Gonorrhea Symptoms

Pictures of Gonorrhea Symptoms

NOTE: These photos represent symptoms of advanced disease.

Most women with gonorrhea have no obvious symptoms.

Even though gonorrhea is the most commonly reported bacterial sexually transmitted infection in the US, it can also be the most “silent.” That’s a good thing and a bad thing. Just because you don’t have any signs doesn’t mean you don’t have an infection. And gonorrhea may lead to more serious risks including increasing your risk of getting another STD like HIV. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends that all sexually active women, including those who are pregnant, get tested for a gonorrhea infection to prevent harmful complications if left unnoticed, undiagnosed, and untreated.

Some men with gonorrhea don’t have signs or symptoms either.

As with women, gonorrhea can be a “silent” STD for men. Men are more likely than women to have pain when they pee or see some discharge from their penis. But gonorrhea can go unnoticed. Unless you get tested, you can never be sure. Getting tested is easy; living with the health consequences of undetected gonorrhea is not.

How long does it take for symptoms of gonorrhea show up?

If you do experience gonorrhea symptoms, it'll be around 10 day mark after being exposed to the bacterial infection through vaginal, oral or anal sex.

Complications are not symptoms.

Pelvic Inflammatory Disease, for women, is not a symptom of gonorrhea but a potential complication. If you feel sick, have a fever, pelvic pain, or pain during sex, please see a health provider for a physical exam. The same is true for men. If you have symptoms and are in pain, please see a provider right away.

1% of gonorrhea cases lead to DGI, which can be deadly.

DGI (Disseminated Gonococcal Infection), also called gonococcal arthritis, is gonorrhea that spreads to other parts of the body like the blood, skin, heart or joints. While it only happens to 1 out of 100 men and women infected with gonorrhea, it is serious. The infection can develop 2 to 14 days after the gonorrhea infection begins. Symptoms can include chills, fever, sickness, arthritis (joint pain or joint swelling), painful wrist and heel tendons, skin rash, skin lesions (open sores or bumps filled with pus) or symptoms for meningitis (such as severe headaches, stiff and painful neck, vomiting, confusion and seizures). Again, it can be very serious.