Can You Treat Chlamydia And Gonorrhea With The Same Antibiotic

How To Treat Gonorrhea And Chlamydia At Home: Get Tested

Taking antibiotics is the only way to treat gonorrhea and chlamydia, and these antibiotics must be prescribed by a physician. This means you cannot treat these STDs at home. But there is something you can do at home: get tested. The results of this at-home test will determine whether or not you need to contact a medical professional to discuss treatment options.

What Causes Gonorrhea And Chlamydia

Chlamydia and gonorrhea are sexually transmitted diseases that affect both women and men. They are transmitted by having oral, anal, or vaginal sex with a person who already has the disease.

Both STDs are caused by a bacterial infection that affects the mucous membranes, which are moist, soft tissues not covered by our outer layer of skin.

• Chlamydia is caused by the bacteria, chlamydia trachomatis, and can be found in the vagina, cervix, urethra, and rectum as well as the throat or eyes .
• Gonorrhea, also called the clap or the drip, is caused by the bacteria, Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

Like chlamydia, gonorrhea bacteria can grow and infect women in the cervix, uterus, or fallopian tubes and in men, in the urethra. It can also infect the anus, mouth, and throat.

The infection is spread through semen and vaginal fluids, but the transmission of the disease is not dependent on ejaculation. While the infection comes from these fluids, it can infect the eyes and throat in addition to the vagina, cervix, penis, urethra, and anus.

However, since these fluids are required to transmit the bacteria, you cannot get either STD through casual contact. For example, it is not possible to get chlamydia or gonorrhea from holding hands, hugging, sneezing, sitting on a toilet, or sharing food. It is very unlikely to get chlamydia or gonorrhea from kissing, even kissing someone with the infection in their throat.

Read: Why is Gonorrhea Called the Clap?

Gonorrhea Protection Treatment For Chlamydia And Gonorrhea

Take these steps to shield on your own from gonorrhea:

Condoms. They help keep you from obtaining Sexually transmitted diseases. They work as a barrier and also maintain bacteria from infecting you. Spermicide wont stop you from obtaining gonorrhea.

Have your sexual partners obtain checked. Ask them whether theyve been checked for gonorrhea. If they havent, speak with them regarding obtaining examined.

Do not have sex with a person who has symptoms of gonorrhea. Has your partner complained of a burning feeling while peeing or sores in their genital location? Take a break from sex till they get their signs and symptoms examined and also you ought to obtain examined also.

Obtain routine testings. Get examined for gonorrhea annually if youre:

A guy who has sex with guys

A sexually active lady under age 25 Treatment For Chlamydia And Gonorrhea

A woman who has a brand-new sex companion, several companions, or a partner with a sexually transmitted disease

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• STD Express Clinic in Arlington, Virginia near Pentagon City is open 7 days a week, and you can perform discreet, safe testing without needing to book an appointment for the tests in advance.
• You can expect to get the testing and treatment on the same day . Test results are provided to the patient in discreet manner, and treatment options are available in the clinic at an additional cost.

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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When To Contact A Doctor

If you have any of the symptoms described, you should go see a doctor. In general, if you are sexually active and have any usual discharge, burning sensations, or pain while having sex you may have an STD and should get tested.

Additionally, if you are a woman, you should contact a doctor immediately if you have any of the following symptoms as they can be a sign of a serious complication of chlamydia called pelvic inflammatory disease:

• Vomiting
• Fainting or signs of shock
• Serious lower abdominal pain
• Temperature that is higher than 101 F

Should any of these symptoms arise or if you suspect you may have an STD, it is very important to get tested.

Even if you have no symptoms as do the vast majority of those with chlamydia but are sexually active, you should be getting tested regularly, so you do not unknowingly spread the disease.

You can make an appointment with your primary care physician or order STD testing online here.

Milly DawsonSanjai Sinha, MDShutterstock

Chlamydia is easy to cure. If you test positive for chlamydia, basically you take an antibiotic, says Jill Rabin, MD, cochief in the division of ambulatory care for womens health programs and prenatal care assistance program services for Northwell Health in New Hyde Park, New York.

