“The drip” is a slang term for gonorrhea, one of the most common sexually transmitted infections in the United States. The nickname comes from the pus-like discharge that can drip from the penis, vagina, or rectum during an active infection. Gonorrhea is also sometimes called “the clap.”
Why It’s Called “The Drip”
Gonorrhea is caused by a bacterium called Neisseria gonorrhoeae. When it infects the urethra (the tube you urinate through), it triggers inflammation that produces a thick, pus-like discharge. In men, this discharge is often white, yellow, or green and drips from the tip of the penis, which is where the nickname originated. Women can experience increased vaginal discharge as well, though the symptom tends to be less dramatic and easier to miss.
The irony of the name is that most people with gonorrhea never actually see “the drip.” Roughly 90% of women with a genital gonorrhea infection have no symptoms at all. In men, asymptomatic rates range from about 56% to 87%, depending on the study. That means the majority of people carrying the infection can pass it on without ever realizing they have it.
Symptoms Beyond Discharge
When gonorrhea does cause symptoms, they vary by the site of infection. In men, the most common signs are a burning sensation during urination, pus-like penile discharge, and pain or swelling in one testicle. Women may notice painful urination, unusual vaginal discharge, pelvic pain, or bleeding between periods.
Gonorrhea doesn’t only infect the genitals. It can establish itself in the rectum, throat, or eyes depending on how it was transmitted. A rectal infection can cause anal itching, discharge, and spots of bright red blood on toilet paper. An eye infection causes redness, pain, and pus-like discharge from one or both eyes. Throat infections are usually silent, with few or no noticeable symptoms.
How Common Gonorrhea Is
In 2024, provisional CDC data counted over 543,000 reported gonorrhea cases in the U.S., with men accounting for roughly 342,000 and women for about 199,000. That works out to a rate of about 160 cases per 100,000 people nationally, though the real number is almost certainly higher because so many infections go undiagnosed. Cases have actually declined for three consecutive years, dropping 10% between 2023 and 2024.
How Testing Works
Getting tested is straightforward. The two main methods are a urine sample or a swab. For a urine test, you provide a small amount from the very beginning of your urine stream (you’ll need to avoid urinating for about two hours beforehand for an accurate result). A swab collects fluid and cells directly from the potentially infected site: the urethra, vagina, cervix, throat, or rectum. In many clinics, you can swab yourself following the provider’s instructions.
Because gonorrhea can infect multiple sites at once, your provider may test more than one area. If you’ve had oral or anal sex, a urine test alone won’t catch a throat or rectal infection. Letting your provider know about the type of sexual contact you’ve had helps ensure the right sites get tested.
Treatment and Growing Resistance
Uncomplicated gonorrhea is currently treated with a single injection of an antibiotic. The treatment is quick, typically given in one clinic visit, and it clears most infections effectively. If there’s a chance you also have chlamydia (the two infections often travel together), you’ll likely receive a course of oral antibiotics for that as well.
The bigger concern is that gonorrhea is becoming harder to treat. A November 2025 report from the World Health Organization found that resistance to the two primary antibiotics used against gonorrhea rose sharply between 2022 and 2024. Resistance to one key drug jumped from 0.8% to 5%, and resistance to another climbed from 1.7% to 11%. Resistance to an older class of antibiotics has already reached 95%, making those drugs essentially useless against gonorrhea. Resistant strains are now being detected in more countries than ever before. This means treatment that works today may not work tomorrow, which makes early detection and prevention even more important.
What Happens If It Goes Untreated
Left alone, gonorrhea doesn’t just linger. It can travel deeper into the reproductive tract and cause serious damage. In women, the infection can spread to the uterus and fallopian tubes, causing pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). PID can permanently scar the fallopian tubes, leading to chronic pelvic pain, ectopic pregnancy, or infertility. This damage can happen even without obvious symptoms, a process sometimes called “silent” infection of the upper genital tract.
In men, untreated gonorrhea can cause a painful infection in the tube that carries sperm from the testicle, which can also affect fertility. In rare cases, the bacteria can enter the bloodstream and cause joint infections, skin lesions, or other systemic problems. Because the infection is so often symptomless, routine screening is the most reliable way to catch it before complications develop.