What Will The Results Show
The results will state either detected or not detected. If your results say not detected, then you have not been infected with chlamydia or gonorrhea. If your results say detected, that means that you had a positive result for the test and will be able to discuss treatment options with one of the physicians that we work with. You will not be charged anything extra to speak with a physicianthat consultation is included with test.
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Taking The Incorrect Medication
Keep in mind that your treatment can fail if youâre taking the wrong medication. You might be prescribed the wrong drugs due to syndromatic treatment, an efficient, but sometimes inaccurate treatment method in which patients are prescribed STD treatment based on symptoms, rather than testing. This is sometimes done in STD clinics when there is a concern that the patient might not come back for their test results.
And you could be taking the wrong medication if youâve acquired it on your own and chose the wrong onessuch as taking medication that was prescribed for a past STD you had, or for your partner, or for a friend.
Not all STDs are caused by the same pathogens . Different illnesses require different treatments.
Thatâs why itâs so important for your healthcare provider to correctly identify whatâs causing your infection. Thatâs also why you canât just take any random antibiotic and hope itâs going to work.
How Do You Prevent Chlamydia
Using a new male or female condom or dental dam every time you have sex is the best way to protect against chlamydia.
Chlamydia can be passed on by sharing sex toys. Always cover sex toys with a new condom and wash them after use to reduce your risk of getting chlamydia and other STIs.
Its important to regularly test for chlamydia, even if you dont have any symptoms, especially if youve had multiple sexual partners.
The contraceptive pill and other types of contraception wont prevent you getting chlamydia, and neither will PrEP.
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What Are The Treatments For Chlamydia
If you are diagnosed with chlamydia, your doctor will prescribe oral antibiotics. A single dose of azithromycin or taking doxycycline twice daily for 7 to 14 days are the most common treatments and are the same for those with or without HIV.
With treatment, the infection should clear up in about a week. Do not have sex for at least 7 days until you have taken all of your medication, and do not stop taking the antibiotics even if you feel better.
Your doctor will also recommend that your partner be treated as well to prevent reinfection and further spread of the disease.
Women with serious infections, such as pelvic inflammatory disease, may require a longer course of antibiotics or hospitalization for intravenous antibiotics. Some severe pelvic infections may require surgery in addition to antibiotic therapy.
Make sure you get retested after three months to be certain the infection is gone. Do this even if your partner has been treated and appears to be infection free.
Follow Up With Your Doctor As Directed:
Write down your questions so you remember to ask them during your visits.
The above information is an educational aid only. It is not intended as medical advice for individual conditions or treatments. Talk to your doctor, nurse or pharmacist before following any medical regimen to see if it is safe and effective for you.
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Does The Treatment Work
Usually, yes. You can infect another sex partner as soon as you get chlamydia. Most women and some men do not have early signs of the disease.
A pregnant women can also pass on the infection to her baby as it is being born. This can lead to infection of the eyes and lungs in the infant. It is important to inform people you have had sex with during the past 3 months because they may have the disease and not know they need treatment. Your public health nurse will contact your partner if you prefer. Your name will be kept confidential.
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Does Epididymitis Ever Go Away
- Asked
- epididymitis, ultrasound, antibiotics
Iâm going on 5 months of having epipdidymitis⦠already been to a urologist, Iâve had the ultrasound and been on antibiotics 3xâs. Iâm confused and feel like Iâm being defeated. Plz HelpI do not have any STDâS⦠pain does decrease when I lay down. Urologist keep telling me thereâs nothing wrong but yet I still have discomfort and pain.
Official Answer
Sounds as though you have chronic epididymitis.
Epididymitis is an inflammation of the coiled tube at the back of the testicle that stores and carries sperm. Epididymitis is most often caused by a bacterial infection, including sexually transmitted infections such as gonorrhea or chlamydia. Men of any age can get epididymitis.
Chronic epididymitis lasts longer than six weeks or recurs. Chronic epididymitis comes on gradually. Symptoms can be improved with treatment but may not completely be eradicated.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications and local application of heat are the mainstays of treatment.
If symptoms persist, your physician may recommend other medications to alter the perception of pain in the area, or might refer you to a specialist in pain management. If all else fails the epididymis can be surgically removed while leaving the testicle in place.
Daniel74
Please share this information to help others.
AlsocuredAlsocured
Do you take the silver orally or do you apply it directly to the testicle?
Alsocured
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Whats The Treatment For Chlamydia
Chlamydia is usually easy to get rid of. Your nurse or doctor will get you antibiotics to treat the infection. Sometimes you only have to take one dose of medication. Another chlamydia treatment lasts for 7 days. Your doctor will help you figure out which treatment is best for you.
