Antibiotics, such as ceftriaxone and ciprofloxacin, are the most common way of treating gonorrhea. Although medication will stop the infection, it will not repair any permanent damage that has occurred as a result. It is extremely important to get prompt treatment, because serious complications -- such as pelvic inflammatory disease or infertility -- can occur if gonorrhea is left untreated.
Treating Gonorrhea: An Overview
Gonorrhea treatment involves taking antibiotics. Healthcare providers usually prescribe a single dose of one of the following antibiotics for treating gonorrhea:
- Cefixime
- Ceftriaxone
- Ciprofloxacin
- Ofloxacin
- Levofloxacin.
If you are pregnant, or you are younger than 18 years of age, you should not take ciprofloxacin or ofloxacin. Talk to your healthcare provider, who can prescribe the best and safest antibiotic for you.
Gonorrhea and chlamydia, another common sexually transmitted infection (STI), often infect people at the same time. Therefore, doctors usually prescribe a combination of antibiotics, such as ceftriaxone and doxycycline, or azithromycin, which will treat both infections.
Instructions for Gonorrhea Treatment
It is important to take all of the medication that is prescribed by your doctor to cure gonorrhea. Although medication will stop the infection, it will not repair any permanent damage that is caused by the infection. If you have gonorrhea, you should talk with all of your sexual partners, because they should get tested for gonorrhea, too, even if they do not have any symptoms. If you have gonorrhea, you should avoid sexual contact until you and your partner(s) have been treated and cured.
People who have had gonorrhea and have been treated can get the infection again if they have sexual contact with people who have the infection. If a person's gonorrhea symptoms continue even after receiving treatment, he or she should return to the doctor to be reevaluated.
What Happens Without Treatment?
If gonorrhea infections are left untreated, the bacteria can spread into the reproductive tract or, in rare cases, can spread into the bloodstream and infect the joints, heart valves, or brain.
Gonorrhea Complications in Women
The most common result of untreated gonorrhea in women is pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which is a serious infection of the female reproductive tract. Gonococcal PID often appears immediately after the menstrual period and causes scar tissue to form in the fallopian tubes. If the tube is partially scarred, the fertilized egg may not be able to pass into the uterus, which means that the embryo may implant in the tube, causing a tubal (ectopic) pregnancy. This serious complication may result in a miscarriage and can cause the death of the mother.
Gonorrhea Complications in Men
In men, gonorrhea causes epididymitis, which is a painful condition of the testicles that can lead to infertility if left untreated. Gonorrhea can also affect the prostate gland and cause scarring in the urine canal.
Other Complications Associated With Gonorrhea
In rare cases, untreated gonorrhea can spread through the blood to the joints. This can cause an inflammation of the joints, which is quite serious. If you are infected with gonorrhea, your risk of getting HIV infection increases (HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus, causes AIDS). Therefore, it is extremely important that you know how to prevent getting gonorrhea or to get treated early if you are already infected with the disease.
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