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Chlamydia Infections
Chlamydia; Chlamydial Disease; Chlamydial Infection
Chlamydia is a common sexually transmitted disease (STD) that can infect both men and women. If left untreated, it can cause serious, permanent damage to a woman's reproductive system. Most people who have chlamydia don't know it since the disease often has no symptoms. Learn more about treatment and prevention.
Illustration of Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria
Image by CDC
Chlamydia Infections
Image by CDC
Chlamydia is a common STD that can infect both men and women. It can cause serious, permanent damage to a woman’s reproductive system. This can make it difficult or impossible for her to get pregnant later on. Chlamydia can also cause a potentially fatal ectopic pregnancy (pregnancy that occurs outside the womb).
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Chlamydia in the U.S.
Image by CDC
Chlamydia is a common sexually transmitted disease. It is caused by bacteria called Chlamydia trachomatis. It can infect both men and women. Women can get chlamydia in the cervix, rectum, or throat. Men can get chlamydia in the urethra (inside the penis), rectum, or throat.
You can get chlamydia during oral, vaginal, or anal sex with someone who has the infection. A woman can also pass chlamydia to her baby during childbirth.
If you've had chlamydia and were treated in the past, you can get re-infected if you have unprotected sex with someone who has it.
Chlamydia is more common in young people, especially young women. You are more likely to get it if you don't consistently use a condom, or if you have multiple partners.
Chlamydia doesn't usually cause any symptoms. So you may not realize that you have it. People with chlamydia who have no symptoms can still pass the disease to others. If you do have symptoms, they may not appear until several weeks after you have sex with an infected partner.
Symptoms in women include
If the infection spreads, you might get lower abdominal pain, pain during sex, nausea, or fever.
Symptoms in men include
If the chlamydia infects the rectum (in men or women), it can cause rectal pain, discharge, and/or bleeding.
There are lab tests to diagnose chlamydia. Your health care provider may ask you to provide a urine sample. For women, providers sometimes use (or ask you to use) a cotton swab to get a sample from your vagina to test for chlamydia.
You should go to your health provider for a test if you have symptoms of chlamydia, or if you have a partner who has a sexually transmitted disease. Pregnant women should get a test when they go to their first prenatal visit.
People at higher risk should get checked for chlamydia every year:
In women, an untreated infection can spread to your uterus and fallopian tubes, causing pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). PID can cause permanent damage to your reproductive system. This can lead to long-term pelvic pain, infertility, and ectopic pregnancy. Women who have had chlamydia infections more than once are at higher risk of serious reproductive health complications.
Men often don't have health problems from chlamydia. Sometimes it can infect the epididymis (the tube that carries sperm). This can cause pain, fever, and, rarely, infertility.
Both men and women can develop reactive arthritis because of a chlamydia infection. Reactive arthritis is a type of arthritis that happens as a "reaction" to an infection in the body.
Babies born to infected mothers can get eye infections and pneumonia from chlamydia. It may also make it more likely for your baby to be born too early.
Untreated chlamydia may also increase your chances of getting or giving HIV/AIDS.
Antibiotics will cure the infection. You may get a one-time dose of the antibiotics, or you may need to take medicine every day for 7 days. Antibiotics cannot repair any permanent damage that the disease has caused.
To prevent spreading the disease to your partner, you should not have sex until the infection has cleared up. If you got a one-time dose of antibiotics, you should wait 7 days after taking the medicine to have sex again. If you have to take medicine every day for 7 days, you should not have sex again until you have finished taking all of the doses of your medicine.
It is common to get a repeat infection, so you should get tested again about three months after treatment.
The only sure way to prevent chlamydia is to not have vaginal, anal, or oral sex.
Correct usage of latex condoms greatly reduces, but does not eliminate, the risk of catching or spreading chlamydia. If your or your partner is allergic to latex, you can use polyurethane condoms.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Unique factors place youth at risk for STIs
Image by CDC
Anyone who has sex can get chlamydia through unprotected vaginal, anal, or oral sex. However, sexually active young people are at a higher risk of getting chlamydia. This is due to behaviors and biological factors common among young people. Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men are also at risk since chlamydia can spread through oral and anal sex.
Have an honest and open talk with your health care provider. Ask whether you should be tested for chlamydia or other STDs. If you are a sexually active woman younger than 25 years, you should get a test for chlamydia every year. If you are an older woman with risk factors such as new or multiple sex partners, or a sex partner who has an STD, you should get a test for chlamydia every year. Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men; as well as pregnant women should also get tested for chlamydia.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Couple having intercourse
Image by krivitskiy/Pixabay
You can get chlamydia by having vaginal, anal, or oral sex with someone who has chlamydia.
