Just Diagnosed Next Steps After Testing Positive For Gonorrhea Or Chlamydia
If youve just found out that you have gonorrhea or chlamydia, you may be trying to figure out what to do next. Here are the three most important steps that you can take:
WHY?Many people with gonorrhea and chlamydia dont have symptoms. Why does this matter? Because an untreated infection can lead to serious and permanent health problems, even if you never have symptoms. Gonorrhea and chlamydia can be cured with the right medicine from your doctor. Just make sure you take all of your medicine exactly as your doctor tells you to.
WHERE?Your regular doctor can prescribe antibiotics to cure the STD. But if you dont have insurance or want to see someone else for treatment, there are other low-cost or free options. You can get tested and treated at your local health departments STD clinic, a family planning clinic, a student health center, or an urgent care clinic. You can also find a clinic using GetTested and ask if they offer treatment for gonorrhea and chlamydia.
- In women, untreated chlamydia or gonorrhea can cause pelvic inflammatory disease which can lead to health problems like ectopic pregnancy or infertility .
- In men, chlamydia and gonorrhea can cause a painful condition in the tubes attached to the testicles. In rare cases, this may prevent him from being able to have children.
- Untreated chlamydia or gonorrhea may also increase your chances of getting or giving HIV the virus that causes AIDS.
What Happens If I Dont 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 doesnt cause symptoms initially, PID can cause permanent damage to your reproductive system. PID can lead to long-term pelvic pain, inability to get pregnant, and potentially deadly ectopic pregnancy .
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 being able to have children.
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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How Quickly Do Symptoms Show
In many cases, chlamydia symptoms do not show up at all, making it possible for the infection to lie dormant in the body and cause long-term side effects when not treated.
If someone with chlamydia does experience symptoms, the time it takes for them to show up may vary.
For most people, though, it takes about 7-21 days after having unprotected sex with an infected partner. However, it can take longer.
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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How Long Does It Take For Chlamydia To Disappear
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 they prescribe a one-dose pill, you should wait 7 days before having sex again.
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How Can I Prevent Getting Chlamydia Again
You can help to prevent the spread of chlamydia by:
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Im Pregnant How Does Chlamydia Affect My Baby
If you are pregnant and have chlamydia, you can pass the infection to your baby during delivery. This could cause an eye infection or pneumonia in your newborn. Having chlamydia may also make it more likely to deliver your baby too early.
If you are pregnant, you should get tested for chlamydia at your first prenatal visit. Testing and treatment are the best ways to prevent health problems.
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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Who Does Chlamydia Affect
Anyone whos sexually active can get chlamydia. The bacteria that causes chlamydia gets transmitted through vaginal fluid and semen, which means that people of all genders who have sex can become infected with chlamydia and infect their partners, too. If youre pregnant and have chlamydia, you can pass it on to your newborn.
Symptoms In The Throat
Chlamydia symptoms can sometimes appear in the throat, although this is uncommon. When it does occur, the time frame is likely to be similar to that of chlamydia infections of the genitals.
In people who experience symptoms, the main one is a persistent sore throat. A doctor may refer to a chlamydia infection in the throat as pharyngeal chlamydia.
Testing for chlamydia in the throat is not a common practice in STI testing, as it does not have approval from the Food and Drug Administration . However, if a person suspects that they have pharyngeal chlamydia, a doctor may take a swab from the throat.
A person can undergo testing for chlamydia at their:
- doctors office
- local health department
- local planned parenthood center
A person can also order a chlamydia test online, take it at home, and then send it off for testing.
If people are at high risk of chlamydia, they may need screening for all types of chlamydia every 36 months.
At risk groups include people who have:
- multiple or unknown sexual partners
- sex in combination with illegal drug use
- sexual partners who use illegal drugs or have multiple partners
7 days .
People should avoid having sex until their treatment is complete. If a person is experiencing symptoms even after the treatment, they should see a doctor.
People who menstruate should notice that their periods return to normal or that bleeding between periods stops by their next period.
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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.
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What Are The Symptoms Of Chlamydia
If you do notice symptoms, youll likely experience them differently based on your reproductive anatomy. Many of the symptoms that cisgender women experience can also affect transgender men and nonbinary individuals with vaginas. Many of the symptoms that cisgender men notice can affect transgender women and nonbinary individuals with penises, too.
