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Gonorrhoea In Men
How to spot the signs of gonorrhoea, and what you can do about them
Gonorrhea is a bacterial infection. You can catch it during sex with an infected partner, regardless of whether you are having anal, oral or vaginal sex. Find out which symptoms gonorrhea causes in men and which long term effects the infection can cause.
Contents
How common is gonorrhea in men?
Gonorrhea is one of the more common STIs. As with many other STIs, men have a slightly lower risk of catching it when having sex with an infected partner. While women have a 50% risk of catching the infection from an infected partner, the risk for men lies at 20%.
Nevertheless, the infection is very common and in 2013 alone, over 29000 people tested positive for gonorrhea in the UK.
Which symptoms does gonorrhea cause in men?
Gonorrhea is often symptomless - so you could catch it from someone who doesn’t know that they have it. If you have had unprotected sex you should get tested for STIs to make sure you are healthy.
The following symptoms are common in men:
- needing to urinate frequently
- burning duration or pain during urination
- itching, bleeding or anal discharge (if you have caught gonorrhea during anal sex)
- unusual penile discharge, which may be clear, milky, yellow or of a greenish colour
The symptoms of gonorrhea in women are not dissimilar and as with men, the infection often remains symptomless in women.
Can male gonorrhea have long time effects?
When a gonorrhea infection remains untreated for a long time, it can cause an inflammation in your genital tract, which is called epididymitis. In the long term, this can lead to scarring and your sperm ducts can become blocked - which makes it difficult for sperm to flow to your penis. As a result, you may become less fertile or infertile. How commonly gonorrhea causes male infertility is not known.How can I get checked?
Getting tested is easy - you can either visit your local GUM clinic or order a home test kit online. If you have had unprotected sex you may also need to get tested for other STIs. Gonorrhea is often passed on alongside chlamydia, so you may want to get checked for chlamydia as well.
If you or your your partner have been diagnosed with gonorrhea you can also book an appointment for a gonorrhea injection.
Gonorrhea in men - How to protect yourself
1. Use a condom every time you have sex.
Condoms offer excellent protection from most STIs. You should use one every time you have sex to avoid getting gonorrhea.
2. Get tested - whether you have symptoms or not.
If you have had unprotected sex you should get tested for STIs on a regular basis (at least every six months. This way, you will get treated for gonorrhea and other STIs early on and you can avoid complications.
3. Don’t delay your treatment.
If you or your partner have been diagnosed, you should get treated without delay. It is also important that you don’t have unprotected sex within 7 days of your treatment, as you could still be contagious.