Your partner must take an antibiotic, too, to keep them from reinfecting you, she says.

Is Gonorrhea 100 Percent Curable

Yes, gonorrhea can be cured with the right treatment. It is important that you take all of the medication your doctor prescribes to cure your infection. Medication for gonorrhea should not be shared with anyone. Although medication will stop the infection, it will not undo any permanent damage caused by the disease.

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How Can I Reduce My Risk Of Getting Chlamydia

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:

• Be in a long-term mutually monogamous relationship with a partner who has been tested and has negative STD test results
• Use latex condoms the right way every time you have sex.

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Get Retested Following Treatment

Many people have more than one chlamydia infection. If youre a girl or woman and your sex partners are not treated for the infection, you will be at high risk for reinfection. Repeated infections with chlamydia make it much more likely that your ability to have children will be affected. Repeated infections also raise your risk of painful complications, such as pelvic inflammatory disease.

Both women and men with chlamydia should be retested about three months after they are first diagnosed and treated. Go to be retested even if you think your sex partners were successfully treated.

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Who Should Take An At

Before you start worrying about amoxicillin, you should first get a proper diagnosis. For cases in which chlamydia orgonorrhea symptoms are present, these are the signs to watch out for:

• More frequent urination or the urge to urinate
• Painful sensation when urinating
• Testicular pain and swelling in men
• Lower abdominal pain in women
• Heavier period or excessive spotting in women

If you notice any of these symptoms, its in your best interest to purchase an at-home STD kit to test for gonorrhea and chlamydia right away.

Dont assume that you dont need to get tested simply because you arent experiencing any symptoms. In many cases, gonorrhea and chlamydia may not show any visible signs of infection at all. For this reason, every sexually active person should be tested regularly for all common sexually transmitted infections.

In general, the CDC recommends that every sexually active adult get tested for chlamydia and gonorrhea at least once a year.But if you engage in certain sexual activities, you may need to get tested more frequently.This is especially true for people who meet one or more of the following conditions:

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What Do I Need To Know If I Get Treated For Chlamydia

If youre getting treated for chlamydia:

• Take all of your medicine the way your nurse or doctor tells you to, even if any symptoms you may be having go away sooner. The infection stays in your body until you finish the antibiotics.
• Your partner should also get treated for chlamydia so you dont re-infect each other or anyone else.
• Dont have sex for 7 days. If you only have 1 dose of medication, wait for 7 days after you take it before having sex. If youre taking medicine for 7 days, dont have sex until youve finished all of your pills.
• Get tested again in 3-4 months to make sure your infection is gone.
• Dont share your medicine with anyone. Your nurse or doctor may give you a separate dose of antibiotics for your partner. Make sure you both take all of the medicine you get.
• Even if you finish your treatment and the chlamydia is totally gone, its possible to get a new chlamydia infection again if youre exposed in the future. Chlamydia isnt a one-time-only deal. So use condoms and get tested regularly.

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How Do The Symptoms Compare

Both men and women can get chlamydia or gonorrhea and never develop any symptoms.

With chlamydia, symptoms may not appear for a few weeks after youve contracted the infection. And with gonorrhea, women may never experience any symptoms at all or may only show mild symptoms, while men are more likely to have symptoms that are more severe.

A couple of the most telltale symptoms of these STIs overlap between the two , such as:

• burning when you pee
• abnormal, discolored discharge from the penis or vagina
• abnormal discharge from the rectum
• pain in the rectum
• bleeding from the rectum

With both gonorrhea and chlamydia, men may also experience abnormal swelling in their testicles and scrotum, and pain when they ejaculate.

You may also develop symptoms that affect your throat if you engage in oral sex with someone who has one of these conditions. This can cause mouth and throat symptoms, including sore throat and a cough.

