What Does Chlamydia Feel Like
According to the CDC, chlamydial infections are one of the most common STDs in America, with 1.6 million people being infected in 2020.
The CDC also reports that STDs are most prevalent in young adults aged 15 to 24. This may be because people in this age bracket are more likely to have unprotected sex.
Symptoms of chlamydia include:
- Pain in the lower abdomen
However, many people with the infection do not experience any symptoms. In addition, untreated chlamydia can trigger pelvic inflammatory disease in women and infertility in both sexes.
It can also be spread from an infected mother to her newborn baby during childbirth.
The best way to prevent chlamydia and other STIs is to practice safe sex by using condoms every time during sex. If you suspect you might have chlamydia, it is vital to see a doctor or other healthcare specialist for testing and treatment.
You can easily treat chlamydia with antibiotics. In addition, early diagnosis and treatment of chlamydia can help prevent serious health problems down the road.
Regular Screening Prevents Later Problems
When young women and other women at high risk for chlamydia follow CDC guidelines and get yearly screening, they reduce their risk for the serious problems that the illness can cause. They are less likely to suffer infertility, pelvic inflammatory disease, and other serious health troubles than women who skip yearly testing.
Testing is easy. If it helps you remember, do it the week after your birthday, or tie it to some other annual event, like the 4th of July. That way, you can declare your independence from worry about STDs.
Home Remedies For Chlamydia Symptoms
You may still experience painful or uncomfortable symptoms while youre taking chlamydia antibiotics.
Here are some home remedies for reducing your pain and other symptoms while youre waiting for the antibiotics to work:
- pain medications, such as ibuprofen to reduce pain
- cold pack to help limit swelling and inflammation
- goldenseal to reduce inflammation and potentially make symptoms less severe
- echinacea to bolster your immune system against the infection and reduce your symptoms
- turmeric containing an ingredient called curcumin to reduce inflammation and make symptoms less severe
No studies support the effectiveness of these supplements specifically for chlamydia, so take them with caution.
And theres no substitute for antibiotics when treating chlamydia. Only try these remedies if youre already taking antibiotics or if you plan to go to the doctor.
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Antibiotics Are A Highly Effective Cure For Chlamydia Infection
Antibiotics prescribed for chlamydia include:
A single oral dose of Zithromax is the most common treatment. Other drugs may be given in varying doses for a period of up to a week. Most cases of chlamydia clear up within a week after you start on antibiotics.
If you think you have been exposed to chlamydia, Stoner says, see your healthcare provider to receive antibiotic medication to prevent the onset of infection.
The partners of individuals diagnosed with chlamydia will need treatment, too, and in some states they can get it without a doctor visit through a practice called expedited partner therapy, in which the first person treated delivers the treatment to their partner or partners.
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.
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Preventing The Spread Of Infection
It is absolutely necessary to inform the partner if you get a positive test for Chlamydia. The sooner the partner is told the more effective and simple the treatment can be. Make sure your partner gets tested and receives the treatment as well and abstain from the intercourse until the treatment of both you and the partner is finished.
Female Complications Of Untreated Chlamydia
Some women develop PID, an infection that can damage the uterus, cervix, and ovaries. PID is a painful disease that often requires hospital treatment.
Infertility is also possible if chlamydia is left untreated because the fallopian tubes may become scarred.
During pregnancy, the infection can to babies during birth, which can cause eye infections and pneumonia in newborns.
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What If I Don’t Get Treated
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 . This can cause pelvic inflammatory disease . 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 and can lead to long-term pelvic pain, inability to get pregnant, and potentially deadly 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 fathering children. Untreated chlamydia may also increase your chances of getting or giving HIV – the virus that causes AIDS.
Chlamydia Can Be Prevented
The most effective way to avoid getting a sexually transmitted infection is to not have sex. However, if you wish to have sexual contact, you can reduce your risk of infection with these actions:
- Minimizing the number of partners with whom you have intimate contact
- Asking your partners to get screened for STDs before engaging in sexual activity
- Always using latex condoms when having intercourse of any kind
Additional reporting by Ingrid Strauch.
