What Is It?

Urethritis is an inflammation of the urethra, which is the tube that carries urine out of the body. Urethritis is usually caused by a sexually transmitted infection (STI). Much less commonly it may be the result of an injury from an instrument such as a urinary catheter or exposure to an irritating chemical such as an antiseptic or a spermicide

Doctors usually classify infectious urethritis into two categories: gonococcal urethritis, caused by gonorrhea bacteria, and nongonococcal urethritis, caused by bacteria other than gonorrhea.

Gonococcal urethritis, commonly called clap, is a sexually transmitted disease that is caused by bacteria called Neisseria gonorrhoeae. These gonorrhea infections can be passed from person to person during sexual activity (vaginal, oral and anal intercourse). The CDC estimates that there are 700,000 new cases of gonorrhea each year. However, only half that number is reported. Many who are infected do not seek treatment.

Nongonococcal urethritis includes all the other sexual transmitted causes of urethritis. The most frequent cause is chlamydia. Chlamydia is an STI that is caused by bacteria called Chlamydia trachomatis. Nongonococcal urethritis is a common form of STI in the United States, with an estimated 4 million new cases each year. In addition to chlamydia, other possible infectious causes of nongonococcal urethritis include Ureaplasma urealyticum, Mycoplasma genitalium and Trichomonas vaginalis.

Symptoms

The main symptoms of urethritis are pain or burning during urination and an urge to urinate more frequently. Other symptoms may include redness around the opening of the urethra, the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the outside of the body. Men with gonococcal urethritis often have a yellow discharge from the urethra in addition to the other symptoms.

Women are less likely to have symptoms from sexually transmitted infections such as gonorrhea and Chlamydia.