How Can You Test For Gonorrhea And Chlamydia At Home

You dont need to visit a lab, clinic, or doctors office to test for STDs. You can take this test in the comfort of your own home thanks to myLAB Box. Simply follow these steps:

• Order your STD panel kit online on the myLAB box website. Dont worry, we even include free shipping! We offer discreet shipping, which means your neighbors wont know you are receiving an STD test in the mail.
• Test yourself at any time and from any place using the easy-to-follow instructions. Your testing kit will include everything you need to complete the test. This part only takes five minutes!
• Send your samples back to the lab with the pre-paid return envelope that comes with your kit.
• Get results online in a matter of days. Results are typically sent within 2-5 days. Once you receive our email, you can log into a secure portal for your private results.
• If you test positive for gonorrhea or chlamydia, you have the option of scheduling a phone consultation with a medical professional to discuss your results. The physician will answer your questions, address your concerns, and help you understand what steps you need to take next.

Bonus!

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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.

What Is The Difference Between Gonorrhea And Chlamydia

Both STIs are caused by bacteria and can cause similar symptoms. Gonorrhea is caused by the Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacteria and Chlamydia trachomatis is the bacteria which causes chlamydia. Chlamydia is more common and is less likely to produce symptoms, especially in women.

• Lower abdominal or pelvic pain

• Pain or bleeding during sex

• Bleeding between periods

• Burning or itching of the urethra

• Pain in the testicles

70% of women and 50% of men wont experience any symptoms.

• An unusual discharge which might be yellow or green

• Pain or a burning sensation while you pee

• Bleeding between periods or after sex

• Lower abdominal pain

• Inflamed foreskin

• Tender or sore testicles

10% of men and 50% of women dont show any symptoms of the infection.

For both chlamydia and gonorrhea symptoms will usually arise within 2 weeks of having transmitted the infection. It is possible for symptoms not to show up for months though. If youre at all worried that you might have an STI then always get tested.

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How Soon Do Signs Show Up

In men, signs and symptoms usually show up two to 7 days after infection however it can take as long as one month for symptoms to start. Commonly, there are no signs for people infected with gonorrhea 10 to 15 percent of men as well as about 80 percent of ladies might have no symptoms.

Individuals with no signs and symptoms go to risk for developing issues to gonorrhea. These people also spread this infection unwittingly.

What Measures Can I Take To Prevent These Conditions

The only way that you can completely prevent yourself from catching chlamydia, gonorrhea, or another STI is by abstaining from sexual activity.

But there are also plenty of ways you can reduce your risk of contracting or transmitting these infections:

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Just How Does Gonorrhea Affect An Expecting Female And Also Her Infant

If an expecting woman has gonorrhea, she might offer the infection to her child as the child passes through the birth canal during delivery. This can cause blindness, joint infection, or a lethal blood infection in the baby.

Treatment option of gonorrhea as soon as it is found in expecting females will certainly lower the danger of these complications. Expectant women must consult a health care provider for appropriate examination, screening, and also therapy, as essential. What Antibiotic Treats Gonorrhea And Chlamydia

One Of The Most Common Sexually Transmitted Disease

Gonorrhea is an extremely usual sexually transmitted infection, especially for teenagers and individuals in their 20s. Gonorrhea is sometimes called the clap or the drip. Gonorrhea is spread out via vaginal, rectal, and oral sex.

The infection is carried in seminal fluid , pre-cum, and genital liquids. Gonorrhea can contaminate your penis, vaginal canal, cervix, rectum, urethra, throat, and also eyes . Lots of people with gonorrhea dont have any kind of signs as well as really feel entirely fine, so they may not also understand theyre contaminated.

Gonorrhea is typically quickly cured with prescription antibiotics. Yet if you dont deal with gonorrhea early enough, it can cause much more severe health problems in the future. Thats why STD testing is so crucial the sooner you recognize you have gonorrhea, the faster you can get rid of it. Treatment For Chlamydia And Gonorrhea

You can assist avoid gonorrhea by using prophylactics every single time you have sex.

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