If youre treated for chlamydia, its really important for your sexual partners to get treated also. Otherwise, you can keep passing the infection back and forth, or to other people. Sometimes your doctor will give you medicine for both you and your partner.
If Youre Taking The Medication Incorrectly
Chlamydia is relatively easy to treat with antibiotics once it has been detected. The actual course, however, can vary from person to person. Sometimes a healthcare provider will prescribe one large dose, while other cases may require you to take antibiotics over the course of seven days.
Your healthcare provider will determine the best treatment regimen for you, but regardless, make sure you take the antibiotics as instructed and complete the full course. It can be tempting to stop early once you notice your symptoms getting better, but that can leave some lingering bacteria. Any remaining chlamydia bacteria can replicate and potentially even become resistant to the initial antibioticsâmeaning you may require even more powerful medication to treat the infection.
Itâs also important not to have sex while you are getting treated. While the antibiotics are usually quite effective, the infection stays in your body until the antibiotics have fully run their course. If you receive medication to treat a chlamydia infection, be sure to ask your healthcare provider how long to wait before having sex again.
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Who Should Be Tested 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:
- Sexually active women 25 and younger
- Older women who have new or multiple sex partners, or a sex partner who has a sexually transmitted disease
- Men who have sex with men
What Does A Positive Result Mean
-
A positive result means you probably have a chlamydia infection .
-
The test cannot show how long youve had an infection. It is thought that you can have chlamydia for weeks, months or even years, without knowing.
-
You will need treatment as soon as possible.
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Its possible that your partners test result may be different from yours.
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Treatment For Gonorrhea Is Quick And Easy Too
The CDC currently recommends a shot of the antibiotic Rocephin and an oral dose of the antibiotic azithromycin, given at the same time, to treat gonorrhea.
Treatment recommendations for gonorrhea have changed over the years as the bacteria that causes gonorrhea, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, has become resistant to a growing number of antibiotics.
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When Will The Signs And Symptoms Go Away
You should notice an improvement quite quickly after having treatment.
- Discharge or pain when you urinate should improve within a week.
- Bleeding between periods or heavier periods should improve by your next period.
- Pelvic pain and pain in the testicles should start to improve quickly but may take up to two weeks to go away.
If you have pelvic pain or painful sex that doesnt improve, see your doctor or nurse as it may be necessary to have some further treatment or investigate other possible causes of the pain.
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Getting Treated For Chlamydia And Often Gonorrhea
If you have your own doctor, he will prescribe the antibiotics you need to treat chlamydia. If you dont have your own doctor, you can often find free or low-cost care at either a Planned Parenthood site or a community health clinic.
Listen carefully to the instructions for taking the medicine that you are given by the doctor or other healthcare provider, and follow them closely.
Ask questions if you dont understand something. Also, if you have other questions as you take your medicine, you can always call the pharmacist for help. They are often easier to reach than the doctor.
If you test positive for chlamydia, your healthcare provider is likely to also recommend that you be treated for gonorrhea. This is because the cost of treating gonorrhea is less than the cost of testing for the infection.
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What Are Chlamydia Symptoms And Signs
The signs and symptoms of chlamydia infections in women are usually irritation in the genital tract, vaginal discharge, and pain with urination . In men, chlamydia is characterized by pain with urination, urinary frequency, and urethral discharge . Other symptoms may develop, such as rectal irritation , eye infections, and infertility. Women can also develop chronic pelvic pain, salpingitis, and endometritis. Pregnant women infected with chlamydia can have ectopic pregnancies, preterm labor, preterm delivery, and their newborns can get conjunctivitis, otitis media, and pneumonia.
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How Long Does It Take For Chlamydia To Go Away With Antibiotics
If your test results are positive for chlamydia, your doctor will prescribe antibiotics. Chlamydia typically goes away within 1 to 2 weeks. You should avoid sex during this time to prevent transmitting the disease. Your doctor may prescribe a one-dose medication or a medication youll take daily for about a week.
If I Have Chlamydia Am I At Risk Of Other Sexually Transmitted Infections
Yes. By definition, having unprotected sex means risk of STI. As well as chlamydia, there are also genital warts, genital herpes, gonorrhoea, HIV, pubic lice, and syphilis. Like with chlamydia, gonorrhoea may well cause no symptoms, so being tested is the only way to really know. This can be done at your local sexual health clinic.
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Sexually Transmitted Diseases: An Update On Retesting Guidelines And Reinfection Prevention Strategies
Approximately 20 million new sexually transmitted diseases occur in the United States each year.1 To help healthcare providers treat these infections and prevent new infections, the CDC has issued Sexually Transmitted Diseases Treatment Guidelines, 2015, an update of its 2010 report.2 These updated guidelines include nine new topics, one of which entails retesting to detect repeat infectionthe topic of this article.
