How Do You Catch Gonorrhoea?

Gonorrhea is a very common sexually transmitted infection. It is caused by bacteria, which are passed on during sex.

You can get infected with these bacteria during the following activities:

• vaginal sex
• anal sex
• oral sex
• sharing sex toys
• genital contact with an infected partner

The best way to protect yourself is to use a condom every time you have sex and to avoid unprotected sex until both you and your partner have tested negative for STIs.

Gonorrhea often doesn't cause any symptoms, so you could have it and be unaware of the infection.

Gonorrhea treatment consists of antibiotics. The recommended treatment is an injection but it is also possible to take tablets for gonorrhea. If you choose to take tablets, you need to get tested two weeks after the treatment to confirm that the antibiotics have cleared the infection. If you order your treatment online from Superdrug, we will send you a home test kit two weeks after you have taken your tablets.

In the vast majority of cases, gonorrhea treatment is successful. The infection does not come back unless you are infected again. It is very important that your partner gets tested and treated as well to make sure you don’t pass the infection back and forth. You can get gonorrhea multiple times and you don’t get immune to the bacteria.

It is generally important that you let recent partners know if you are diagnosed with an STI so that they can get treated. After your treatment, you need to wait seven days before you have unprotected sex again - this is how long it can take for the treatment to kill all the bacteria.

Your GUM clinic can help you contact your partners on your behalf without disclosing your name. If you order online from Superdrug Online Doctor we are also happy to help you notify your partners.

Gonorrhea is almost always transmitted during sex and it is highly unlikely that you catch it without having sex. However, you can catch it without penetration, for example if your genitals touch those of an infected partner.

You can also catch it when you share sex toys without cleaning them properly or covering them with a condom.

It is possible for babies to get infected during birth if the mother carries gonorrhea bacteria. In order to prevent this, you should get tested if you want to try for a baby or are pregnant.

It is extremely unlikely that you will contract gonorrhoea if you use a condom every time you have sex. Gonorrhea is transmitted via your sexual fluids and condoms provide an effective barrier.

There is a risk that you could catch an STI because of a broken condom.

You can’t catch gonorrhea from kissing, hugging or sharing a drink with someone. However, you can get it from oral sex.

You can catch a range of STIs from unprotected oral sex, including gonorrhea. You should always use a condom during oral sex if your partner has not recently tested negative for sexually transmitted diseases.

If your receive oral sex from someone who has gonorrhea of the throat, there is a small chance that you could catch it. If you perform oral sex on someone who has gonorrhea, you can get an infection in your throat, which may not necessarily cause gonorrhea symptoms.

If you could have contracted gonorrhea of the throat you should get tested for oral gonorrhea. You can visit your local GUM clinic or order a swab test kit online.

You can catch gonorrhea during anal sex and the bacteria can cause an infection in your anus. As with any other STI, it is important that you get tested if you have had unprotected sex. You can visit your local clinic or order a rectal swab test online.

You can’t get gonorrhea or indeed any other sexually transmitted disease from a toilet seat. Gonorrhea bacteria do not survive outside the human body and you won't get infected from sitting on a toilet, even if someone who has gonorrhea has used it before.

There is also no risk of catching gonorrhea from swimming in a swimming pool or using a jacuzzi.