Healthier Scotland. Scottish Government
Gonorrhoea Treatment
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How gonorrhoea is treated
Early treatment of gonorrhoea is very simple and usually involves taking a dose of antibiotics (see notes on antibiotics and the contraceptive pill below).
Some infections that are picked up abroad are not as easily treated with the antibiotics usually used in Scotland. If you or your partner may have caught gonorrhoea while abroad, tell the doctor.
You may be asked to return to the sexual health service a week or so after treatment to make sure that the gonorrhoea has been successfully cured.
Avoiding re-infection between partners
It is important to avoid vaginal, anal or oral sex until you and your partner have both finished gonorrhoea treatment, and are given the ‘all clear’ by the doctor. Otherwise you could be re-infected.
Gonorrhoea treatment and the oral contraceptive pill
Some antibiotics used to treat gonorrhoea interfere with the oral contraceptive pill. Tell the doctor or nurse if you are on the pill.
Treating gonorrhoea during pregnancy and while breastfeeding
Tell the doctor or nurse if you are pregnant or think you might be, or if you are breastfeeding. This will make a difference to the antibiotic you are prescribed.
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