Guide
Oral gonorrhea: symptoms, throat swab testing and cost
Medical review pendingWritten by the STD Test Prices editorial team using CDC sources
Oral gonorrhea is a gonorrhea infection in the throat. CDC says you can get gonorrhea through oral sex without a condom with someone who has it, and that most throat infections cause no symptoms. A urine test checks only the genitals, so finding it takes a throat swab tested with a NAAT. Clinics can take the swab, and a few mail-in kits include one. Prices for those kits, with the date we checked, are below.
Key points
- Gonorrhea can infect the throat, rectum and genitals. CDC says oral sex without a condom can pass it.
- CDC says most gonorrhea infections in the throat cause no symptoms. MedlinePlus lists a sore throat as a possible symptom.
- Urine and vaginal swabs miss throat infections. A throat swab tests that site.
- CDC recommends a yearly throat test for men who have sex with men after receptive oral sex. For women, it says one can be considered.
- CDC treats throat gonorrhea with a ceftriaxone injection and recommends a test of cure 7 to 14 days later.
How oral gonorrhea spreads
CDC says gonorrhea can cause infection in the genitals, rectum and throat, and that you can get it by having vaginal, anal or oral sex without a condom with someone who has the infection. MedlinePlus says it spreads through contact with the mouth, throat, eyes, urethra, vagina, penis or anus.
Can you get it from kissing? CDC's guidelines say the role of saliva, kissing and rimming in passing gonorrhea and chlamydia hasn't been well studied. They also say throat infections with gonorrhea or chlamydia might be a main source of infections in the urethra.
Oral gonorrhea symptoms
CDC says the majority of gonorrhea infections in the throat cause no symptoms. MedlinePlus lists a sore throat, called gonococcal pharyngitis, among the symptoms of gonorrhea in both men and women, and says symptoms most often appear 2 to 5 days after infection.
CDC says throat infections rarely cause complications. They're harder to cure than genital or rectal infections, though, and CDC says they've been reported to be a major source of spread in the community.
Oral gonorrhea or strep throat?
Most sore throats are neither. CDC says viruses cause most sore throats and that only about 1 in 10 adults with a sore throat has strep throat, an infection with group A strep bacteria. A clinician can do a quick test to see whether a sore throat is strep. That test looks for strep, so if you've had oral sex, say so and ask for a gonorrhea test on a throat swab too.
Why a urine test misses it
CDC says a clinician uses a urine sample to test for gonorrhea most of the time, and may swab the throat or rectum after oral or anal sex. Urine and vaginal swabs test the genitals only. LetsGetChecked, for example, says its urine-based kit won't find gonorrhea outside the genital area, such as oral or rectal gonorrhea.
The throat test is the same kind of test, a NAAT, run on a throat swab. CDC's guidelines list throat swabs among the samples cleared for gonorrhea NAATs, and say that in a clinic a throat swab you take yourself, after instructions, can be used instead of one a clinician takes. Among men who have sex with men, CDC says about 70% of gonorrhea and chlamydia infections might be missed with genital-only testing, because most throat and rectal infections cause no symptoms.
Who should get a throat swab
| Who | What CDC says |
|---|---|
| Men who have sex with men | A throat test for gonorrhea after receptive oral sex in the past year, at least once a year, or every 3 to 6 months at higher risk |
| Women | Throat and rectal gonorrhea tests can be considered based on the sex you have, decided with your clinician |
| Transgender and gender diverse people | Consider throat and rectal tests based on the sex you have |
| Anyone with genital or rectal gonorrhea | The clinician should ask about oral sex and, if there was any, test the throat |
A genital test still matters. Our chlamydia and gonorrhea testing guide covers urine and vaginal samples, and our male STD check-up guide lists what CDC recommends for men.
Where to get a throat swab test
Mail-in 3-site kits. These add a throat swab and a rectal swab to a urine sample, and test them for chlamydia and gonorrhea.
- Wisp's 3-site kit costs $149 () at Wisp. Results come 3 to 5 business days after the lab gets the samples, and a consult is included. Wisp says it doesn't treat gonorrhea in the throat, and that an in-person provider is the best next step after a positive throat sample.
