection:

Yellow-green or white discharge

Burning when urinating

The symptoms of yellow and green discharge is very typical for gonococcus infection.

Gonorrhea asymptomatic infection

As it is quite common for asymptomatic gonorrhea infection, (around 10% Men, 80% Women), if you suspect after sex exposure or experience any symptoms of gonorrhea, you should get gonorrhea tested and treated for gonorrhea immediately.

Gonorrhea symptoms in Men

Symptoms of gonorrhoea in men can include:

Painful urination.
Yellow, green or white discharge from the penis.¹
inflammation (swelling) of the foreskin.
pain or tenderness in the testicles – this is rare.

Gonorrhea symptoms in Women

Symptoms of gonorrhoea in Women can include:

Painful urination
Increased discharge from the vagina
Abnormal bleeding between periods.²

Gonorrhea Symptoms of Rectal/Anal Infection

Both male and female can be infected by gonorrhea with rectal/anal area, it may cause

pain in the rectum or anus
abnormal discharge from the rectum or anus
pain during bowel movement
bleeding from the rectum or anus.³

Gonorrhea Symptoms of Oral Infection

sore throat⁴

1. (REF. Ref. Harrison WO, Hooper MR, Wiesner PJ et al. A trial of minocycline given after exposure to prevent gonorrhea. N Engl J Med, 300(19), 1074–1078 (1979).
2. (REF. Platt R, Rice PA, McCormack WM. Risk of acquiring gonorrhea and prevalence of abnormal adnexal findings among women recently exposed to gonorrhea. JAMA, 250(23), 3205–3209 (1983)
3. (REF. Rectal Gonorrhea in Men: Diagnosis and Treatment. Denis 1980).
4. (REF. The treatment of pharyngeal gonorrhoea with a single oral dose of cefixime. Young, 2007)