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Its Not Uncommon To Have Gonorrhea And Chlamydia At The Same Time
Research has shown that up to 50% of all teens and young adults who tested positive for gonorrhea at STD clinics, family planning centers and juvenile detention centers also had chlamydia. Adalja says this can happen simply because individuals who have gonorrhea are also likely to have risk factors for chlamydia and vice versa. And, he points out, They are both transmitted in the same manner and have the same risks for acquisition.
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
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What Are The Risk Factors Of Stis
It goes without saying that you want to try to avoid getting an STI, and thats for a number of reasons. Short-term risks of catching an STI could include an impact on your sex life, confidence, stress levels, and occasionally some discomfort in the area of infection.
Longer-term risks can be more complicated and can depend on the STI you have. In some cases, some infections can lead to infertility, while others like HPV may increase the risk of cancer. In cases of syphilis and HIV that are left untreated, even death is possible. This all sounds very scary, but theres a reason were sharing it: to underline the importance of protecting yourself against sexually transmitted infections. If you can avoid getting one, you should! More on that below.
Treatment Of Chlamydia Is There A Cure For Chlamydia
Chlamydia can be cured easily and effectively with simple antibiotics once it has been diagnosed. The treatment can consist of a single dose or last up to 2 weeks depending on the type of chlamydia. The infected person should not have penetrative sex until receiving a negative Chlamydia test at an after-treatment check-up. Both partners must be treated for chlamydia and undergo re-testing after 34 months.
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I Was Treated For Chlamydia When Can I Have Sex Again
You should not have sex again until you and your sex partner 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.
What Does Chlamydia Feel Like For Females
The CDC states that up to 95 percent of females who contract chlamydia will experience no symptoms. This lack of symptoms makes it difficult to diagnose the infection and even harder to prevent its spread.
As a result, chlamydia infection is often called a silent epidemic. However, if not treated, chlamydia can cause serious health problems, including pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility.
Therefore, sexually active women need to get tested for chlamydia regularly. With early detection and treatment, you can bring the silent epidemic of chlamydia under control.
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The Symptoms Of Chlamydia
Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted infection that is caused by the bacteria Chlamydia trachomatis. It is the most common STI in the United States, and it can infect both men and women. Chlamydia is usually spread through sexual contact with an infected person, but it can also be passed from an infected mother to her baby during childbirth.
Most people who are infected with chlamydia do not have any symptoms, which is why the infection can easily go unnoticed and untreated. However, if symptoms do occur, they usually appear within 1-3 weeks after exposure to the bacteria.
If you think you may have been exposed to chlamydia, it is important to see a healthcare provider for testing and
Does Dormant Chlamydia Test Positive
Chlamydia trachomatis can be present and dormant in the body for several years. However, it takes 1-3 weeks to show up in the vulva.
There are different ways to test for Chlamydia. The waiting period for the results depends on the mode of the Chlamydia test.
Urine test
Your doctor would require you to pee in a cup that will be tested in a laboratory to see if Chlamydia bacteria are in your urine.
This test takes about 2-5 days to show a positive if you are infected with the disease.
Blood test
Your doctor will take out some of your blood to be sent into the lab for testing to see if antibodies to Chlamydia are in your bloodstream.
Blood test results can come back in a few minutes when the blood is analyzed.
Swab test
Your doctor will use a stick or cotton round to acquire a small sample of suspected fluid that has the infection.
This sample is then cultured to see what bacteria grow from it. It can take up to 2-3 days to show results.
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When To See A Doctor
If you are sexually active and displaying symptoms of chlamydia, or you believe you were exposed to the bacterial infection through a sexual partner, see a doctor for evaluation and treatment as soon as possible.
The CDC advises sexually active women under 25 years old get screened for chlamydia every year. Its also a good idea to be tested when beginning a sexual relationship with a new partner.
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How Is Chlamydia Screening Done
A person can test for chlamydia at home or in the lab. They can take either a urine sample or a swab.
- Females can take a swab, place it in a container, and send it to a laboratory.
- Males will usually use a urine test.
A doctor can advise individuals on the best option. They may also recommend rectal or throat testing, especially for people who are living with HIV.
Home screening tests are available, but it is not always easy to do them correctly at home. A healthcare provider will usually recommend following up on any home tests by visiting a doctors office.
The person will likely need to provide a urine sample for a test to confirm a diagnosis. After treatment, they will need to retake the test to ensure that the treatment has worked.
If anyone wishes to try home testing, chlamydia screening test kits are available for purchase online.