Signs of chlamydia if you have a vagina
Chlamydia bacteria often cause symptoms that are similar to cervicitis or a urinary tract infection . You may notice:
- White, yellow or gray discharge from your vagina that may be smelly.
- Pus in your urine .
- Increased need to pee.
- Itching or burning in and around your vagina.
- Dull pain in the lower part of your abdomen.
Signs of chlamydia if you have a penis
Chlamydia bacteria most often infect your urethra, causing symptoms that are similar to nongonococcal urethritis. You may notice:
- Mucus-like or clear, watery discharge from your penis.
- Pain or a burning sensation when you pee .
Signs of chlamydia that all genders may notice
Chlamydia can affect parts of your body other than your reproductive organs, such as your:
- Anus. You may notice pain, discomfort, bleeding or a mucus-like discharge from your bottom.
- Throat. You may have a sore throat, but you usually wont notice symptoms if the bacterias in your throat.
- Eyes. You may notice symptoms of conjunctivitis if C. trachomatis bacteria gets in your eye. Symptoms include redness, pain and discharge.
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How Effective Is Chlamydia Treatment
Antibiotics are 95% effective at treating chlamydia. It is important to start the antibiotics as soon as possible after infection and to finish taking the whole course.
Although antibiotics effectively treat chlamydia, reinfection is common so doctors recommend taking preventative measures such as using condoms and carefully washing shared sex toys.
Is Azithromycin Better Than Doxycycline At Curing Chlamydia
STD guidelines still favor azithromycin over doxycycline for the treatment of chlamydia. This is because of the following reasons:
- Cure rates of azithromycin and doxycycline are similar, 97% and 98-100% respectively, according to a meta-analysis of 12 trials.
- Azithromycin is given as a single dose, doxycycline needs to be given for seven days, either as a once-daily or twice-daily dose.
- The dose of azithromycin can be easily supervised if need be it is much harder to supervise seven days of once daily or twice daily doxycycline treatment
- People are more likely to take a single dose of azithromycin than finish a seven-day course of doxycycline.
Recently, some reports have suggested that doxycycline may be more effective than azithromycin, particularly when medication adherence can be assured. There is also some concern that azithromycin may not be as effective for anogenital chlamydial infections.
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Why Is It Important To Treat Chlamydia
If left untreated chlamydia is unlikely to go away. It can be passed onto sexual partners and can cause serious harm. Women can get cervicitis or pelvic inflammatory disease. This can result in permanent damage to the fallopian tubes, which may lead to infertility or ectopic pregnancy. Chlamydia also can cause a reactive arthritis. Men can suffer with urethritis , this can spread to the contents of the scrotal sac – epididymis and testicles. This causes pain, and in severe cases infertility. Men can also get a reactive arthritis.
Can You Drink Alcohol While Taking Azithromycin For Chlamydia
Yes, you may drink a small amount of alcohol while you are taking azithromycin but there is a chance large amounts of alcohol may increase the gastrointestinal side effects of azithromycin, such as nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dyspepsia, or flatulence. Too much alcohol with azithromycin may also give you a headache.
Because azithromycin is usually taken as a one-off dose, drinking alcohol is unlikely to stop azithromycin from curing chlamydia.
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Can Chlamydia Go Away And Come Back
If youve had unprotected intercourse, its likely you may not have chlamydia if your partner is not infected. If treated chlamydia can go away and not come back if you abstain or ensure protected sex.
However, dont assume chlamydia will go away without taking medications. You may not have symptoms immediately and may still have chlamydia long-term problems.
Can You Get Pregnant If You Have Chlamydia
Sexual health plays an important role in fertility. Many STDs can cause scarring and inflammation, making it more difficult to conceive, even after the infection has been treated.
In the case of chlamydia, the infection can damage your reproductive health, if left untreated. The bacteria can cause PID which can do permanent damage to your reproductive system. PID can lead to inflammation, scarring, and blockage in your reproductive organs. In some cases, it can also cause ectopic pregnancy which can be deadly if the pregnancy isnt removed in time.
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Chlamydia Treatment: How Do You Treat Chlamydia
Chlamydia treatment involves oral antibiotics.
