How do you treat chlamydia?
How long does it take to get rid of chlamydia?
Can you get a chlamydia infection in your throat?
How do you test for chlamydia in men?
Many talk about chlamydia as a genital infection that can be easily treated and they aren’t wrong. What many don’t know is that it can affect fertility later on if left untreated. It affects both men and women and can affect much more than the reproductive system.
What it is
It is a sexually transmitted genital infection and is spread by a bacterium known as chlamydia trachomatis. It can affect the eyes, anus and the back of the throat. Thankfully, it clears up with antibiotics but can affect your sexual health if left untreated.
With regard to fertility, chlamydia is said to be connected to premature labour and miscarriage. A mother can also pass it to her baby at birth leading to an eye infection or pneumonia in rare cases. Both infections can be treated with a dose of antibiotics.
Symptoms
50 percent of men and 70 percent of women do not show any signs of infection. The symptoms may however easily be confused with cystitis or thrush but these are less serious conditions. If symptoms are to occur they would appear between one and three weeks after contracting it. They could last a few days or for a while. This is what you need to keep your eyes open for:
In men
Early symptoms include:
- A burning sensation when passing urine
- Pain in the scrotum or groin (epididymitis)
- A cloudy discharge at the tip of the penis
If left untreated it can develop into:
- Painfully swollen testicles
- Fertility issues from the epididymitis
Though rare, it can lead to Reiter’s syndrome in men. It causes a certain type of arthritis that leads to pain in the joints and can also cause conjunctivitis.
In women
Early symptoms:
- Mild lower abdominal pain
- Pain when peeing
- Vaginal discharge that contains pus
If left untreated:
- Bleeding after sexual intercourse or between periods
- Pain during sex
- Extreme pelvic pain
The extreme symptoms show that the chlamydia has spread into the reproductive system leading to infection of the womb and inflammation of the cervix. If it goes any further it could damage your tubes and cause pelvic inflammatory disease.
Contracting it
The biggest way you can contract chlamydia is through sex without a condom. This includes oral and anal sex as long as one party is infected. You can also get it if your genitals get in contact with those of an infected person. You can’t catch it from contact with toilet seats, swimwear, towels, bedding, sauna or swimming pools.
The risk of catching chlamydia increases with every other sexual partner you have. Having sex without a condom puts you at risk of catching it. Unfortunately you can catch it over and over so you need to get checked and treated every time you suspect something isn’t right.
It is important to get tested if:
- Your partner has been diagnosed with chlamydia
- You or your partner seem to have chlamydia symptoms
- You or your partner have unprotected sex with other people
- You have unprotected sex with someone new
- You get tested and the doctor says the cells in your cervix are inflamed
- If you plan to go through certain fertility procedures. Any investigations in the uterus and fallopian tube can bring back an infection to life and cause more harm
Diagnosis and treatment
Detecting chlamydia only requires a vaginal swab or a urine test. This makes it much easier to handle. Treatment involves a dose of antibiotics. Early treatment usually solves it but your partner must get treated too to avoid re-infection. Stay away from sex while on treatment so as to prevent re-infection.