How Can I Have Chlamydia When He Doesnt
Ajay asks:
Me and my partner have been together for 5 months now. I have just recently been tested positive for an STI . My partner and I have never used condoms because I am on the pill. My partner went and got himself tested and his results came back negative. How is that possible?
Heather Corinna replies:
If you had a partner before him for oral, vaginal or , that could be who you got it from and your current partner managed not to contract it from you , or contracted it so recently that he isnt testing positive yet. Or, your current partners test wasnt accurate, or he said he got tested and truly did not. Any of those things are the biggest possibilities of whats up here.
A typical practice in healthcare with Chlamydia is this: when your doctor prescribes you a treatment, they ask for your partners name and give you a prescription for him as well. In other words, if you know you have only had one partner when you contracted the infection, it is that partner who has the infection, and theres no need for testing. Regardless, since you have been with this partner while youve had the infection, he should be treated, so call into your healthcare provider to get him that treatment. And if you had not had a screening before this partner and had a partner or partners before him, then youll want to phone those people or you can use an anonymous notification service to inform them about the STI so they can be treated.
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What Can Happen If Chlamydia Is Not Treated
In women
Chlamydia can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease . PID is a serious infection of the reproductive organs. PID can cause:
- Tubal pregnancies, which can lead to death of the mother and unborn child.
- Inflammation surrounding the liver.
A mother also can pass the infection to her child during birth. Infection in newborns can lead to:
- Eye infections .
Chlamydia Treatment For Men
Chlamydia is a curable sexually transmitted infection . Treatment involves a short course of antibiotics.
Chlamydia treatment for men and women are the same. There are two types of chlamydia tablets – doxycycline, and azithromycin.
Doxycycline is the first line treatment, as it is a more effective treatment for chlamydia. You take doxycycline twice a day for seven days. A test of cure is not usually required, due to the effectiveness of this antibiotic. It generally has positive reviews.
If you canât take doxycycline, youâll usually be prescribed azithromycin for 3 days. On day 1 you take two 500mg tablets and on day 2 and 3 you take one 500mg tablet. Although the course is shorter, azithromycin is not as effective as doxycycline, and is usually reserved for those that cannot take doxycycline.
Both are available in tablet or pill form and can be swallowed whole with water.
You should refrain from sexual activity during treatment, and for 7 days after having completed treatment. This is because there may be remnants of the infection that are still present after the treatment course has been complete. The antibiotics will still be working to get rid of the infection during these 7 days after treatment.
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What Happens If A Man Doesnt Treat His Chlamydia
If chlamydia is left untreated, it can become a more severe infection. Its also possible for it to have long term effects, including on fertility.
Chlamydia can affect the whole of the male reproductive system, causing inflammation in the tubes that carry sperm from the testicles, as well as the testicles themselves and the prostate gland. If this inflammation isnt treated, it may lead to scarring, which can have an effect on fertility.
There have also been some studies that suggest the infection itself can affect sperm being produced properly, but the evidence around this isnt conclusive at the moment.
Chlamydia can also cause a condition called reactive arthritis. This is when there is inflammation that affects the eyes, joints, and the urethra . The knees, feet, toes, hips, and ankles are also commonly affected. Its unclear exactly why this happens, but it may be related to the body overreacting to the infection. The symptoms can take months to recover, and you should treat this with anti-inflammatory medicines.
Treating chlamydia is also very important because it can easily be passed on to other partners, even if you dont have symptoms.
What Are The Other Risks Of Untreated Chlamydia In Men
Untreated chlamydia in men can also cause sexually acquired reactive arthritis . This can lead to inflamed joints, eyes, or urethra causing pain when urinating. SARA is more common in men than women. There is no cure for SARA however, most people get better within a few months. The symptoms of SARA can be treated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs , such as ibuprofen.
Men with chlamydia have an increased risk of getting other infections including gonorrhea or HIV.
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Possible Symptoms In Boys And Men
A chlamydia infection is more noticeable in boys and men who have sex with female partners. These males often have infections in the urethra, the tube through which urine leaves the body. They will usually have pain or some discharge or irritation when they urinate, so theyre more likely to go get treatment, says Dr. Dombrowski.
But for boys having sex with other boys, infection in the rectum is most common and that almost never causes symptoms, she says.
