“The clap” is a slang term for gonorrhea. People also call gonorrhea, “the drip.” These words can stigmatize and shame someone for having an STD.
Gonorrhea is very common and treatable. It’s spread through vaginal, anal, and oral sex. Gonorrhea can infect your penis, vagina, cervix, anus, urethra, throat, and eyes (but that’s rare). Most people with gonorrhea don’t have any symptoms and feel totally fine, so they might not even know they’re infected.
Gonorrhea is usually easily cured with antibiotics. But if you don’t treat gonorrhea early enough, it can lead to more serious health problems in the future. That’s why STD testing is so important — the sooner you know you have gonorrhea, the faster you can get rid of it.
You can help prevent gonorrhea by using condoms every time you have sex.