In the past, the treatment of uncomplicated gonorrhea was fairly simple. A single injection of penicillin cured almost every infected person. Unfortunately, there are new strains of gonorrhea that have become resistant to various antibiotics, including penicillins, and are therefore more difficult to treat. Fortunately, gonorrhea can still be treated by other injectable or oral medications.

Uncomplicated gonococcal infections of the cervix, urethra, and rectum, are usually treated by a single injection of ceftriaxone intramuscularly or by 400 milligrams of cefixime (Suprax) in a single oral dose. For uncomplicated gonococcal infections of the pharynx, the recommended treatment is 125 milligrams of ceftriaxone in a single IM dose.

Alternative regimens for uncomplicated gonococcal infections of the cervix, urethra, and rectum are 2 grams of spectinomycin in nonpregnant women (not available in the United States) in a single IM dose or single doses of cephalosporins (ceftizoxime, 500 milligrams IM; or cefoxitin, 2 grams IM, administered with probenecid (Benemid), 1 gram orally; or cefotaxime, 500 milligrams IM).

Treatment should always include medication that will treat chlamydia (for example, azithromycin [Zithromax, Zmax] or doxycycline [Vibramycin, Oracea, Adoxa, Atridox, and others]) as well as gonorrhea, because gonorrhea and chlamydia frequently exist together in the same person. The sexual partners of women who have had either gonorrhea or chlamydia must receive treatment for both infections since their partners may be infected as well. Treating the partners also prevents reinfection of the woman. Women suffering from PID require more aggressive treatment that is effective against the bacteria that cause gonorrhea as well as against other organisms. These women often require intravenous administration of antibiotics.

It is important to note that doxycycline, one of the recommended drugs for treatment of PID, is not recommended for use in pregnant women.

Gonorrhea is one of the easier STDs to prevent because the bacterium that causes the infection can survive only under certain conditions. The use of condoms protects against gonorrhea infection. Since the organism can live in the throat, condoms should be used during oral-genital contact as well.

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