More than half a million people in the U.S. test positive for gonorrhea each year.
Question: How many times have you thought or talked about gonorrhea since you started having sex?
Odds are, your answer is “basically never” or “only while watchingMean Girls.”
As a society, we’re still pretty hush-hush around the topic of sexually transmitted infections.
That’s a lot.
So, uh… how do you know if you’re part of that statistic, exactly?
What Is Gonorrhea, Exactly?
So, how do you get gonorrhea?
Half of women and one-tenth of men with gonorrhea have no symptoms, according to theU.K.
National Health Service (NHS) in England.
Indeed, this is true for gonorrhea, whether symptoms are present or not.
(More Here:Can STIs Go Away On Their Own?)
Exactly How to Get Tested for Gonorrhea
The good news: Getting tested for gonorrhea is easy.
It can be done via a swab of the (potentially) infected area.
In the case of genital gonorrhea, the test can also be done via a urine sample.
Where should you go to get tested for gonorrhea?
Your primary care physician will be able to test you, if you have one.
Another option is use a direct-to-consumer, at-home STI testing kit.
If you’re interested, check out Nurx, Everlywell, LetsGetChecked, and MyLabBox.
“you better test any area that could have been infected.”
Assuming you caught the infection before it had a chance to spread, antibiotics will scrub the infectionrightup.
Typically, treatment involves a single-dose intramuscular injection of an antibiotic called ceftriaxone, says Pearlman.
After treatment, most doctors recommend that you get re-tested.
This is especially true for throat infections of gonorrhea.
As for returning to sex?
Wait until a week has passed since you completed treatment.
Then, assuming you’re not experiencing any lingering symptoms, you’re good to get it on.
Finally, get tested after every new partner or once a year, whichever comes first.