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How Can You Lower The Risks Of Acquiring Stds
The optimal way for preventative measures in cases of STDs includes using condoms every time you have sex. Although condoms reduce the possibility of acquiring asymptomatic sexually transmitted diseases, they do not entirely nullify them. The use of condoms cannot always avoid STDs such as trichomoniasis and human papillomavirus. The practice of safe sex is critical in avoiding STIs and STDs. It is essential to be mindful of the following:
- Not indulge in acts that include tearing the skin, which only increases the risk of contracting an STD
- Use latex condoms
- Take a bath or wash before and after intercourse
- Avoid sharing underclothing or towels
- Be open to your partner about your sexual health
- Avoid having multiple sex partners
Home Remedies For Chlamydia
Chlamydia is caused by a bacterial infection. The only true cure for this type of infection is antibiotics.
But some alternative treatments may help ease symptoms. Its important to remember that untreated chlamydia can lead to long-term complications, including fertility problems and chronic inflammation.
Home remedies for chlamydia that may be effective include:
- Goldenseal.This medicinal plant may limit symptoms during an infection by reducing inflammation.
- Echinacea. This plant has been widely used to boost the immune system in order to help people overcome infections of many types, from the common cold to skin wounds. It may help reduce symptoms of chlamydia.
Although compounds in these plants might help to ease inflammation and infection in general, there arent any quality studies that show theyre effective specifically for chlamydia symptoms.
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What’s The Treatment For Chlamydia
Chlamydia is treated with antibiotics. If you take the treatment according to instructions, its over 95% effective at treating chlamydia.
- Youll be given a course of antibiotics for 3 or 7 days or sometimes up to two weeks.
- If theres a high chance you have chlamydia, treatment may be started before the results of the test are back. Youll always be given treatment if a sexual partner is found to have chlamydia.
- You may also need other treatment if complications have occurred.
- Tell the doctor or nurse if youre pregnant, or think you might be, or youre breastfeeding. This may affect the type of antibiotic youre given.
- Complementary therapies cant cure chlamydia.
What Does A Chlamydia Test Involve
- You may be asked to provide a urine sample. Before having this test, youre advised not to pass urine for 12 hours.
- A doctor or nurse may take a swab from the entrance of the urethra .
- If you have symptoms of conjunctivitis swabs will be used to collect a sample of discharge from your eye.
A swab looks a bit like a cotton bud but is smaller and rounded. It sometimes has a small plastic loop on the end rather than a cotton tip. Its wiped over the parts of the body that could be infected. This only takes a few seconds and isnt painful, though it may be uncomfortable for a moment.
Cervical screening and routine blood tests dont detect chlamydia.
If youre not sure whether youve been tested for chlamydia, just ask.
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What Happens If I Get Chlamydia When I’m Pregnant
- Chlamydia during pregnancy has been associated in very rare cases with problems such as premature birth, and infection of the uterus lining after the birth.
- It can be passed to the baby during the birth and before the baby is born. This can cause inflammation and discharge in the babys eye and/or pneumonia.
- You may be offered a chlamydia test as part of your antenatal care.
- Chlamydia can be treated with antibiotics when youre pregnant and when youre breastfeeding. The antibiotics wont harm the baby, but do tell the doctor or nurse that youre pregnant or breastfeeding.
- Youll be advised to have another test after you complete your treatment.
Do I Need To Have A Test To Check That The Chlamydia Has Gone
If you take the treatment according to the instructions, you wont usually need a test to check the chlamydia has gone.
If youre aged under 25, you should be offered a repeat test 3 months after finishing the treatment. This is because youre at a higher risk of getting chlamydia again.
Whatever your age, you may need a repeat test or more treatment if:
- you think youve come into contact with chlamydia again
- you had sex without a condom with a partner before the treatment for both of you was finished
- you didnt complete the treatment or didnt take it according to the instructions
- the signs and symptoms dont go away
- your test was negative but you develop signs or symptoms of chlamydia
- youre pregnant.
A repeat test can be done 56 weeks after the first test.
If the chlamydia was in your rectum , you may need another test around 3 weeks after finishing the treatment. Your doctor, nurse or clinic will let you know if you need another test.
You can go back to the doctor, nurse or clinic if you have any questions or need advice on how to protect yourself from infection in the future.
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