Bacterial Culture
Another effective method to diagnose gonorrhea is a bacterial culture. It is especially great for an infection in the throat, eyes, rectum, and genitals. The doctor needs a swab of the infected area and then adds a substance to gathered cells to encourage the bacteria to grow. The result will be positive when growth occurs and negative when there is no growth.
In addition to diagnosis, a bacteria culture would be helpful in finding out if a bacterium can resist available antibiotics. This is significant to know whether there is any serious complication or when medications fail to treat gonorrhea. Although this test would provide a definitive result, it requires a proper process of getting the cells in the affected parts. Also, keep in mind that a bacterial culture is sensitive to temperatures. This means any issues in handling, storing, incubating, and processing the sample would affect accuracy. In general, you can get the results within 5 to 7 days.[3]
