Symptoms

Symptoms of Gonorrhea

Symptoms of gonorrhea can be subtle. They vary greatly from men to women.

In men, gonorrhea symptoms include:

• White or yellow discharge from the penis
• Burning sensation when urinating
• Urethritis (infection of the urethra, or tube inside the penis that carries urine out of the body), causing difficulty urinating
• Epididymitis (inflammation of the tube that carries sperm), causing pain and swelling in the testicles
• Prostatitis (inflammation of the prostate gland)

Some women have no symptoms of gonorrhea, while others have very mild symptoms. Symptoms can include:

• Vaginal discharge that’s yellow, green or gray
• Painful intercourse
• Burning sensation when urinating
• Bleeding between periods
• Cervical infection (infection of the cervix, the passage between the vagina and the uterus)
• Urethritis (infection of the urethra, the tube that carries urine out of the body), causing difficulty urinating

Left untreated, it can cause:

• Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) (an infection of the uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries)
• Ovarian abscess (infection)
• Ectopic (tubal) pregnancy (a potentially fatal pregnancy that develops in the fallopian tubes)
• Infertility
• Chronic pelvic pain