Full question:
Been told by an ex that she has gonorrhoea and I fear I do as well as I’ve had some symptoms. Rather than sit in a clinic I was hoping to discretely take the medicine to treat it. I read online that chlamydia treatment is the same. Is this the case?
Response from Dr Fox:
Dr Fox does not offer treatment for gonorrhoea; rather we advise attending your local STI clinic. This is because the recommended treatment of gonorrhoea in adults is ceftriaxone 500mg as an injection. The clinic would also check you for other STIs and organise contact tracing (your sexual partners who would be at risk).
It is true that high-dose azithromycin (2gm as a single dose) can be effective but has a high incidence of abdominal side-effects. Resistance can also be a problem. It is not best practice.
For further information see NHS Gonorrhea website page. Postal STI home test kits are also available.