Gonorrhoea is a sexually transmitted infection that is caused by a specific strain of gonorrhoea bacteria called Neisseria Gonorrhoea. This bacterial infection is asymptomatic in as much as 90% of cases and is rather common among young adults and sexually active teenagers. Due to its mostly asymptomatic nature, it can remain unnoticed and undiagnosed for rather long periods of time. The bacteria, also known as gonococci due to the genus they belong to settle in the mucous membranes in the genital and anal areas from where they can be transmitted. It is important to note that transmission can take place only through direct contact and not indirectly, as the bacteria causing the infection can survive only a couple of seconds outside of a host.
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How can I get gonorrhoea in the throat?
Gonorrhoea in the throat, also known as oral gonorrhoea and pharyngeal gonorrhoea is a sexually transmitted infection that can be acquired through direct contact of the throat with the fluids present in the genital and anal area of an infected sex partner. Aside from the presence of bacteria in the naturally-occurring bodily fluids, it is also present in the white to yellowish fluid produced as discharge by the gonorrhoea bacteria causing the infection. It easily mixes with vaginal and seminal fluids and is also present on the mucous membranes of the infected person.
If you perform oral sex on a partner who has gonorrhoea, you will ingest the bacteria that will then establish itself in the throat (pharynx) where it will continue to grow and replicate. The studies seem to indicate that fellatio (oral contact with a penis) is much more likely to result in successful transmission of gonorrhoea as opposed to cunnilingus (oral contact with the vagina or clitoris). Just like other forms of gonorrhoea, gonorrhoea in the throat will remain asymptomatic in a large percentage of cases.
What are the symptoms of oral gonorrhoea?
If gonorrhoea in the throat does produce symptoms, they will be very mild compared to other forms of this bacterial infection. Sore throat, discomfort when swallowing food and other usual symptoms of strep throat such as redness and white spots with whitish to yellow discharge are rather common in those 10% of cases when the condition isn’t asymptomatic.
In these cases, the symptoms will usually manifest about a week to three weeks following unprotected sexual encounter. It is also worth mentioning that people affected by oral gonorrhoea will only rarely transmit the infection to others as the bacteria causing it will not infect mouth, lips or tongue. This makes kissing an unlikely culprit for the transmission.
However, direct contact between the pharynx and the penis or other objects such as fingers or sex toys can lead to the transmission of the bacteria to the said object or penis from where it could be further transmitted to the genitals, thus causing the more typical gonorrhoea infection.
Do I have pharyngeal gonorrhoea?
Gonorrhoea in the throat is rather difficult to diagnose without a specialised STI test. This is so because it will remain asymptomatic in a vast majority of cases, and even in other scenario, the symptoms will be mild and can easily be mistaken for influenza, common cold or other bacterial infections of the throat. Oral gonorrhoea can be quickly confirmed using a swab test that will collect a sample from the throat that the doctors will then analyse for the presence of this strain of bacteria.
So, if you have any reason to suspect that you might be affected by oral gonorrhoea, you should talk to your doctor about taking an STI test. Alternatively, you might decide to visit your local genitourinary (GUM) clinic and consult with a sexual health specialist there. In either case, the only way to know for sure if you might be affected is to undergo testing.
How is gonorrhoea in the throat treated?
Luckily, cases of pharyngeal gonorrhoea can be rather easily treated with prescription antibiotics. Most commonly, the doctor will recommend a combined course involving two different antibiotics in order to increase the chances of successfully eliminating the infections. And if the condition is diagnosed early on, the whole treatment can last as short as one week. However, more developed infections will usually require longer treatment.
Antibiotics most commonly prescribed will aim to eliminate the infection by inhibiting the bacteria’s metabolic processes, preventing them from sustaining themselves and making multiplication impossible. Because of this, macrolide antibiotics are often the preferred form of treatment for most medical experts.
On a positive side note, gonorrhoea in the throat can often clear by itself without the need for antibiotics. And with the high possibility of the condition remaining completely asymptomatic, many can contract oral gonorrhoea and clear it without ever knowing they have been infected on the first place.
Gonorrhoea in the throat complications
As mentioned, oral gonorrhoea is not as serious condition as is the case with other infections by the same strain of bacteria. However, in people who have compromised immunity, some complications are possible, most notably, the spread of the infection from the throat throughout the organism. This kind of systemic infection can cause many different symptoms and the risks it poses will greatly depend on how compromised the immune system is, with those at greater risk facing the possibility of severe complications.
