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Dr. Chrysoula I. Liakou MD, PhD
- Treated online: Assessed online, treated in person. The doctor reviews symptoms and risk by video, directs the right urine or swab test and the sites to sample, interprets the result and refers you for the single ceftriaxone injection no online service can give; complications need in-person care.
- What it is: infection by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae, passed on through unprotected vaginal, anal or oral sex; the second most common bacterial STI in Europe, with about 82 million new infections worldwide a year, and often silent in the throat, the rectum and in women.
- Timelines: symptoms, when they come, appear within about 2 weeks of infection; a test is reliable from 2 weeks after exposure; discharge and pain ease within days of the injection, and a test of cure 1 to 2 weeks later confirms the infection has gone.
- Resistance: gonorrhoea has defeated penicillin, tetracyclines and ciprofloxacin and is now escaping azithromycin, so one intramuscular ceftriaxone injection is the first-line treatment across Europe; leftover or online-bought tablets risk leaving the infection smouldering.
- Partners: every partner from the past 3 months needs testing and treatment, or the past 2 weeks for a man with urethral symptoms; sex, including oral sex, waits until both of you have been treated and the test of cure is clear.
- Emergency: gonorrhoea is never a 112 emergency; pelvic pain with fever, a swollen painful testicle, a red discharging eye, or fever with joint pain and a rash are complications that need in-person care without delay.
Get prompt in-person care rather than an online appointment if you have lower abdominal or pelvic pain with fever (possible pelvic inflammatory disease), a painful or swollen testicle, a red, painful, discharging eye, or joint pain and fever with a rash (which can signal the infection spreading). If you are pregnant and think you may have gonorrhoea, arrange in-person testing and treatment. For assessment, choosing a test, and partner advice, an online consultation is a good place to start.
Can an online doctor treat gonorrhoea?
Not completely, and it is important to say so plainly. The first-line treatment for gonorrhoea is a single antibiotic injection (ceftriaxone) given in person, because the bacterium has grown resistant to tablet antibiotics that used to work.[1] What an online doctor can do is assess your symptoms and risk, arrange the right laboratory test, give partner-notification advice, and refer you for that injection. Online care does not cure the infection itself.
A video consultation on Mobi Doctor is genuinely useful at the start and around the edges of gonorrhoea care: working out whether you need testing, which test and where, what your result means, and how to make sure partners are tested. It is honest about the one step that must happen in person.
How an online consultation helps with gonorrhoea
- Test first, honestly: gonorrhoea is diagnosed by a laboratory test, not by symptoms, so the doctor helps you choose the right test (a self-sampling kit or a local laboratory or clinic) and the right sites to sample.
- Clear about the injection: because first-line treatment is an in-person ceftriaxone injection, the doctor arranges the referral to get it done, rather than implying tablets from a pharmacy will do the job.[1]
- Partner-notification support: the doctor explains who needs to know and how to tell them, so partners are tested and treated and you are not reinfected.
- The resistance context, explained: gonorrhoea that resists antibiotics is a real and growing problem, which is exactly why treatment is a supervised injection with a follow-up test rather than a casual course of pills.[2]
What is gonorrhoea and what are the symptoms?
Gonorrhoea is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and it can infect the genitals, rectum, throat and eyes. A great deal of the time it causes no symptoms at all, particularly in the throat and rectum and often in women, which is why testing after a risk, not just after symptoms, matters.[3][5]
When symptoms do appear
In men, gonorrhoea often causes a discharge from the penis and pain or burning when passing urine, and sometimes a painful testicle.[5] In women, it can cause a change in vaginal discharge, pain passing urine, or bleeding between periods, though many women have no symptoms. Rectal infection may cause discomfort or discharge, and throat infection is usually silent. Symptoms, when present, tend to show within about two weeks of exposure.
Why silence matters
Because gonorrhoea is so often symptomless, people can pass it on without knowing, and untreated infection can lead to complications.[4] That is the case for testing after unprotected sex with a new partner even when you feel completely well, and for testing the sites that match the sex you have had, since a genital test will not detect a throat or rectal infection.
How is gonorrhoea tested?
