Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs): Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)
How To Identify, Treat, And Prevent Oral Gonorrhea
You can get gonorrhea in your throat through oral sex or kissing. It is common to have no symptoms, but you may notice a red or sore throat, a fever, and swollen lymph nodes in your neck. You may also get more typical gonorrhea symptoms.
We don't know exactly how common oral gonorrhea is in the general population.
There have been a number of studies published on oral gonorrhea, but most focus on specific groups, such as heterosexual women and men who have sex with men.
What we do know is that more than 85 percent of sexually active adults have had oral sex, and anyone who has unprotected oral sex is at risk.
Experts also believe that undetected oral gonorrhea is partly to blame for the increase in antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea. Pharyngeal gonorrhea is often asymptomatic and may elude antibiotics even with appropriate treatment
Oral gonorrhea rarely causes symptoms and is often hard to detect. This can result in delayed treatment, which increases the risk of transmitting the infection to others.
Oral gonorrhea can be spread through oral sex performed on the genitals or anus of someone who has gonorrhea.
It can also likely be transmitted through kissing, but more studies are underway to substantiate this claim.
Most of the time, oral gonorrhea doesn't cause any symptoms.
If you develop symptoms, they can be hard to distinguish from common symptoms of other throat infections.
Sometimes, a person with oral gonorrhea can also develop a gonorrhea infection in another part of the body, such as the cervix or urethra.
If this is the case, you may have other symptoms of gonorrhea, such as:
Your symptoms alone can't distinguish between oral gonorrhea and another throat condition, such as sore or strep throat.
The only way to know for sure is to see a doctor or other healthcare professional for a throat swab and ask specifically to be tested for gonorrhea.
Like strep throat, oral gonorrhea may cause a sore throat with redness, but strep throat often also causes white patches in the throat.
Other symptoms of strep throat include:
Yes. Gonorrhea must be treated with prescription antibiotics to fully clear the infection and prevent transmission.
Left untreated, gonorrhea can cause a number of serious complications.
If you suspect that you've been exposed, see a doctor or other healthcare professional for testing. If you don't already have a doctor, our Healthline FindCare tool can help you connect to physicians in your area.
The healthcare professional will take a swab of your throat to check for the bacteria that causes the infection.
Oral infections are harder to cure than genital or rectal infections but can be treated with the right antibiotics.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends treating uncomplicated gonorrhea with a single 500-milligram (mg) intramuscular dose of ceftriaxone. People who weigh 330 lbs. (150 kg) or more should receive a single 1-gram (g) dose of ceftriaxone.
The recommendation applies to infections around the urinary tract, genitals, anus, rectum, and pharynx. Previously, the CDC recommended ceftriaxone plus oral azithromycin. The recommendations were changed because azithromycin resistance is an increasing concern.
If it's possible that you have chlamydial infection, the CDC recommends 100 mg of doxycycliwork twice a day for 7 days.
If you have a cephalosporin allergy, a 240-mg intramuscular dose of gentamicin plus a 2-g oral dose of azithromycin may be considered.
You should avoid all sexual contact, including oral sex and kissing, for 7 days after completing treatment.
If your symptoms persist, see your healthcare professional.
If you've received a diagnosis or have been with someone who has, you should inform all recent sexual partners so they can be tested.
This includes anyone you've had sexual contact with in the 2 months before your symptoms started or your diagnosis.
Talking with your current or previous partners can be uncomfortable, but it needs to be done to avoid the risk of serious complications, transmitting the infection, and developing the infection again.
Being prepared with information about gonorrhea, its testing, and treatment can help you answer your partner's questions.
If you're worried about your partner's reaction, consider making an appointment to see a healthcare professional together.
Here are some things you can say to get the conversation started:
In some states where it is legally permitted, clinicians will offer expedited partner therapy as it helps prevent re-infection if both partners are treated simultaneously.
If you prefer to remain anonymous
If you're worried about talking with your current or previous partners, ask your doctor about contact tracing.
