How common is painful urination in gonorrhoea?

Gonorrhoea can inflame the urethra and nearby genital tissues. This can cause burning or stinging while passing urine. Depending on the body area affected, other symptoms can include genital discharge, bleeding between periods, pelvic pain, testicular pain, rectal discomfort, or throat symptoms.

Some people with gonorrhoea do not notice symptoms. Conversely, painful urination may have a non-gonorrhoea cause, including a urinary infection, irritation, stones, or another sexually transmitted infection. Only an appropriate test can distinguish among these possibilities.

Book a sexual health or medical appointment as soon as practical if you have painful urination after sexual contact, new genital discharge, or a partner with a diagnosed infection. Explain the symptoms, their timing, the sites of sexual contact, and any pregnancy possibility so the clinician can choose suitable tests.

Avoid sexual contact until you receive clinical advice. If gonorrhoea is diagnosed, follow the treatment plan exactly and discuss partner notification and follow-up testing with the treating clinician.

Seek urgent assessment for fever, severe pelvic or lower abdominal pain, testicular pain or swelling, vomiting, inability to urinate, blood in the urine, or rapidly worsening symptoms. These signs require evaluation regardless of the underlying cause.

Ask which samples will be tested, whether other sexually transmitted infections should be checked, how treatment affects partners, and what to do if symptoms do not improve. Share any antibiotic allergies and medicines you are taking.