Making the Diagnosis
Your doctor will put a sample of the discharge from the penis or cervix under the microscope to look for N. gonorrhoeae. This technique finds the infection 90% of the time in men and 60% of the time in women. If it doesn't show up, the sample will be sent to the laboratory to be cultured. This will produce enough bacteria for the test.
More recently, tests have been created that look for the genetic material of the gonorrhea bacteria from swabbed samples of the male urethra or female cervix, or from urinary samples.
Your doctor will also probably perform a blood test. This won't detect gonorrhea but it may identify other diseases. People who have a sexually transmitted infection often have more than one.