Gonorrhea: treatment with antibiotics
The only treatment option is the administration of antibiotics. The standard therapy is an injection with ceftriaxone and azithromycin, which the patient must swallow. As a rule, a single treatment is sufficient to eliminate the bacteria. Those affected should refrain from sexual intercourse during treatment.
Some also suffer from a chlamydia infection, another common sexually transmitted disease. In this case, other bacteria have taken up residence in the urinary tract or genital organs, where they cause symptoms similar to those of gonorrhea. They are also treated with antibiotics.
If you have been diagnosed with gonorrhea, your partner should also be examined. On the one hand, there is a high probability that he or she is also infected. On the other hand, treatment ensures that you do not become infected again.
Gonorrhea treatment in the future
There are now gonococci that are resistant to antibiotics. This poses a challenge for the experts. Once bacteria have developed resistance, they pass it on, so it is to be expected that more difficult-to-treat cases will occur in the future. There are already active substances that used to help against gonorrhea but have now lost their effectiveness. Occasionally, there have even been cases in which not a single available antibiotic helped. As antibiotic resistance continues to increase, the need for new drugs is likely to rise.
At present, however, many patients can be treated well with the antibiotics available. We can test for resistance to a particular active substance before treatment and react accordingly if necessary. It is best to contact us for advice on this topic.