At least 1 in 10 females becomes reinfected after treatment for chlamydia or gonorrhea and up to 1 in 6 becomes reinfected after treatment for trichomoniasis.3,4 Untreated chlamydia or gonorrhea can increase a womans risk for developing pelvic inflammatory disease , infertility, ectopic pregnancy, and chronic pelvic pain. In fact, women with chlamydia or gonorrhea reinfection may have an even higher risk for PID and ectopic pregnancy than those with a first infection.3 Untreated trichomoniasis can increase the risk for premature delivery.5
Retesting several months after diagnosis and treatment of chlamydia, gonorrhea, or trichomoniasis can detect repeat infection early on, and can be used to improve population-based prevention efforts.6, 7 The CDC recommends that any female or male who tests positive for chlamydia or gonorrhea and any female who tests positive for trichomoniasis be retested 3 months after treatment.
Is retesting enough? How can HCPs treat their patients, and their patients partners, to reduce the risk for reinfection?
References
How Long Does It Take To Show Up On A Test
There are several tests that you doctor might use to diagnose chlamydia:
- Urine test. Youll pee in a cup thats sent off to a laboratory testing facility to see if any chlamydia bacteria are present in your urine.
- Blood test. Your doctor will use a sterile needle to draw some of your blood and send it to a lab to see if antibodies to the chlamydia bacteria are present in your bloodstream.
- Swab. Your doctor will use a cotton round or stick to take a small sample of tissue or fluid that carries the infection, which is then sent to a lab to be cultured so that lab technicians can see what bacteria grows from the sample.
How long it takes for the results to show up depends on the test and on your specific health insurance plan.
- Urine tests take about 2 to 5 days to show a positive or negative result.
- Blood tests can come back with results in a few minutes if the blood is analyzed on site. But they can take a week or more if sent to an off-site lab.
- Swab results take about 2 to 3 days to show a positive or negative.
1 to 3 weeks to show up in people with vulvas.
Symptoms may take up a few months to show up. This is because bacteria are living creatures and have an incubation period that affects how long it takes them to cluster together and become infectious.
This incubation period is dependent on a variety of factors, including:
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Where Can I Get A Test
There are a number of services you can go to. Choose the one you feel most comfortable with.
A chlamydia test can be done at:
- a genitourinary medicine or sexual health clinic
- your general practice
- contraception and young peoples clinics
- some pharmacies.
Abortion clinics, antenatal services and some gynaecology services may also offer a chlamydia test.
In England, if youre a woman aged under 25 years old, you may be offered a chlamydia test as part of the National Chlamydia Screening Programme when you visit some service for other reasons, for example at a pharmacy or your GP.
The NCSP aims to identify people without symptoms to reduce the complications of untreated infection. If chlamydia is not treated, it can cause health complications, especially in women. Untreated chlamydia in women can cause pain in the pelvis, ectopic pregnancy and infertility .
If you are a woman aged under 25 years old and you are offered a chlamydia test as part of the NCSP you should consider taking it.
In many areas, free home self-sampling tests for chlamydia are available to order online. This is where you take your own sample and send it to be tested. See www.nhs.uk
Its also possible to buy a chlamydia test to do at home. The accuracy of these tests varies. Some types are very accurate when carried out according to the instructions, others can be less reliable. If you buy a testing kit make sure you get advice from a pharmacist or your doctor.
What Are The Side Effects Of Chlamydia Treatment
While doxycycline is an effective treatment for chlamydia, some people may have side effects when taking this chlamydia treatment.
Some common doxycycline side effects may include:
- increased sensitivity to light
- nausea or being sick
- joint or muscle pain
If you have any side effects when taking doxycycline, tell your doctor as soon as possible.
The full list of doxycycline side effects and cautions can be found in the patient information leaflet that comes with your medicine package.
When taking doxycycline, you should avoid drinking alcohol as it reduces doxycyclines effectiveness. You should also avoid sunlight as increased sensitivity to light has been reported as a side effect of doxycycline.
You should stop taking doxycycline and seek immediate medical attention if you develop any of the following rare but severe side effects, or symptoms of an allergic reaction:
- Ringing in your ear
- Fever, swollen lymph nodes or skin rash
- Symptoms of an allergic reaction such as difficulty breathing, wheezing, chest pain, swollen face, lips, mouth, hand or feet
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Does Chlamydia Have A Smell
In some cases, chlamydia can cause unusual vaginal discharge, which could have a strong or pungent smell.
However, this could also be a sign of several other STIs, including bacterial vaginosis or trichomoniasis. It could also be caused by many other factors, including sweat, changes in pH, or shifts in hormone levels.
Consider talking with a healthcare professional to address any concerns regarding abnormal discharge or odor, especially if its accompanied by other symptoms like pain, bleeding, itching, or burning.