“The clap” is a slang term for gonorrhea, a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacteria Neisseria gonorrhoeae. It’s one of the most common STIs in the world, with over 543,000 cases reported in the United States in 2024 alone. The nickname has roots in the French term “les clapiers,” which referred to the small huts where sex workers lived and saw clients in earlier centuries.
How Gonorrhea Spreads
Gonorrhea passes from person to person through vaginal, anal, or oral sex. The bacteria can infect the genitals, rectum, and throat. A pregnant person can also pass it to their baby during delivery. You can get gonorrhea more than once, as a previous infection doesn’t give you any immunity.
Symptoms in Men
Men are more likely to notice symptoms than women. The classic signs include a burning sensation when urinating and a white, yellow, or greenish discharge from the penis. Some men also develop swollen or painful testicles, though this is less common. Symptoms typically show up within two to five days of exposure, but can take up to 30 days. Some men have no symptoms at all, which means they can unknowingly pass the infection to partners.
Symptoms in Women
Most women with gonorrhea have no symptoms. When symptoms do appear, they’re often mild enough to be mistaken for a bladder infection or vaginal irritation. The most common signs include painful or burning urination, increased vaginal discharge, and vaginal bleeding between periods. Because the infection so often flies under the radar in women, it can quietly cause serious damage before anyone realizes it’s there.
Throat and Rectal Infections
Gonorrhea doesn’t only affect the genitals. A throat infection (from oral sex) usually causes no symptoms or just a mild sore throat, making it easy to miss entirely. Rectal infections can cause discharge, itching, soreness, bleeding, or painful bowel movements, though many rectal infections are also symptom-free. These non-genital infections are a major reason gonorrhea continues to spread, since people don’t know they’re carrying it.
What Happens If It Goes Untreated
Left alone, gonorrhea can cause lasting harm. In women, it can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, a serious infection of the uterus and fallopian tubes. PID can cause scarring that leads to chronic pelvic pain, infertility, or ectopic pregnancy (where a fertilized egg implants outside the uterus, a potentially life-threatening situation). In men, untreated gonorrhea can cause a painful condition in the tubes attached to the testicles, which in rare cases also leads to infertility.
In uncommon but serious cases, the bacteria can spread through the bloodstream to other parts of the body. This can cause skin lesions, joint pain and swelling, and inflammation of the tendons. Rarely, it can reach the heart valves or the lining of the brain.
How Testing Works
The most reliable test for gonorrhea is a nucleic acid amplification test, which detects the bacteria’s genetic material. For a genital infection, you’ll either provide a urine sample or a healthcare provider will use a swab. If you’ve had oral or anal sex, separate swabs of the throat or rectum are needed, since a urine test won’t catch infections at those sites. Testing is quick, and results usually come back within a few days.
Because gonorrhea and chlamydia often occur together, most providers test for both at the same time.
Treatment and Antibiotic Resistance
Gonorrhea is curable with antibiotics, typically given as a single injection. The treatment is straightforward, and symptoms usually clear within a few days. You should avoid sex for at least seven days after treatment and until any partners have been treated as well, to prevent passing the infection back and forth.
The bigger concern is that gonorrhea is becoming harder to treat. The bacteria have developed resistance to nearly every antibiotic ever used against them, including penicillin, tetracycline, and fluoroquinolones. Resistance to the current recommended treatment is now emerging in multiple countries, including Denmark, France, Japan, and the United Kingdom. The WHO has identified strains resistant to virtually all available antibiotics, sometimes called “super gonorrhea.” In 2018, a strain resistant to the two main drugs used in combination therapy was confirmed in the UK. This trend makes early detection and proper treatment more important than ever, since incomplete or incorrect treatment accelerates resistance.
Who’s Most at Risk
Gonorrhea rates are highest among sexually active people in their teens and twenties. Having multiple sexual partners, inconsistent condom use, or a previous gonorrhea infection all raise your risk. Men who have sex with men face particularly high rates, partly because pharyngeal (throat) gonorrhea spreads easily through oral sex and rarely causes symptoms.
Gonorrhea cases in the U.S. have actually declined for three consecutive years, dropping 10% from 2023 to 2024. But with over half a million cases still reported annually, and many more going undiagnosed due to the high rate of silent infections, it remains a major public health challenge. Regular screening is the most effective way to catch and stop it early, especially if you’re under 25 or have new or multiple partners.