Gonorrhoea

Gonorrhoea is a sexually transmissible infection (STI) that commonly impacts people aged under 30 years. 

Because gonorrhoea doesn’t always cause symptoms, many people can have it without realising and spread it to others. This means that some people don’t get tested, and miss out on getting treatment.

Gonorrhoea is very easy to catch, but also very easy to treat with prescribed antibiotics. 

Do I need an STI test?

Gonorrhoea is a bacterial infection of the genitals, throat, or rectum (the end of your large intestine, above your anus).

You get gonorrhoea from having unprotected sex. This includes vaginal sex, anal sex, or oral sex without external or internal condoms or oral dams. 

Many people don't have any symptoms of gonorrhoea. It’s more common to have some symptoms if you have a penis. It is very rare to have symptoms if you have gonorrhoea in your throat or your rectum.

Gonorrhoea is very easy to catch, but also very easy to treat. If it’s not treated, gonorrhoea can be a serious threat to your health. It can spread from your cervix to your uterus and fallopian tubes. This can cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and mean it could be harder for you to get hāpu/pregnant in the future.

Untreated gonorrhoea can also spread from your penis to your testicles, causing painful swelling, and potentially lead to infertility. 

In Aotearoa New Zealand, gonorrhoea is most common in people aged under 30 years.

Most people don’t have any symptoms of gonorrhoea, especially if your infection is in your throat or rectum. That’s why it’s important to get STI tests regularly.

If you do have symptoms, they might include:  

• unusual discharge from your penis, vagina, or anus  
• pain when you pee/mimi 
• bleeding between periods or after sex
• unusual bleeding from your anus
• lower stomach pain  
• pain when you have sex  
• pain in your testicles (balls)   

If you get gonorrhoea, it won’t show up on a test right away. It can take up to two weeks. Find out more about when to do your STI test. 

Testing for gonorrhoea is done by a urine sample or by using a swab (a long cotton bud) to get a sample from your vagina, throat, or anus. The information you provide when you request your test will help us confirm which test is right for you.

If you don’t have STI symptoms, you can request a gonorrhoea self-test through this website.

Request a test

How it works

More about testing for gonorrhoea

Another option is to get tested at a local laboratory or other testing provider. 

If you have symptoms of an STI, make an appointment with:  

• your usual doctor 
• a medical centre 
• Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa  
• a sexual health clinic 

Find a provider

Gonorrhoea is easy to treat with an injection of antibiotics. You can see your usual doctor or another provider to get this injection. This will need to be a face-to-face appointment.

In Aotearoa New Zealand, gonorrhoea is a notifiable disease. This means that health professionals need to report all positive cases anonymously. Your personal details are kept confidential. They do this to reduce the risk of further spread, to understand how the disease is spreading, and to understand how effective control measures are.

If you’re diagnosed with gonorrhoea, your treatment provider will start contact tracing. This means asking about who you’ve recently had sexual contact with to find out who may have been exposed, and asking them to get tested. Many people do this themselves, but some people prefer to get their treatment provider to help.

If you had gonorrhoea in your throat, or if you're pregnant, you’ll need to get another test four weeks after treatment, to make sure the antibiotics worked. 

If you requested a test here

If you have requested a self-test through Get Tested NZ and you test positive (you have gonorrhoea), we’ll be in touch with you to talk about your treatment options.

If you got tested somewhere else

Talk to the provider or organisation where you did your test to find out what their process is.

• Don't have sex with anyone for at least seven days. If your sexual contact(s) are also receiving treatment for gonorrhoea, wait at least seven days after everyone has finished treatment before having sex. If you do have sex before you finish your treatment, use condoms or oral dams.
• If it's safe, tell the people that you have had sex with recently that they will need to get tested or treated for gonorrhoea

It's a good idea to get another STI test three months after you finish your gonorrhoea treatment.

What to do if you test positive

The safe way to protect yourself from gonorrhoea and other STIs is using condoms or oral dams every time you have sex.

Using lube with condoms helps to prevent the condom from breaking during sex by reducing friction. Lube can also make sex more pleasurable for some people.

Safer sex

Many STIs don’t have obvious symptoms, including gonorrhoea. You may not know that you have gonorrhoea but can still pass it on to your partners or sexual contacts.

It’s important to get tested for STIs anytime you have sex with a new person, or before and after unprotected sex.

When to get tested