With contact tracing, your local health department will notify anyone who might have been exposed. It can be anonymous, so your sexual partner(s) don't have to be told who referred them.
Mouthwash has long been believed to be able to cure gonorrhea. Until fairly recently, there was no scientific evidence to back the claim.
Data collected from a 2016 randomized controlled trial and an in vitro study found that the mouthwash Listerine significantly reduced the amount of N. Gonorrhoeae (the bacteria that causes gonorrhea) on the pharyngeal (throat) surface.
While this is certainly promising, more research is needed to assess this claim. A larger trial is currently underway.
Antibiotics are the only treatment that's proven to be effective.
If left untreated, oral gonorrhea can spread through your bloodstream to other parts of your body.
Systemic gonococcal infection is a serious condition that can cause joint pain and swelling and skin sores. It can also cause an infection in the heart. However, this is very rare.
Gonorrhea of the genitals, rectum, and urinary tract can cause other serious complications when left untreated.
Possible complications include:
With proper treatment, gonorrhea is curable. However, new strains of antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea can be more difficult to treat.
The CDC recommends that anyone treated for oral gonorrhea return to their healthcare professional 7 to 14 days after treatment to make sure the infection is gone.
We don't know how likely recurrence is in oral gonorrhea, specifically.
We do know that recurrence for other types of gonorrhea is high, affecting anywhere from 3.6 percent to 11 percent of people previously treated.
Retesting is recommended 3 to 6 months after treatment, even if you and your partner(s) have successfully completed treatment and are symptom-free. You should consider returning for other STI testing, as well.
You can reduce your risk for oral gonorrhea by using a dental dam or "male" condom every time you have oral sex.
A "male" condom can also be modified to use as a barrier when performing oral sex on the vagina or anus.
Regular testing is also important. Consider getting tested before and after every partner.
The Weird Place You Can Get An STI That Everyone Can See — It Causes Itching, Swelling And Discharge
This is just swell.
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) — which affect one in five Americans — are most commonly found on the genitals, anus and mouth. Now, a professional medical association is warning that another part of the body can become itchy, irritated, crusty and leaky from an STI.
"When gonorrhea infects the eyes, it can cause a form of pink eye with a large amount of pus discharged from the eyes," the American Academy of Ophthalmology recently shared.
STIs affect one in five Americans. HPV, chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and herpes are among the most common ones. Getty Images Like the genitals and mouth, eyes contain mucous membranes that can be easily invaded by STIs.
Bacteria from gonorrhea and chlamydia can infect the eyes through direct contact with semen or vaginal discharge from an infected person — or a person rubs their eyes after touching infected genital areas.
Redness, itchiness, swelling and a gritty feeling are just some of the symptoms of pink eye. Getty Images Either move can cause conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye.
Symptoms of pink eye include redness, itchiness, swelling, a gritty sensation, tearing, blurred vision and discharge that forms a crust overnight, making it difficult to open your eyes in the morning.
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Pink eye is most commonly caused by an adenovirus, a respiratory virus that typically brings cold-like symptoms.
Bacteria, allergens and irritants like chlorine in swimming pools can also cause pink eye.
Another STI eye infection is ocular syphilis, which develops when the Treponema pallidum bacterium enters the body, usually through sexual contact.
A small cluster of these cases was identified last year in Michigan — the five women shared a male partner.
Ocular syphilis is typically treated with penicillin, while most cases of pink eye go away on their own.
In severe cases, untreated STI eye infections can lead to corneal scarring, inflammation, impaired vision and even permanent vision loss.
See a doctor if you experience pain, sensitivity to light, changes in your vision or very red eyes.
Doctors Fear Today's Treatable Gonorrhea Will Become Unstoppable
Video It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. Science An curved arrow pointing right. The letter F. An curved arrow pointing right. The letter F.Description An icon in the shape of an angle pointing down.
Gonorrhea infects an estimated 820,000 American's each year, and doctors are worried about the increasing number of gonorrhea cases with antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Produced by Jacqui Frank. Original reporting by Jessica Orwig.
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