Penicillin remains the treatment of choice for gonorrhoea, but medical research has discovered that penicillin is more effective in killing resistant gonococci if another drug is given at the same time. The usual method in the treatment of gonorrhoea is for the patient to take two tablets of this drug, called probenecid, either an hour before, or at the time of receiving the penicillin, and a further tablet 6, 12, and 18 hours later. Probenecid blocks the excretion of penicillin by the kidneys and so enables higher levels to be obtained in the blood. This gives penicillin a more lethal effect on the gonococcus. The penicillin is given as a single injection into a muscle, or else you take a number of capsules by mouth all at one go. In women who have gonorrhoea, and homosexual men who have a gonococcal infection of the rectum, a second injection of penicillin is sometimes given on the next day, and probenecid tablets are taken every 6 hours for two days. During treatment the doctor also takes a sample of blood to check for syphilis.
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