Do I Have Chlamydia Or A Uti

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Why Early Detection Is Necessary

When symptoms reach a stage that patients end up in the emergency room, those with undiagnosed STIs are often misdiagnosed. In fact, studies show that almost two thirds of them are diagnosed with and treated for a UTI. This will not clear up chlamydia, since its a short course of antibiotics that are typically used.

• Pain and inflammation in the sexual organs, as well as in the prostate in men
• Damage to the tear ducts and the cornea
• Infertility in both men and women

When To See A Doctor

Knowing when to see a doctor is important. Both chlamydia and UTIs are treated with antibiotics, which need to be prescribed by a doctor. Minor UTIs may clear up on their own, but its still best to get medical advice to see if you require treatment. If you are experiencing any of the symptoms listed above, see a doctor for their advice.

Its also worth remembering that you can have chlamydia without experiencing any symptoms. In fact, chlamydia usually only shows symptoms after it has progressed. Regular STD tests help you to ensure any symptom-free infections are detected as soon as possible and can be treated appropriately, especially if you have recently had unprotected sex.

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Is It Possible To Prevent Chlamydia

Since most people who have the infection do not have symptoms and may not be aware they are infected, it is commonly spread, and it can be difficult to prevent the infection. Male condoms can reduce the risk of spreading or acquiring the infection. Having a mutually monogamous relationship with a partner who has been tested or treated also reduces the risk of contracting chlamydia infection.

How Is Chlamydia Diagnosed

The most common test for chlamydia is called a nucleic acid amplification test . Your provider takes a sample of fluid by doing a vaginal/cervical swab or collecting a urine sample. Then, they send the sample off to a lab to check for the bacteria that causes chlamydia. Your provider may do the test in an office, or they may ask you to do an at-home chlamydia test. Follow your providers instructions carefully to ensure you get accurate test results.

Because most chlamydia cases are asymptomatic, its important to get screened for chlamydia even if you dont notice any signs of infection. The CDC recommends that sexually active cisgender women who are high-risk for chlamydia get screened regularly. Women, more so than men, experience the most severe complications from chlamydia. Transgender men and nonbinary individuals with vaginas should be screened regularly, too, as they can experience the same complications of chlamydia.

Youre considered high-risk if you:

• Have had chlamydia infections previously.

Cisgender men, or trans and nonbinary individuals with penises, should be screened for chlamydia if:

• They live in a setting where chlamydia spreads frequently, like correctional facilities, adolescent clinics and sexual health clinics.
• They have sex with other men.

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How Do Doctors Diagnose The Cause Of Vaginal Discharge

After reviewing your symptoms and medical history, the health-care professional will likely perform a pelvic examination, which includes examination of the external genital area and the insertion of a speculum to examine the vaginal walls and cervix.

Depending upon the examination, the health-care professional may take swabs of the vaginal discharge for culture or for examination under a microscope to help define the cause of the vaginal discharge.

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Copyright 2021 by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. All rights reserved. Read copyright and permissions information.

This information is designed as an educational aid for the public. It offers current information and opinions related to womens health. It is not intended as a statement of the standard of care. It does not explain all of the proper treatments or methods of care. It is not a substitute for the advice of a physician. Read ACOGs complete disclaimer.

Is It Possible To Prevent Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections With A Vaccine

Currently, there are no commercially available vaccines for UTIs, either recurrent or first-time infections. One of the problems in developing a vaccine is that so many different organisms can cause infection a single vaccine would be difficult to synthesize to cover them all. Even with E. coli causing about most infections, the subtle changes in antigenic structures that vary from strain to strain further complicates vaccine development even for E. coli. Researchers are still investigating ways to overcome the problems in UTI vaccine development.

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How Can You Tell The Difference Between A Uti And Sti

This is where it gets tricky. Because the symptoms of UTIs and STDs can overlap, it may be difficult to tell exactly what you’re dealing with. In fact, one study found that ER doctors misdiagnosed STIs and UTIs more than half the time.

“Certain STIs including gonorrhea, chlamydia, and trichomonas might cause symptoms such as painful or frequent urination, similar to a UTI,” says Dr. Dweck. Patients with herpes who are having an outbreak sometimes complain that they experience burning when urinating, says Dr. Olcha however, herpes usually presents with painful vesicles , which is not a symptom of UTIs.