Gonorrhoea is diagnosed with a laboratory test, usually a nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) on a urine sample or a self-taken swab, never from symptoms alone. The sites sampled should match the sex you have had, so a throat or rectal swab is added where relevant. Because gonorrhoea and chlamydia frequently occur together, most laboratories test for both from the same sample, and testing for other infections at the same time is often sensible.[3] One extra point matters for treatment: a culture test is often taken as well, because it shows which antibiotics the specific strain is sensitive to, which is important in an era of resistance.[2]
Why gonorrhoea treatment is an injection, not tablets
This is the honest heart of the page. Gonorrhoea has become resistant to one antibiotic after another over the years, to the point that the oral tablets once used are no longer reliable. For this reason, European and international guidance recommends a single injection of ceftriaxone as first-line treatment, given in person, usually at a sexual-health service or clinic.[1][4] An online doctor cannot give an injection, so treatment is arranged in person by design, not as a shortcoming. Because resistant strains exist, a test of cure is recommended a couple of weeks after treatment to confirm the infection has actually cleared, and you should avoid sex until that is settled. Any service that offers to cure gonorrhoea with tablets after an online chat is not following the evidence, and it risks both your health and the wider problem of drug-resistant gonorrhoea.[2]
How an online doctor fits into gonorrhoea care
Online care handles the assessment, the testing route, the advice and the referral, while the injection and diagnostic tests happen in person. This is the pathway the doctors use, aligned with the cited guidance.[1]
Swipe sideways to compare →
| Situation | Likely first step | Suitable for online care? | When in-person care is needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Symptoms or a risk, no test yet | Arrange the right test first[3] | Yes, for assessment and testing route | In person for treatment once confirmed |
| Positive test, uncomplicated | Referral for a ceftriaxone injection in person[1] | Assessment and referral only | Always, for the injection and test of cure |
| Current partner tested positive | Test, plus referral for in-person treatment | Assessment and advice | Always, for the injection |
| Complications (pelvic pain, testicle, eye, joints) | Urgent in-person assessment | No | Promptly |
| Pregnant, or a newborn with an eye infection | Urgent in-person care | No | Urgently |
Not sure what to do about a possible exposure? A doctor can guide your testing and next steps in one consultation.
See available times →What the doctor checks in an online gonorrhoea consultation
The consultation is structured around getting you tested and treated correctly, in the right place. The doctor will typically check:
- Your symptoms and their timing: discharge, pain passing urine, testicular or pelvic pain, and when they started.
- Sites of possible exposure: genital, rectal, throat or eye, so the right samples are taken.
- Your test status: whether you have already tested, and if so what and when.
- Partner situation: recent partners who need testing and treatment, and how to notify them.
- Complications: pelvic pain with fever, a painful testicle, eye or joint symptoms, which need in-person care quickly.
- Pregnancy: because treatment and follow-up need to be arranged in person.
- Other STI and HIV screening: whether a wider check makes sense at the same time.
- Allergies and medicines: which matter for the in-person treatment you are referred for.
When gonorrhoea is assessed online, and when you need in-person care
Assessed online: assessing symptoms and risk; choosing the right test and the right sites; interpreting a result; partner-notification advice; arranging a referral for the in-person ceftriaxone injection; planning a test of cure; and advising on wider STI and HIV screening.[1]
In-person care: for the treatment itself, which is always an in-person injection; for complications such as pelvic inflammatory disease, a painful testicle, eye infection or a spreading (disseminated) infection; and in pregnancy. The infection itself is never treated online. Because gonorrhoea and chlamydia so often travel together, testing for both is usual, and where discharge or pain turns out to fit urethritis or another infection, the doctor points you to the right assessment. A full picture of testing options is on the sexually transmitted infections page.
Treatment options for gonorrhoea
What you can do yourself
There is no self-care remedy that cures gonorrhoea, and it is important not to try to treat it with leftover or online-bought antibiotics, because the wrong drug or dose fuels resistance and can leave the infection smouldering. What you can usefully do is test after any unprotected sex you are worried about, avoid all sex until you have been treated and any test of cure is clear, tell recent partners so they can be tested and treated, and use condoms with new partners going forward, since they remain the most effective everyday protection. None of this needs shame, and all of it needs a test.
