How is gonorrhea treated?
Gonorrhea doesn't cause problems if it's treated early. If not treated, it can lead to serious problems.
Starting treatment
Gonorrhea is treated with antibiotics. Treatment is recommended for:
- A person who has a positive gonorrhea test.
- Anyone who has had sexual contact in the past 60 days with a person who's been diagnosed with gonorrhea. Treatment is recommended even if you used condoms or if the other person doesn't have symptoms.
- A newborn whose mother has gonorrhea at the time of delivery.
If you are prescribed more than one dose, be sure to take your antibiotic exactly as directed. If you miss doses or don't take all of the medicine, the infection may not go away.
Do not have sexual contact with anyone:
- While you are being treated.
- Until both you and your partner(s) have been tested and treated. If you are treated for gonorrhea and your sex partner is not, you will probably get infected again.
If your treatment is just one dose of medicine, wait at least 7 days after you take it before having any sexual contact.
Always use a condom when you have sex. This helps protect you from sexually transmitted infections.
Some people who have gonorrhea also have chlamydia. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that treatment for gonorrhea include antibiotics that also treat chlamydia.
Treatment if the condition doesn't get better
If your symptoms don't go away, you may have another gonorrhea infection.
Certain strains of the gonorrhea bacteria have become resistant to some medicines. When bacteria become resistant to an antibiotic, they no longer can be killed by that medicine.
If you've been treated for gonorrhea and don't get better, you may be retested to see if there is resistance to the antibiotic you took. In this case, you may need another antibiotic.