More frequent chlamydia symptoms in boy and men include the followings:
- Pain or swelling of the testicles
- Inflammation of the rectum
- A burning or painful feeling when you urinate, because of inflammation of the urethra
- Inflammation of the eyelid
- Infections in your mouth and throat that cause soreness and redness, though most oral infections cause no symptoms
How Does Chlamydia Affect A Pregnant Woman And Her Baby
In pregnant women, untreated chlamydia has been associated with pre-term delivery, and can spread to the newborn, causing an eye infection or pneumonia. Screening and treatment of chlamydia during pregnancy is the best way to prevent these complications. All pregnant women should be screened for chlamydia at their first prenatal visit.
How is chlamydia diagnosed?
How is chlamydia treated?
Penicillin is not effective against chlamydia.
Chlamydia can be easily treated and 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 having sex for seven days after single dose antibiotics, or until completion of a seven-day course of antibiotics, to prevent spreading the infection to partners.
Repeat infection with chlamydia is common. Persons whose sex partners have not been appropriately treated are at high risk for re-infection. Having multiple chlamydial infections increases a woman’s 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 conjunctivitis and/or pneumonia. Chlamydial infection in infants can be treated with antibiotics.
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Complications Of Chlamydia In Males
When left untreated chlamydia can lead to other conditions and symptoms. In men, chlamydia infection can lead to the inflammation of the testicles and the tubes that carry sperm from the testicles . If you develop this complication you may experience:
- Swelling or a lump in the testicle
- Difficulty urinating or needing to urinate more often
- Later on, problems with fertility
Untreated chlamydia can also cause sexually acquired reactive arthritis , which can lead to:
- Pain, stiffness and swelling in the joints
- Pain and redness in the eyes
- Pain when urinating
Inflammation of the testicles and epididymis can usually be treated with antibiotics. SARA cannot be cured, it normally clears up on its own within a few months, but it is prone to recurrences. SARA occurs 10 times more frequently in men than women.
What Can Happen If Chlamydia Isnt Treated
Untreated chlamydia can put your health at risk. Make an appointment with your provider immediately if you notice any symptoms of chlamydia, and get regular STI screenings to avoid complications later.
Complications of chlamydia for people with vaginas
Untreated chlamydia can cause:
- Pelvic inflammatory disease . PID is a serious condition that requires hospitalization. It can occur when an untreated STI, like chlamydia, damages your reproductive organs. PID can lead to infertility and chronic pelvic pain. It can also cause an ectopic pregnancy, which is life-threatening for the fetus and potentially deadly for the mother or gestational parent, too.
- Pregnancy complications. An untreated infection can lead to pre-term delivery. Also, if youre pregnant and have chlamydia, you can pass the infection on to your newborn. Babies born with chlamydia may have pneumonia or conjunctivitis that could lead to blindness if not treated.
Complications of chlamydia for people with penises
Untreated chlamydia can cause:
- Epididymitis. Infection can spread to the testicles and the tube that carries sperm to your testicles , causing symptoms like pain, swelling and tenderness in your testicles.
- Reduced fertility. Chlamydia can harm your sperm, negatively impacting your ability to conceive.
Complications of chlamydia that can affect all genders
Untreated chlamydia can:
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Herpes Symptoms In Men
Many men with herpes dont show any symptoms at all, so they dont know they have it. When symptoms do occur, its common for people to mistake them for other things like pimples or ingrown hairs. The first time a person shows genital herpes symptoms is called the initial outbreak, and it can be severe, with subsequent outbreaks being less intense. Often, an initial outbreak occurs 2-12 days after infection, but some people can go months or even years before having an initial outbreak.4
Signs of herpes in men include:
- Tingling, itching, or burning where the blisters will appear
- Small blisters that burst and leave painful, open ulcers before eventually scabbing over
- On or around the mouth, such as on the lips, tongue, or gums
- On other parts of the body
Herpes sores usually heal within a few weeks. Even when an outbreak goes away, the virus stays in your body for life. This means herpes outbreaks come and go. The virus can flare up weeks, months, or even years later and cause sores again.
Who Should Get Tested
- All sexually active women younger than 25 years should get tested every year for chlamydia, as well as older women with risk factors such as new or multiple sex partners, or a sex partner who has a sexually transmitted infection.
- At risk Pregnant women should get tested for chlamydia and other STIs early in the pregnancy, with repeat testing as needed, to protect the health of the mother and baby.
- All sexually active gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men should get tested every year. MSM with multiple or anonymous partners should be screened more frequently for STIs such as at 3-to-6 month intervals.
Click here to find a testing location near you.
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How Do Men Get Treated For Chlamydia
Meninfected with chlamydia will receive a prescribed drug, usually calleddoxycycline. This antibiotic is most typically used for treating chlamydia.However, if the patient is allergic to any of the ingredients in thisantibiotic, they will receive a different one with similar potency. Theantibiotics used for treatment can only be prescribed by your doctor.