Prescription and in-person treatment
A prescription is never issued without a consultation, and for gonorrhoea the treatment that works is not a tablet you collect from a pharmacy. First-line treatment is a single intramuscular injection of ceftriaxone, given in person, chosen precisely because resistance has made oral options unreliable.[1] Antibiotics for gonorrhoea are given on the basis of a confirmed infection and a supervised regimen, not casually, because targeted, correct treatment is what keeps them working and protects everyone from resistant strains.[2] A test of cure a couple of weeks later confirms the infection has cleared. The role of an online consultation is to get you to that in-person treatment quickly and correctly, and to handle the testing, advice and partner notification around it, never to imply a cure over a screen.
When to get in-person care
Gonorrhoea itself is not usually an emergency, but its complications can be serious. Seek prompt in-person care for pelvic pain with fever or feeling unwell (possible pelvic inflammatory disease), a sudden painful, swollen testicle, a red, painful, discharging eye, or joint pain and fever with a rash (which can signal the infection spreading through the body). A newborn with a red, discharging eye needs urgent assessment. If pain is sudden and severe, or someone collapses or becomes very unwell, call 112.
How Mobi Doctor works
- Book a time that suits you: open daily 7am–11pm CET. You can see a doctor over video, usually within 15 minutes. No subscription, exact price up front.
- Speak to a licensed doctor about gonorrhoea: a private video call from anywhere in Europe about your symptoms, your risk and the testing route that fits you.
- Get a clear plan: the right test, a referral for in-person treatment where needed, and clear partner and follow-up advice, or a full refund.
No sign-up needed
Not sure it’s gonorrhoea? Tick every symptom you have to see each condition page that mentions it. It finds the right page, not a diagnosis: a doctor gives you that on a video call.
Tap the body — an area or a point — to browse symptoms anywhere
Similar symptoms, different condition? Chlamydia and Urethritis can start the same way. Compare them, or look up any other symptom in the full symptom checker.
Frequently asked questions about gonorrhoea
What is gonorrhoea, and how do you catch it?
Gonorrhoea is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae, which lives in discharge from the penis and in vaginal fluid. It is caught through unprotected vaginal, anal or oral sex, by sharing sex toys that have not been washed or covered with a new condom, and, rarely, by infected fluid reaching the eye; a baby can catch it during birth. It is not spread by kissing, towels, toilet seats or swimming pools.
What are the symptoms of gonorrhoea?
Gonorrhoea symptoms usually start within about two weeks of infection, though they can take months. Men notice a white, yellow or green discharge from the penis, burning on urinating, an inflamed foreskin and sometimes testicular pain; women notice a thin watery or green-yellow discharge, pain on urinating, lower abdominal pain and bleeding between periods or after sex. Rectal infection causes discomfort or discharge, throat infection usually nothing, and eye infection a red, sticky, painful eye.
Can an online doctor treat gonorrhoea in Europe?
Partly, and honesty matters here. Gonorrhoea is cured by a single antibiotic injection given in person, because the bacterium has become resistant to tablets, so no online service can treat it over a screen. By video, the doctor assesses your symptoms and risk, tells you which test to take and which sites to sample, interprets the result, and refers you for the injection with partner advice. A prescription is never issued without a consultation.
How soon after sex should I test for gonorrhoea?
Test for gonorrhoea about two weeks after the sex you are worried about, when the test becomes reliable; testing earlier can miss an early infection. The test is a urine sample for men and a self-taken vaginal swab for women, with a throat or rectal swab added where relevant, and most laboratories test for chlamydia from the same sample. If a current partner already has confirmed gonorrhoea, see a doctor at once rather than waiting.
Why is gonorrhoea treated with an injection rather than tablets?
Because gonorrhoea has become resistant to one antibiotic after another, including penicillin, tetracyclines, ciprofloxacin and increasingly azithromycin, so the tablets once used can no longer be relied on to cure it. European and international guidance therefore recommends a single injection of ceftriaxone, given in person at a clinic or sexual health service, with tablets reserved for the rare cases where an injection is impossible and the strain is known to be sensitive.
