Q&A: My Husband Has Gonorrhea—Did He Cheat?

QUESTION: I’ve been married for five years. My husband and I were both virgins when we got married, and we never had sex with anyone else after that. A week ago, he tested positive for gonorrhea. Is gonorrhea only transmitted by sexual activity? Did my husband cheat on me?

Transmitting STI’s

I am sorry to say this but it is true that gonorrhea is a sexually transmissible infection (STI).

A person cannot get gonorrhea from toilet seats or from shaking hands or from hugging or kissing. Gonorrhea is transmitted from oral sex, vaginal sex and anal sex.

Gonorrhea is also easily transmitted from one person to another person when they have sex.

In addition, many people who have gonorrhea don’t show any symptoms of the infection. As such, I would suggest that you talk to your own healthcare provider and let him or her know that your husband has tested positive for gonorrhea and that you would like to get tested for gonorrhea and other STIs, such as chlamydia and HIV, as well.

I would also encourage you to consider using a condom if or when you have sex with your husband until you know that he no longer has gonorrhea. Otherwise you might end up passing gonorrhea back and forth to each other.