Discreet Online Gonorrhea Treatment

The CDC recommends a single 500 mg intramuscular injection of ceftriaxone for uncomplicated gonorrhea at every site, including the urethra, cervix, rectum and throat. Cefixime 800 mg taken by mouth as a single dose is the alternative when ceftriaxone is not available, but it reaches lower levels in the blood and is not reliable for a throat infection. If chlamydia has not been ruled out, doxycycline 100 mg twice daily for seven days is added.

Gonorrhea discharge is thick and pus-like, and may look white, yellow or green. Men often notice a greenish-yellow discharge from the penis, while women may see thicker vaginal discharge than usual, sometimes with a greenish tint. Any sudden change in discharge is worth testing, because chlamydia and trichomoniasis look much the same.

That is doxycycline, 100 mg twice a day for seven days. It is not there to treat the gonorrhea itself. It covers chlamydia, which more than one in five people with gonorrhea also have, and it is given alongside the ceftriaxone injection rather than instead of it.

Yes. The right antibiotics cure gonorrhea in almost every case, although treatment cannot undo damage the infection has already done. Drug-resistant strains are rising and cephalosporins are the last class still recommended, so take the full course exactly as prescribed and go back to a doctor if symptoms last more than a few days after treatment.

Most people feel better within 2 to 3 days of starting treatment, and the bacteria are usually cleared within about a week. Wait seven days after finishing all the medicine before having sex again, and until your partners have finished treatment and any symptoms are gone.

The standard test is a nucleic acid amplification test, which looks for gonorrhea DNA. It can be run on urine, or on a vaginal, rectal or throat swab, and a self-collected vaginal swab is more accurate than urine in women. Results usually come back in 1 to 3 days. A doctor can issue a lab test requisition so you can be tested close to home.

Treatment is the same for men and women: a single 500 mg ceftriaxone injection, with doxycycline 100 mg twice daily for seven days if chlamydia has not been ruled out. Symptoms in men usually appear 2 to 14 days after exposure, but between 56% and 87% of men have none at all, which is why testing after an exposure matters more than waiting for symptoms.

Yes. You can start a confidential consultation at Your Doctors Online, and if treatment is appropriate your antibiotic prescription is sent electronically to the pharmacy you choose, with no clinic visit. The one thing a doctor cannot do online is give the ceftriaxone injection, so if that is what you need, your doctor will tell you where to get it.

No. Doxycycline on its own does not cure gonorrhea. It is given to treat a possible chlamydia coinfection alongside ceftriaxone. Taking doxycycline by itself risks treatment failure and adds to antibiotic resistance.

Untreated gonorrhea spreads and causes lasting damage. In women it can cause pelvic inflammatory disease, chronic pelvic pain, blocked fallopian tubes, ectopic pregnancy and infertility. In men it can cause epididymitis and, rarely, urethral scarring. In a small number of people it reaches the bloodstream and settles in the joints and skin. It also raises the risk of getting or passing on HIV.

No. Gonorrhea is a bacterial infection and it does not clear by itself. Symptoms can fade while the infection is still there, which is the dangerous part, because that is when it moves into the reproductive tract. Only antibiotics cure it, and the sooner they are started the less damage it can do.