This all sounds scary, but rest assured: A quick visit to your ob-gyn can clear the air. To determine if you have a UTI, your doctor will analyze a urine sample for bacteria or high levels of white blood cells, which are signs of infection, according to the AUA, or send a urine culture to a lab. If they do indeed think you have a UTI, your doc will likely prescribe a round of antibiotics to clear the infection. Some doctors may also provide a mild bladder analgesic to provide quicker relief, says Dr. Dweck. (

Depending on your symptoms or if you think there’s a possibility it may be something other than a UTI your doctor may recommend you do an STI test as well. If they don’t offer or recommend it, you can always ask to do an STI test. STI tests are analyzed in a lab and often take a few to come back with results. (

How Can I Protect Myself From Chlamydia

Its not always possible to know if a current or potential partner has chlamydia, though, especially since many people with chlamydia never notice symptoms. With prevention in mind, its a good idea to make safer sex practices a regular part of your sex life:

• Dont share sex toys, but if you do, wash them after each use and cover toys used for penetration with a condom.
• Have sex with only one partner, who only has sex with you.

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Whats The Difference Between A Uti And An Std

Unlike STDs, UTIs are not spread through sexual contactthey dont spread from person to person at alland you do not need to be sexually active to get a UTI. However, sexual activity can contribute to the risk of contracting a UTI.

STDs and UTIs can cause similar symptoms, which is one reason theyre often confused. Symptoms they share include painful or difficult urination, frequent urination, and the urge to urinate. Urine may be cloudy, dark, or strange-smelling. Both infections can be asymptomatic, but this is more true of STDs.

There are some STD symptoms that are not caused by UTIs:

• Pain during sexual intercourse
• Bleeding or spotting between menstrual cycles
• Changes in vaginal or penile discharge
• Genital rashes, blisters or sores
• Rectal pain, discharge, or bleeding

In addition to having similar symptoms, UTIs and STDs can produce similar findings on urinalysis, which often leads to misdiagnosis. Several studies have shown that as many as half of the patients diagnosed in the emergency room with UTIs may, in fact, have STDs instead.

What Are The Symptoms

Often people with chlamydia will have no symptoms and will not know that they have the infection.

For men, symptoms can include:

• Pain or a burning feeling when urinating
• Itching or irritation in the urethra the tube that urine passes through

For women, symptoms can include:

• Pain or a burning feeling when urinating
• Abnormal vaginal bleeding or spotting between periods or after sexual intercourse
• Pain in the lower abdomen
• Pain during vaginal sex

Chlamydia infection may occur in the throat but does not usually cause symptoms.

Symptoms may appear 2 to 3 weeks after exposure to the bacteria. Sometimes it can take as long as 6 weeks for the symptoms to appear, if at all.

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Chronic Uti’s After Chlamydia From Five Years Ago

Now lets break down these past years with this chronic illness:Symptoms:Bladder pain while peeing and after words, bladder pain sometimes when the bladder is full, occasional blood in my urine, abdominal pain, nausea/vomiting, and flank pain.These symptoms dont happen all the time, about 99.9% of my days have the bladder pain while peeing and after words. If the infection gets bad enough and the doctors wont let me come in for urine sample, the other symptoms start happening. I know when my body has an infection after these years. I cannot go to the urgent care because of my past with UTIs. I have to make an appointment with a regular doctor, which takes days to see them and makes the infection worse.

Medications ive tried:Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole I ended up being allergic to this. Prescribed once, the allergic reaction happened after second or third dose.Nitrofurantoin Ive been given this for almost all the infections Ive had. Also tried taking this twice for a year. I only made it to month three due to severe side effects.Cephalexin Been given three or four times, especially during the kidney infections. This worked fast but the infections came back.Ciprofloxacin The rest of the half of infections, I was given this. I feel my body is immune to this anti-botic now.

Can An Std Cause A Uti

In short: yes, but rarely. Although most UTIs are caused by E. coli bacteria, this isnt always the case. Other kinds of bacteria, fungi, and viruses can lead to UTIs, though these are less common. In some instances, bacteria that cause STDs, like Chlamydia, can cause urinary tract infections. And because UTIs occur near-sexual organs and can share symptoms with STDs, the two kinds of infections are often erroneously confused.

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Treatment For Utis Vs Kidney Infection Treatment

UTIs, including kidney infections, can be treated with a course of antibiotics. The type of antibiotic can depend on the type of bacteria thats causing your infection as well as how severe your infection is.