Do I need a test of cure after gonorrhoea treatment?
Yes. Because some gonorrhoea strains resist antibiotics, a follow-up test one to two weeks after the injection confirms the infection has cleared; it is especially important for throat infection, which is harder to cure, in pregnancy, and when symptoms persist. Avoid all sex until the test of cure is back and clear and your partner has been treated, and consider a further routine test about three months later, because reinfection is common.
Do I have to tell my partner about gonorrhoea?
Yes, for your health as well as theirs. Untreated partners pass gonorrhoea straight back, and partners from the past three months, or the past two weeks if you are a man with urethral symptoms, should be told to test and treat. You can tell them yourself, or a sexual health clinic can notify them anonymously; the doctor can help you plan the conversation and explain that gonorrhoea is common, often silent and quickly cured.
How long does gonorrhoea take to clear after treatment?
Gonorrhoea discharge and pain usually ease within two to three days of the injection and have gone within a week; a test of cure one to two weeks later confirms the bacteria have cleared. Symptoms that continue beyond a week, or a positive test of cure, mean reinfection from an untreated partner, a resistant strain or a second infection such as chlamydia, and the doctor arranges the right samples and a specialist review.
What happens if gonorrhoea is left untreated?
Untreated gonorrhoea can spread from the cervix to the womb and tubes as pelvic inflammatory disease, which causes long-term pelvic pain, ectopic pregnancy and infertility; in men it can inflame the testicles and the prostate and, rarely, affect fertility. In anyone it can reach the bloodstream, causing fever, joint pain and skin sores, and infect the eyes, and it makes catching and passing on HIV more likely. Treatment prevents all of it.
What can I do at home while waiting for gonorrhoea treatment?
There is no home remedy that cures gonorrhoea, and leftover or internet-bought antibiotics fuel resistance and leave the infection smouldering. While waiting for the injection, avoid all sex including oral sex, drink enough to keep urine dilute, take paracetamol for discomfort, wash hands after touching the genitals so fluid cannot reach the eyes, do not share towels, and write down symptom dates and recent partners so the consultation moves quickly.
How can I prevent gonorrhoea?
Prevent gonorrhoea by using condoms for vaginal and anal sex and condoms or dams for oral sex with new partners, not sharing sex toys without washing or a fresh condom, testing with a new partner before stopping condoms and after any unprotected sex, and ensuring partners are treated when gonorrhoea is found. No vaccine is in routine use, though a meningitis B vaccine gives partial protection and is offered to high-risk groups in some countries.
Is gonorrhoea different in pregnancy?
Yes. Gonorrhoea in pregnancy raises the risk of miscarriage and premature birth, and the baby can catch it during birth, causing a severe eye infection that can damage sight if untreated, so pregnant women are tested and treated in person without delay. The ceftriaxone injection is safe in pregnancy, some alternative antibiotics are not, and a test of cure is always done. Tell the maternity team rather than relying on an online consultation alone.
Is it gonorrhoea or something else?
Several infections mimic gonorrhoea: chlamydia causes a similar but usually clearer discharge and the two often occur together; non-gonococcal urethritis, trichomonas, thrush and bacterial vaginosis cause discharge or burning; a urinary tract infection causes burning and frequency without discharge; and herpes causes sores. Only a laboratory test tells them apart, which is why the doctor sends you for one rather than treating on symptoms.
- European guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of gonorrhoea in adults, IUSTI Europe (International Union against Sexually Transmitted Infections), 2020.
- Multi-drug resistant gonorrhoea fact sheet, World Health Organization (WHO), 2024.
- Gonorrhoea: facts and guidance, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), 2024.
- Gonorrhoea (Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection): fact sheet, WHO, World Health Organization, 2025.
- Gonorrhoea, HSE, Health Service Executive Ireland, 2025.
- Gonorrhoea, NHS, National Health Service (UK), reviewed December 2024.
This page is for information only and is not a substitute for a medical consultation. Guideline links are provided for transparency; treatment decisions are made with your doctor.
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