How Do Men Get Tested For Chlamydia
A doctor will perform a number of tests to make sure if a man carries the infection. The first test starts with a urine sample. When the patient provides the urine sample, the sample will then be taken to the lab to examine if the bacteria is present in the urine.
For more results, the doctor can take a urethral discharge swab to rule out any infections like syphilis or gonorrhea. Since these STIs have similar symptoms with chlamydia, its easy to misjudge them. With a swab test, the doctor will determine which infection has manifested in the system. See our Chlamydia Test in the webshop.
Theway a swab is taken in males is by inserting a very thin and sterile cottonswab into the urethra . Allthe fluids and discharge collected will be taken for further analysis.
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Can You Prevent Chlamydia
You can lower your risk of getting chlamydia and other STIs by:
- not having sex with someone with chlamydia, even with a condom, until theyve finished treatment and 1 week has passed since their last dose of antibiotics
- regularly getting tested for STIs, especially if you are under 30 and sexually active
Remember that most people with chlamydia dont show any symptoms and dont know they have it, so feeling ‘well’ does not mean that you or your partner are not infected. If in doubt, get tested.
If you have chlamydia, you can help reduce the spread by letting your recent sexual partners know so they can get tested and treated.
Should You Get Tested
If you are experiencing symptoms of an STD, its important to get tested. Untreated STDs can cause serious health complications, and having sex could spread your STD to other partners. Most STDs are easily curable or treatable when detected early.
Even if you arent experiencing symptoms, you cant tell for sure if you have an STD or not. Its common for STDs to show no symptoms or have symptoms that go unnoticed.
Regular STD testing is important if you have sex, whether you seem healthy or not. Getting tested is the only way to know if you have an STD, and its an important part of looking out for your health and being responsible.
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Does Discharge In Men Mean They Are Infected
Thepresence of watery, cloudy, or white discharge is the main concern for many menand is often the primary sign of chlamydia. However, if a man has a discharge,it doesnt mean he is infected with chlamydia. There are other infections thatcause the same symptoms as:
- urinarytract infection
Becauseof how misleading discharge can be, its important to get tested to make surethe sign is not caused by anything else other than chlamydia.
Chlamydia And Gonorrhea Often Go Together
People with one of these STDs frequently have the other as well. They often go together,” says Dombrowski, They have many of the same risk factors and they are spread the same way.
In fact, she says, chlamydia was actually first discovered when people who had gonorrhea were treated but still had symptoms.
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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How Is Chlamydia Treated
If detected early, chlamydia can be treated with a single dose of antibiotic.
If complications from chlamydia infection are present such as pelvic inflammatory disease in women a longer course of antibiotics will be required.
Do not have sex for 7 days after you and your current partner have completed treatment. This includes all kinds of sex with or without a condom.
You can get reinfected with chlamydia if you have sex within the 7 days.
After you have completed treatment, have another test for chlamydia in 3 months time to make sure you have not been re-infected.
Can Chlamydia Be Cured
Yes, chlamydia can be cured with the right treatment. It is important that you take all of the medication your doctor prescribes to cure your infection. When taken properly it will stop the infection and could decrease your chances of having complications later on. You should not share medication for chlamydia with anyone.
Repeat infection with chlamydia is common. You should be tested again about three months after you are treated, even if your sex partner was treated.
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What Is The Treatment
If you or your partner do not finish the treatment, miss pills or have unprotected sex before you have finished all of the medication, there is a chance that the infection will stay in your body may pass back to you or your partner and cause health problems later. If this happens, talk with your health care provider who will help you to decide if you or your partners need more treatment.
Because re-infection is common, a follow-up test is recommended 6 months after treatment. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, have a follow-up test 3 to 4 weeks after completing treatment.
Ways To Prevent Chlamydia Infection
In case if you are infected with Chlamydia then it is important to take preventive steps to stop spreading it further to other sex partners. Always prefer to follow these tips for prevention:
Any genital chlamydia symptoms in men like burning sensation at the time of urination or discharge can cause unusual rashes or sore. It is the right symptom to stop sexual contact and visit your doctor immediately. In case your doctor immediately identifies presence of Chlamydia in your body then it is good to start treatment from the same day.
Let your past partners know about this disease and ask them to have test fast at a trusted medical clinic. As Chlamydia symptoms are rarely noticeable so it is important to stay aware and protected with proper Chlamydia cure.
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