If your sex partner is male you can still get chlamydia even if he does not ejaculate (cum).
If you’ve had chlamydia and were treated in the past, you can still get infected again. This can happen if you have unprotected sex with someone who has chlamydia.
If you are pregnant, you can give chlamydia to your baby during childbirth.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Chlamydia infections
Image by GerardM
Most people who have chlamydia have no symptoms. If you do have symptoms, they may not appear until several weeks after you have sex with an infected partner. Even when chlamydia causes no symptoms, it can damage your reproductive system.
Women with symptoms may notice
Symptoms in men can include
Men and women can also get infected with chlamydia in their rectum. This happens either by having receptive anal sex, or by spread from another infected site (such as the vagina). While these infections often cause no symptoms, they can cause
You should be examined by your doctor if you notice any of these symptoms or if your partner has an STD or symptoms of an STD. STD symptoms can include an unusual sore, a smelly discharge, burning when urinating, or bleeding between periods.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
The Value of Chlamydia Screening
Image by CDC
Laboratory tests can diagnose chlamydia. Your health care provider may ask you to provide a urine sample or may use (or ask you to use) a cotton swab to get a sample from your vagina to test for chlamydia.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Couple Talking
Image by icsilviu/Pixabay
If you’ve just found out that you have gonorrhea or chlamydia, you may be trying to figure out what to do next. Here are the three most important steps that you can take:
WHY?
Many people with gonorrhea and chlamydia don’t have symptoms. Why does this matter? Because an untreated infection can lead to serious and permanent health problems, even if you never have symptoms. Gonorrhea and chlamydia can be cured with the right medicine from your doctor. Just make sure you take all of your medicine exactly as your doctor tells you to.
WHERE?
Your regular doctor can prescribe antibiotics to cure the STD. But if you don’t have insurance or want to see someone else for treatment, there are other low-cost or free options. You can get tested and treated at your local health department’s STD clinic, a family planning clinic, a student health center, or an urgent care clinic.
WHY?
Your partner may also be infected and not know it and needs to get tested and treated. Left untreated, chlamydia and gonorrhea can cause serious health problems like PID, infertility, and potential deadly ectopic pregnancy. Also, without treatment, your partner might pass the STD back to you.
HOW?
It may be emotionally uncomfortable, but telling your partners about STDs allows them to protect their health, too. Being diagnosed with an STD can cause many strong emotions. You may begin to question your trust in your partner or be worried that they will question their trust in you. Before you blame anyone, know that STDs are common and don’t always cause symptoms. It is possible that you or your partner got the STD in a previous relationship without even knowing it. Keeping that in mind, talk to your partner as soon as possible. Be honest and straightforward.
During and after your talk, your partner may also have many strong emotions. The most helpful thing you can do is listen to your partner’s concerns and fears and offer information about the STD and its symptoms and treatment. Give your partner time to absorb this information. Help your partner understand that they may also have the STD. Sometimes, no one knows for sure who had the infection first.
WHERE?
Just like you, your partner needs to receive medical care as soon as possible. There are a number of places and ways that your partner can get medicine for gonorrhea or chlamydia:
WHY?
It’s common to get infected with gonorrhea and chlamydia again. Even if you and your partner took medicine, you should be retested in 3 months.
A good way to remember is to set a notification on your phone or email, ask your doctor’s office or clinic to remind you, or scribble a note on your calendar—whatever you need to do to make sure you stay healthy!
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Chlamydia Test
Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria in your body, so the disease can be treated promptly. If not treated, chlamydia can cause serious complications, including infertility in women and swelling of the urethra in men.
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STD Tests
Also called: STD Screening, STI (Sexually Transmitted Infections) Test, STI Screening
STDs (sexually transmitted diseases) are infections that are mostly spread through sexual activity, including vaginal, oral, and anal sex. STD tests can diagnose these infections before they cause serious health problems.
Gonorrhea Testing
Also called: Gonorrhea Test, GC Test
A gonorrhea test looks for the presence of gonorrhea bacteria in your body. Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted disease that can infect both men and women. Commonly known as “the clap”, it causes infection in the genitals, rectum, and throat.
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Herpes Testing
Also called: Herpes Test, HSV Test, Herpes Culture, Herpes Simplex Viral Culture, HSV-1 Antibodies, HSV-2 Antibodies, HSV DNA
A herpes (HSV) test checks a sample of your blood or fluid from a sore for a herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection. Different types of HSV cause cold sores (HSV-1) and genital herpes (HSV-2).
