If treated early, gonorrhoea is unlikely to lead to any complications or long-term problems. However, without treatment it can spread to other parts of your body and cause serious problems. The more times that you have gonorrhoea, the more likely you are to get complications.
- In women, gonorrhoea can spread to the reproductive organs and cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). PID can lead to long-term pelvic pain, ectopic pregnancy and infertility.
- In men, gonorrhoea can cause painful infection in the testicles and prostate gland, which may lead to reduced fertility.
In rare cases, when gonorrhoea has been left untreated, it can spread through the bloodstream to cause infections in other parts of your body. In both men and women, this can cause:
- inflammation (swelling) of the joints and tendons
- skin lesions (rash)
- inflammation around the brain and spinal cord (meningitis), and the heart, which can be fatal
