Gonorrhea treatment, diagnosis & prescriptions

Yes! By asking questions about your symptoms and ordering tests, a Maple doctor can diagnose your concern and prescribe gonorrhea treatment online.

Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) that can live in the urethra, throat, rectum and cervix. Since it’s caused by bacteria, gonorrhea is very common and typically easily curable.

Both chlamydia and gonorrhea are caused by bacterial infections, but the bacteria that causes them are different. Chlamydia trachomatis is the bacteria chlamydia comes from, while gonorrhea is caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae. They have similar symptoms and similar treatments, but aren’t quite the same!

Both males and females experience gonorrhea discharge. In women it is creamy or tinged green, while in men it drips from the tip of the penis and resembles yellow, green or white pus. Both also experience pain while urinating, and the need to urinate more frequently. Pink eye (conjunctivitis) and sore throat can also affect both men and women.

Otherwise, there are a few symptoms that are typically unique to women, including:

• Anal itching or discharge
• Abnormal vaginal bleeding between periods
• Lower abdominal pain
• Pain during sex
• Sore throat
• Fatigue
• Swollen vaginal opening

A buildup of the neisseria gonorrhoeae bacteria causes gonorrhea, which is passed along during vaginal, anal and oral sex.

No, you can’t get gonorrhea from kissing. It’s passed along by sexual contact and occasionally through childbirth.

Using condoms and dental dams during sex can prevent gonorrhea transmission. Getting tested for gonorrhea also helps, since it ensures you’re not passing it along to anyone else. Tests include a gonorrhea urine test, or a swab sample taken from the urethra, cervix or rectum.

Yes, gonorrhea is usually completely curable with antibiotics. The consequences of untreated gonorrhea are very detrimental to a person’s health however, so it’s important to follow through with treatment, even if you begin to feel better part way through your medication.

In men, these consequences include infertility due to prolonged inflammation of the epididymis, near the sperm ducts

In women, they include:

•  Pelvic inflammatory disease because of long term inflammation of the fallopian tubes and uterus which leads to scarring and infertility
• Pregnancy complications

Both men and women are also more susceptible to other sexually transmitted infections like HIV with untreated gonorrhea, and bloodstream infections that affect the joints.

Through proper use of antibiotics, gonorrhea can usually be completely cured. These gonorrhea treatments are usually a combination of medication taken through injection and orally. 

The treatment time for gonorrhea is about 7 days, at which point another dose may be required if the infection has not gone away. During that time it’s important not to engage in sexual activity.

Maple is a virtual care platform that connects you with doctors and other healthcare providers via text, audio, or video. After you log in to your Maple account, you can request an online consultation.

Consultations work similarly to in-person appointments — the doctor can complete an assessment by asking questions about your symptoms, going through your health history, and determining what treatment is right for you. If they think your condition is more serious, they may tell you to go to a clinic for an in-person examination.

As a Maple member, you get 24/7 access to virtual primary care online and more. You can connect with our network of providers via text, audio, or video call within minutes.

Our membership costs $79.99/month and covers virtual care for patients and their families, including the primary account holder's spouse and any dependents.

For patients in eligible provinces, our membership includes:

• Access to daily primary care provider visits: One daily visit with a primary care provider for each family member in their household.
• Paediatric care: Covered paediatric primary care visits, available by appointment.
• Second medical opinions: access to a network of experts for a second opinion if diagnosed with a complex condition (e.g. cancer).
• Personal Health Check-Ins: A series of personalized, evidence-based proactive care screenings to maintain and improve health.
• iCBT courses: Access to iCBT (internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy) self-assessment and courses.
• Access to specialists in eligible provinces: Easy access to specialists on Maple within days, not months. No referral is needed.
• Specialist referrals in eligible provinces: Ability to be referred to a physician specialist for in-person care, if needed.
• Credit discounts: An $80 credit per month to be applied to a Maple specialist visit.

Please note that our membership cannot be combined with other offerings, such as private insurance coverage and provincial programs, where available. In some cases, membership fees can be covered by a Healthcare Spending Account (HSA) — check with your HSA provider for more details.

We accept all major credit cards, including AMEX cards, as well as Google and Apple Pay.

At Maple, we proudly prioritize privacy as a cornerstone of our virtual care services. We strictly adhere to privacy and healthcare legislation in Canada, such as PIPEDA and PHIPA regulations, to ensure patients' personal and health information remains completely private and safeguarded.

Our policies and consent processes are designed to be simple and easily understood, empowering individuals with control and a clear understanding of their healthcare journey. When using our services, a patient’s session is protected by a comprehensive security infrastructure and stringent data policies.

Patients also retain full control of their personal health information, medical records and test results at all times. Our approach is reinforced by consultations with leading experts, guaranteeing comprehensive policy frameworks that are reviewed at a regular cadence.

All providers delivering healthcare through Maple are licensed in Canada and governed by their licensing regulatory colleges, and in all instances, must act in accordance with the governing principles set out in the telemedicine policies of each medical regulator in the applicable province.

Regulators across Canada support and recognize the value of services like ours, and the way in which they can benefit patients, physicians, and Canada’s broader healthcare system by improving access to care and increasing efficiencies in the delivery of care.