“The clap” is gonorrhea, one of the most common sexually transmitted infections worldwide. In the United States alone, over 543,000 cases were reported in 2024. The nickname has been around for centuries, and there are a few competing theories about where it came from.
Why Is Gonorrhea Called “The Clap”?
No one knows for certain, but the most widely cited explanation traces the name to the old French word “clapier,” which meant “brothel” (and, oddly, also referred to a rabbit’s nest, rabbits being notorious for their reproductive enthusiasm). Since gonorrhea spread readily through brothels, the connection stuck.
Another theory points to the Old English word “clappan,” meaning “to beat or to throb,” which could describe the painful, throbbing sensation the infection causes during urination. A more colorful (and cringe-worthy) explanation claims that men once tried to cure the infection by literally clapping the penis between two hard objects to force out the discharge. Whether anyone actually did this regularly is debatable, but the story has persisted.
What Gonorrhea Actually Is
Gonorrhea is a bacterial infection that targets mucous membranes. The bacterium latches onto the lining of the urogenital tract, but it can also infect the rectum, throat, and eyes. It spreads through vaginal, anal, and oral sex, and a mother can pass it to her baby during birth, causing an eye infection in the newborn.
Symptoms typically appear 1 to 14 days after exposure, but many people never develop noticeable symptoms at all. That silent quality is part of what makes gonorrhea dangerous: you can carry and transmit it without knowing.
Symptoms in Men and Women
When symptoms do appear, they look different depending on the infection site and the person’s anatomy.
Men are more likely to notice something wrong. The classic signs include a white, yellow, or green discharge from the penis, a burning sensation when urinating, and occasionally painful or swollen testicles.
Women often have milder or more ambiguous symptoms that are easy to mistake for a urinary tract infection or yeast infection. These can include painful urination, increased vaginal discharge, and vaginal bleeding between periods. Because women are less likely to recognize these symptoms as gonorrhea, the infection frequently goes undiagnosed longer.
Rectal infections in anyone can cause discharge, anal itching, soreness, bleeding, and painful bowel movements. Throat infections are usually silent, though some people develop redness, pain, or a sore throat.
What Happens If It Goes Untreated
Left alone, gonorrhea doesn’t just sit quietly. In women, the infection can travel upward into the uterus and fallopian tubes, causing pelvic inflammatory disease. This can lead to chronic pelvic pain, scarring of the reproductive organs, and infertility. In men, untreated gonorrhea can cause a painful condition called epididymitis (inflammation near the testicles) that can also affect fertility.
In rare cases, the bacteria enter the bloodstream and spread to other parts of the body. This is called disseminated gonococcal infection, and it can cause fever, joint pain and swelling, skin sores, and rash. It requires more aggressive treatment and can become serious quickly.
How It’s Diagnosed
Testing for gonorrhea is straightforward. The preferred method is a nucleic acid amplification test, or NAAT, which works on a urine sample or a swab from the infected site. These tests detect the bacteria’s genetic material with sensitivity above 90% and specificity above 99%, making false results uncommon.
If you’re sexually active with new or multiple partners, routine screening catches infections that haven’t produced symptoms yet. Testing can also be done on throat and rectal swabs if you’ve had oral or anal sex, though your provider may need to specifically request those.
Treatment Is Simple, but Resistance Is Growing
Gonorrhea is curable with antibiotics. The standard treatment is a single injection, and most people are also treated for chlamydia at the same time (since the two infections frequently occur together) with a week-long course of oral antibiotics. The whole process is quick, and symptoms typically clear within a few days.
The bigger concern is antibiotic resistance. Gonorrhea has developed resistance to nearly every class of antibiotic that’s been thrown at it over the decades. Resistance to older antibiotics like ciprofloxacin has reached 95% globally. More alarming, resistance to the current frontline treatments is climbing. Between 2022 and 2024, resistance to the primary injectable antibiotic rose from 0.8% to 5%, while resistance to the main oral alternative jumped from 1.7% to 11%, according to WHO surveillance data. That trajectory is why public health officials treat antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea as a serious and growing threat.
For now, treatment still works for the vast majority of cases. But if symptoms don’t resolve after treatment, a follow-up visit is important so your provider can test for a resistant strain and adjust accordingly.
How to Reduce Your Risk
Condoms significantly reduce the risk of gonorrhea transmission when used consistently and correctly. They aren’t perfect, especially for oral sex (where transmission to the throat can occur), but they remain the most practical barrier method available. Limiting the number of sexual partners and getting tested regularly also lowers your odds. If you’re diagnosed, notifying recent partners helps break the chain of transmission, since many of them may be carrying the infection without symptoms.