why is gonorrhea called "the drip" ???

[dj ego]

I've heard gonorrhea called "the drip." Why is that??

[getSTDtested Administrator]

"The drip" is slang for gonorrhea, because a typical symptom of this sexually transmitted disease (STD) is a discharge—or a drip—from the vagina or penis.

When guys get this bacterial infection, it often--but not always--hurts when they pee. Girls can also experience painful urination and an unusual discharge from the vagina. The discharge may be different in amount, color, or consistency. It's also possible to get gonorrhea in the throat, if you give oral sex to an infected person.

Gonorrhea can be cured with antibiotics. If left untreated, it can cause severe infections in the reproductive system and sterility in men and infertility in women. A urine test can be used to detect gonorrhea in the genitals, but a swab-test must be performed to detect gonorrhea of the throat or anus.

The best way to avoid gonorrhea—and any STD—is to always use a condom and other latex barriers when you have sex, get tested regularly, and ask your partner if they know their status or when they were last tested for STDs.

[pisces21]

Question? If urine test detected the gonorrhea bacteria, does that mean you have it in the throat aswell? If so, will the anti-biotics cure gonorrhea from the throat or other part of your body?
or there is a diferent treatment for this?

[getSTDtested Administrator]

That's a good question & there's often a lot of confusion about that. No, a urine test will Not detect gonorrhea of the throat. In order to detect gonorrhea of the throat, a swab test done on the throat would be necessary, but yes, the same antibiotics would likely be prescribed for both infections. so if you did test positive for gonorrhea with a urine sample and took the prescribed treatment, it should clear any infection in the throat as well. Although, if you finished treatment and still noticed a persistent sore throat, it would be best to do and have a swab-test done to make sure that any infections are taken care of.

Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions or if there is anything else I can help you with.

[pisces21]

Thanks, I appreciate your time answering these questions..

[Victoria]

Oral gonorrhea infections - which are essentially infections of the throat - can be a little trickier to treat than the anal and genital counterparts. Only one treatment regimen, involving an injection with 125 mg of the antibiotic Ceftriaxone, is recommended for pharyngeal gonorrhea infections. The oral medication sometimes used for genital infections, Cefixime, is not recommended by CDC to treat pharyngeal infections.

[pisces21]

Does it mean if you tested positive for genital gonorrhea and you show symptoms of oral gonorrhea, one should ask the injection to be treated for the said symptom (i.e. sorethroat) ?

[getSTDtested Administrator]

Keep a couple of points in mind. Until a couple of years ago, CDC recommended using either the oral medication Cefixime or injection with Ceftriaxone for uncomplicated oral gonorrhea infections. In 2007, they updated their guidelines to recommend only using Ceftriaxone injections. This doesn't mean the oral meds won't work, just that they aren't currently preferred. Oral gonorrhea is a tad trickier to cure, so they narrowed the guidelines to focus on a specific treatment approach.

Also, oral gonorrhea often has no symptoms, so don't assume this is the cause of any sore throat. You should get checked out though, and tell the health care provider what you're experiencing to see if they want to take an oral swab to check out what might be happening. If you see a provider other than the one who diagnosed you, make sure they understand you were recently treated for genital gonorrhea.

[getSTDtested Administrator]

also, thanks Victoria and to our friends at ASHA for your help with this question!

[pisces21]

Another question, since Gonorrhea and Clamydia are often inter-connected, Is Clamydia only infect the genital area? can you get Clamydia in the throat?