Nongonococcal urethritis (NGU) is an infection of the urethra that is not caused by gonorrhea. NGU is most often caused by chlamydia.

You can get NGU by touching your mouth, penis, vagina, or anus, to someone else’s penis, vagina, or anus (who has NGU).

Symptoms

NGU is more common in people with a penis. A person with a uterus might not have any symptoms, so they may not know they has NGU until severe problems occur.

Symptoms of NGU might include:

• discharge (strange liquid) from the penis or vagina
• burning, pain when peeing
• itching, irritation or tenderness around the opening of the penis.
• pain in the abdominal (stomach) area or bleeding from the vagina that is not from a monthly period. (This may be a sign that NGU has become worse and turned into pelvic inflammatory disease, or PID).

How do I find out if I have NGU?

Go to your health care provider and get tested. If you don’t have a regular health care provider, you can search here for a local clinic or testing site.

Is there a cure for NGU?

Yes, NGU can be cured with antibiotics. Your health care provider can prescribe the right treatment for you. Note: If you are pregnant or might be pregnant, ask your provider about medicines that will not harm the baby.

If you do not treat NGU, it can cause infertility (being unable to have children), problems in pregnancy, like low birth weight, early delivery or miscarriage, and eye, ear and lung infections in newborn babies.