Urethritis is inflammation of the urethra. The urethra is the tube that carries urine from the bladder out of the body.
Urethritis is usually caused by infection, although this is not always the case. The term non-specific urethritis (NSU) is used when the cause of the urethritis has not yet been identified, but it is known that gonorrhoea, a sexually transmitted infection (STI), is not responsible.
See the Health A-Z topic about Gonorrhoea for more information about this condition.
NSU can have a number of possible causes, but it is estimated that the STI chlamydia is responsible for nearly half of all male cases.
See the Health A-Z topic about Chlamydia for more information about this condition.
How common is non-specific urethritis?
Urethritis is one of the most common reasons for men to visit their local genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic or sexual health clinic. There are around 80,000 cases of urethritis diagnosed in men visiting GUM clinics every year. It is more difficult to diagnose urethritis in women because it may not cause as many symptoms.
Outlook
NSU is usually treated with antibiotics (medicines to treat bacterial infections) and the symptoms usually go away within two weeks. It is important that past and current sexual partners are also treated to prevent any infection spreading to other people. See NSU - treatment for more information.
Women often have no symptoms of NSU, but if it is caused by chlamydia it can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) if it is not treated. See the Health A-Z topic about PID for more information about this condition. Repeated episodes of PID are associated with an increased risk of infertility.