Your doctor will prescribe the antibiotics should you receive a chlamydia diagnosis. Antibiotics may also be recommended for your sexual partner if you have been having unprotected sex within that given timeframe.
There are different therapeutic options available to treat chlamydia, including:
- Doxycycline 100 mg 2 twice a day for 7 days
- Azithromycin 1 g
- Levofloxacin 500 mg once a day for 7 days
From the beginning of your treatment process, the infection should clear up in around one week. Your health practitioner may recommend that you abstain from sex until you have been re-tested for chlamydia.
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 stop 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. 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. 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.
Infants infected with chlamydia may develop ophthalmia neonatorum and/or pneumonia. Chlamydial infection in infants can be treated with antibiotics.
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How Is Chlamydia Spread
Chlamydia most commonly spreads through vaginal, anal, or oral sex with an infected partner.
It can also spread from an infected pregnant woman to her baby during childbirth, and it can infect the eyes if fluids containing chlamydia trachomatis get in them.
If someone has chlamydia and is sexually active before finishing their full treatment , they can still spread chlamydia.
And anyone who has had chlamydia and successfully treated it can get infected again.
The only sure way to prevent chlamydia is to not have vaginal, anal, or oral sex.
Using barrier protection during sexual intercourse can decrease the risk.
Symptoms Can Differ For Men And Women
By and large, most cases of chlamydia are asymptomatic they are picked up by screening, which is why its so important to have good screening programs in place, notes Dr. Stoner. Men or women who have chlamydia symptoms may experience painful urination.
Women may also have these symptoms:
- Smelly discharge from the cervix
- Pain during sex
And men may have these symptoms:
- Discharge from the penis
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Major Symptoms Of Chlamydia And Related Complications
Medical history says that Chlamydia disease does not report any symptom so people often think about does chlamydia go away forever. Almost 80% females and 50% males stay infected without any related symptom. And in case if the symptoms start appearing, they will be observable only after 2 to 3 weeks of exposure.
Due to this trouble, sufferers are not able to receive right treatment and it leads to several issues that are more dangerous ahead. Studies reveal that almost 40% of the untreated women face pelvic inflammatory disease as the next stage of Chlamydia and this state is highly painful. The untreated female patients can face trouble in pregnancy or in some more critical cases, they can have infertility issues.
In case of males, Chlamydia generally starts from urethra and its symptoms may come or go with time. Some people can feel its symptoms during the first urination of day you can identify them as:
- Painful burning at the time of urination.
- Itching, burning, swelling, and redness around the penis openings.
- Unwanted discharge from penis that can be of yellow, grey or milky-white in color.
- Some people may face scrotal pain.
- It can also appear in form of Reiters Syndrome that is a kind of arthritis and usually cause major damage to eyes and body joints.
- Prostate inflammation issues.
- Infertility is one more dangerous issue when infection gets spread from urethra to testicles.
In case of women as well as men, the major complications due to Chlamydia Bacterium are:
Chlamydia Test For Women
To diagnose the infection, your doctor can use a few different chlamydia tests. Your doctor will likely ask you about your symptoms and why you think you have the infection. When this happens, its important to be as honest as possible.
Your health care provider will probably use a swab to take a sample from the cervix and send it to a lab to be analyzed. If theres a possibility the bacteria is in your throat or anus, these areas may be swabbed as well. Other tests include a chlamydia urine test to check for the presence of the bacteria.
Although many physicians do it, a chlamydia test is not automatically done at the time that a Pap test is done.
For this reason, its important for women, especially sexually active women aged 25 and under, to ask their health care provider whether theyre getting tested for chlamydia every year.
If you think you may have been exposed to an STD, youll have to ask for a screening.
Fortunately, chlamydia is easy to treat. If you suspect that you have it, youll need to:
- See your health care provider immediately before the infection does damage to your reproductive organs.
- Listen to your doctor and take all of your medicine. Even if your symptoms go away, you should finish your pills.
- Tell your sexual partner. They should know about the infection so that they too can be tested and treated.
- Avoid having sexual intercourse until you and your partner have been cured.
Since chlamydia is a bacteria, your doctor will prescribe you antibiotics.
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