What is urethritis and what causes it?
Urethritis means inflammation of the urethra. The urethra is the tube between the bladder and the end of the penis. Urethritis is usually caused by a sexually transmitted infection, but not always. It can occur within a stable relationship. • Gonorrhoea is one type of sexually transmitted infection which can cause urethritis. A separate leaflet describes gonorrhoea in more detail. • Non-gonococcal urethritis (NGU) is the term used to describe urethritis caused by anything other than gonorrhoea. A bacterium called chlamydia is the common cause of NGU. This is one type of sexually transmitted infection. NGU can also be caused by a variety of other bacteria or viruses (germs). NGU may rarely have a non-infective cause. For example, injury or surgery to the urethra can cause inflammation. A separate leaflet describes NGU in more detail. Some men have a combination of gonococcal and non-gonococcal urethritis at the same time.