- myLAB Box's 3-site kit costs $189 () at myLAB Box. It uses an oral swab, a rectal swab and urine, and myLAB Box offers a free telemedicine consultation with a physician after a positive result.
Online lab orders. Quest's chlamydia and gonorrhea test uses urine or a vaginal self-swab, and Labcorp OnDemand's chlamydia, gonorrhea and trichomoniasis test uses urine. Neither checks the throat. Our gonorrhea test page compares every genital test we track.
Clinics. CDC says a clinician may swab your throat after oral sex. A clinic can also give the injection CDC recommends if the result is positive. Our free STD testing guide covers free and low-cost options.
Free option: public clinics
Free and low-cost testing is available at health department clinics and Title X family planning clinics. CDC's GetTested site finds confidential, free or low-cost testing near you by ZIP code.
What to expect
- Clinics usually test for chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and HIV, and often hepatitis B and C, following CDC screening advice for your age, anatomy and the kind of sex you have.
- A clinician can examine you, swab sores and often treat you in the same visit.
- Some tests sold in private panels are usually not offered without symptoms, such as herpes blood tests and HPV tests for men, because CDC doesn't recommend them as screening tests.
- Hours can be limited, and you may wait for an appointment or a walk-in slot.
- Free testing usually isn't anonymous either (some publicly funded sites offer anonymous HIV testing). Positive results for reportable infections are reported to the health department, confidentially.
Treatment and test of cure
CDC's recommended treatment for gonorrhea in the throat is a single injection of ceftriaxone. It says throat infections are harder to get rid of than genital or rectal ones, and that no reliable alternative treatments are available.
Unlike genital or rectal gonorrhea, throat gonorrhea needs a test of cure. CDC says anyone treated for it should return 7 to 14 days later for a culture or NAAT, and that a test at 7 days might be more likely to give a false positive.
CDC also says to wait 7 days after finishing treatment before having sex, to retest about 3 months later, and to have partners from the 60 days before your symptoms or diagnosis evaluated and treated. Gonorrhea is reportable in every state, so a positive result goes to the health department, and CDC says those reports are kept confidential. Our positive result guide covers next steps.
Chlamydia in the throat
CDC doesn't recommend routine throat tests for chlamydia. If a throat swab taken for gonorrhea finds chlamydia, though, CDC says to treat it, because chlamydia in the throat can be passed to the genitals. The 3-site kits test the throat swab for both.
Frequently asked questions
- Can you get gonorrhea from oral sex?
- Yes. CDC says you can get gonorrhea by having vaginal, anal or oral sex without a condom with someone who has it, and that gonorrhea can infect the throat. CDC's guidelines say the role of saliva and kissing in passing gonorrhea hasn't been well studied.
- What are the symptoms of oral gonorrhea?
- Usually none. CDC says most gonorrhea infections in the throat cause no symptoms. MedlinePlus lists a sore throat, called gonococcal pharyngitis, among the symptoms of gonorrhea in men and women. A throat swab test is how it's found.
- How do you test for oral gonorrhea?
- With a NAAT on a throat swab. A clinician can take the swab, or you can use a mail-in 3-site kit that adds throat and rectal swabs to a urine sample, such as the kits from Wisp and myLAB Box. A urine test doesn't check the throat.
- Will a urine test detect oral gonorrhea?
- No. Urine tests the genitals only. CDC says a clinician who tests with urine may also swab the throat after oral sex, and LetsGetChecked says its urine-based kit won't find gonorrhea outside the genital area, such as oral or rectal gonorrhea.
- Is it oral gonorrhea or strep throat?
- A test tells them apart. CDC says viruses cause most sore throats and only about 1 in 10 adults with a sore throat has strep throat. A quick strep test checks for strep, so after oral sex, also ask for a gonorrhea test on a throat swab.
- How is oral gonorrhea treated?
- CDC recommends a single injection of ceftriaxone. It says throat infections are harder to cure than genital ones, and that anyone treated for gonorrhea in the throat should come back 7 to 14 days later for a test of cure. Wisp, which sells a 3-site kit, says it doesn't treat gonorrhea in the throat.