The doctor will often start you on an antibiotic that works against a wide variety of UTI-causing bacteria. If a urine culture is performed, the doctor may switch your antibiotic to one thats most effective at treating the specific bacterium thats causing your infection.

Simple UTIs can be treated with short 3- to 5-day courses of antibiotics. Treatment for kidney infections generally lasts 7 to 14 days, depending on which class of antibiotic is prescribed.

You may begin to feel better after only a few days on antibiotics. However, you should still make sure that you complete your entire treatment course as prescribed. If you do not take all of your antibiotics, the stronger bacteria may not be killed, causing your infection to persist and flare up again.

If youre pregnant, your doctor may also request a repeat urine sample following a kidney infection, even if your symptoms have resolved. This allows them to check to see whether your infection has completely cleared.

If there are still bacteria present in the sample, you may need another course of antibiotics. Persistence of bacteria can potentially harm an unborn baby.

People with severe kidney infections may need to be hospitalized. In this case, you may receive antibiotics and fluids intravenously.

What Is The Treatment For Chlamydia

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 cure the infection, it will not repair any permanent damage done by the disease. If a persons 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.49 Women whose sex partners have not been appropriately treated are at high risk for re-infection. Having multiple chlamydial infections increases a womans risk of serious reproductive health complications, including pelvic inflammatory disease and ectopic pregnancy.50,51 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.40

Infants infected with chlamydia may develop ophthalmia neonatorum and/or pneumonia.10 Chlamydial infection in infants can be treated with antibiotics.

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Differences Between Chlamydia Vs Uti

• Unusual penile and vaginal discharge
• Genital blisters and rashes
• Painful intercourse

Summary

• Chlamydia CDC Fact Sheet .
• Ana L. Flores-Mireles, et al. . Urinary tract infections: epidemiology, mechanismsof infection and treatment options

What Is Chlamydia

Although the infection can be easily treated with a round of antibiotics, the chlamydia bacteria usually do not present any symptoms until the infection has progressed to more advanced stages. Also note that chlamydia can come back after treatment if you become infected again.

• Some common symptoms that you may notice include:
• Pain when urinating or having sex
• Genital discharge
• Testicular pain
• Bleeding between periods or after sex

If you are experiencing symptoms like these, consider taking an at-home chlamydia test to check for infection.

Itâs important that you do not let a chlamydia infection go untreated or you may risk further, more serious health complications. For example, the long-term effects of chlamydia may include serious issues within the reproductive system that can contribute to infertility.

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What Is An Std

So, How Do You Get an STD?

STDs can occur in a myriad of ways:

• Having unprotected sex with someone who has also been affected.
• Eating contaminated food that has been contaminated with fecal matter can potentially transfer hepatitis A .
• Skin-to-skin contact with someone who has been affected by HPV or herpes can increase the risk of contracting either infection.
• Sharing sheets, towels, or clothes can increase the chance of spreading Trichomoniasis.
• Due to the risk factors of breaking the skin and mixing blood, people who share needles or even razors run a higher risk of catching, developing, and passing on STDs.

Urinary Tract Infections In Babies And Young Children

Babies and children are at risk of UTIs. These infections always need to be investigated as they may indicate a serious underlying condition, such as urinary reflux. Reflux is caused by a bladder valve problem allowing urine to flow back into the kidneys from the bladder. Reflux can cause the urine to stay inside the body increasing the risk of infection. It may lead to kidney scarring, which in turn leads to high blood pressure and sometimes kidney problems.

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Embarrassed Dont Be: It Can Be Dangerous

A lot of people dont visit their doctor due to symptoms because they consider it potentially embarrassing. Dont put it off! Both UTIs and STDs are easy to diagnose and just as easy to cure. Any waiting before you see your doctor has the potential to be more dangerous to you and your sexual partners, and not seeing a doctor at all could mean that your symptoms get worse.

A Sexually Transmitted Infection :

Some infections are passed from one person to another during sex. These are called sexually transmitted infections, commonly known as STIs.

A sexually transmitted infection refers to any one of various infections that can be transmitted by direct sexual contact. There are many STIs with different symptoms. But often, people with an STI dont have any symptoms at all , so they may not even know they have one. The only way to know for sure if you have an STI is to get tested.

If you are sexually active, there are precautions you may take to reduce your risk of contracting an STI.

• Practice safe sexusing condoms can reduce your chances of getting STIs
• Get tested regularly to help you stay healthy and STI-free

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