HIV Screening Test
Also called: HIV Test, HIV Screening
An HIV test is used to diagnose infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). There is no cure for HIV, but early diagnosis and treatment can help you stay healthy. There are three main types of HIV tests.
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HIV Antibody Tests
Also called: HIV-1/HIV-2 Testing
HIV antibody tests look for HIV antibodies in your blood, saliva (spit), or urine (pee). HIV antibodies are disease-fighting proteins that your immune system makes when you have an HIV infection. An antibody test can be used to screen for HIV or to differentiate between HIV-1 or HIV-2 infection.
HIV Viral Load Test
Also called: HIV by PCR, HIV RNA Test
An HIV viral load is a blood test that measures the amount of HIV in a sample of your blood. It can determine how well your HIV medicines are working. The main goal of HIV medicines is to reduce the HIV viral load to an "undetectable" level, meaning the lower your viral load, the better.
HIV Self-Test
Also called: HIV Home Test, Home Access HIV-1 Test System, OraQuick® In-Home HIV Test
Home HIV screening kits test either a sample of oral fluid or a sample of blood that you get by pricking your finger. It is used to detect whether or not you have antibodies to HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus).
Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Test
Also called: HPV, HPV DNA, High-risk HPV
An HPV test looks for high-risk HPV (human papillomavirus) infections in women. HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease. Most infections aren't serious. But some high-risk HPV infections can cause cervical and other types of cancer.
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Syphilis Tests
Also called: Treponema pallidum Ab
Syphilis tests are used to screen for and diagnose syphilis, a bacterial infection spread by sexual contact. Syphilis is easily treatable if found in the early stages of infection.
Antibiotics
Image by Memed_Nurrohmad
Chlamydia can be easily cured with antibiotics. HIV-positive persons with chlamydia should receive the same treatment as those who are HIV-negative.
Persons with chlamydia should abstain from sexual activity for 7 days after single dose antibiotics or until completion of a 7-day course of antibiotics, to prevent spreading the infection to partners. It is important to take all of the medication prescribed to cure chlamydia. Medication for chlamydia should not be shared with anyone. Although medication will stop the infection, it will not repair any permanent damage done by the disease. If a person’s symptoms continue for more than a few days after receiving treatment, he or she should return to a health care provider to be reevaluated.
Repeat infection with chlamydia is common. Women whose sex partners have not been appropriately treated are at high risk for re-infection. Having multiple chlamydial infections increases a woman’s risk of serious reproductive health complications, including pelvic inflammatory disease and ectopic pregnancy. Women and men with chlamydia should be retested about three months after treatment of an initial infection, regardless of whether they believe that their sex partners were successfully treated.
Infants infected with chlamydia may develop ophthalmia neonatorum (conjunctivitis) and/or pneumonia. Chlamydial infection in infants can be treated with antibiotics.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Medication
Image by RonnyK
Yes, chlamydia can be cured with the right treatment. It is important that you take all of the medication your doctor prescribes to cure your infection. When taken properly it will stop the infection and could decrease your chances of having complications later on. You should not share medication for chlamydia with anyone.
Repeat infection with chlamydia is common. You should be tested again about three months after you are treated, even if your sex partner(s) was treated.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Sweet, Couple, Love
Image by StockSnap/Pixabay
You should not have sex again until you and your sex partner(s) have completed treatment. If your doctor prescribes a single dose of medication, you should wait seven days after taking the medicine before having sex. If your doctor prescribes a medicine for you to take for seven days, you should wait until you have taken all of the doses before having sex.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Female Reproductive Organ with Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID)
Image by TheVisualMD
The initial damage that chlamydia causes often goes unnoticed. However, chlamydia can lead to serious health problems.
If you are a woman, untreated chlamydia can spread to your uterus and fallopian tubes (tubes that carry fertilized eggs from the ovaries to the uterus). This can cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). PID often has no symptoms, however some women may have abdominal and pelvic pain. Even if it doesn’t cause symptoms initially, PID can cause permanent damage to your reproductive system. PID can lead to long-term pelvic pain, inability to get pregnant, and potentially deadly ectopic pregnancy (pregnancy outside the uterus).
Men rarely have health problems linked to chlamydia. Infection sometimes spreads to the tube that carries sperm from the testicles, causing pain and fever. Rarely, chlamydia can prevent a man from being able to have children.
Untreated chlamydia may also increase your chances of getting or giving HIV – the virus that causes AIDS.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Condom
Image by Sasin Tipchai/Pixabay
The only way to avoid STDs is to not have vaginal, anal, or oral sex.
If you are sexually active, you can do the following things to lower your chances of getting chlamydia:
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
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