Chlamydia Is Common But Many People Dont Realize They Have It
About 1.7 million chlamydia infections were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2017, but the real number is likely higher because chlamydia is considered an underreported infection.
“The number of reported cases is substantially lower than the true estimated incidence,” says Bradley Stoner, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and former president of the American Sexually Transmitted Diseases Association.
The National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System relies on state and local public health departments to collect and report data on chlamydia to the CDC. Those public health departments depend on individual physicians, hospitals, and laboratories to report cases of chlamydia to them. Accurate statistics require all parties to routinely comply with disease-reporting mandates.
When Should I Get Tested
Dont delay getting tested if you think you might have chlamydia. Being diagnosed and treated as soon as possible will reduce your risk of developing any serious complications of chlamydia.
You can get a chlamydia test at any time although you might be advised to repeat the test later on if you have it less than 2 weeks since you had sex because the infection might not always be found in the early stages.
You should consider getting tested for chlamydia if:
- you think you could have a sexually transmitted infection
- a sexual partner tells you they have an STI
- youre pregnant or planning a pregnancy
- youre offered a chlamydia test as part of the NCSP
If you live in England, youre a woman under 25 and sexually active, its recommended that you have a chlamydia test once a year, and when you have sex with new or casual partners.
If you live in England, youre a man under 25 and sexually active, its recommended that you have a chlamydia test once a year if you are not using condoms with new or casual partners.
If you have chlamydia, you may be offered another test 3 to 6 months after being treated. This is because young adults who test positive for chlamydia are at increased risk of catching it again.
How Do People Get Chlamydia
Chlamydia can spread when you have unprotected sexual contact with someone who already has the infection. This means vaginal, oral or anal sex without using a condom.
Transmission occurs because the bacteria that cause chlamydia live and grow in the fluids that are secreted during sexual activity. If you have chlamydia, there is a 30% to 50% chance of your partner catching it every time you have unprotected sex.
Since chlamydia often has no symptoms, you probably wont know whether your partner has it.
Chlamydia cant spread from toilets, swimming pools or usual contact with people. It only spreads through the sharing of genital fluids.
Newborn babies, however, can get chlamydia through their mother during childbirth.
Chlamydia infections can live in the nose, genitals or rectum for more than 2 years.
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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.
How Chlamydias Passed On
Chlamydia is usually passed from one person to another through sexual contact.
You can get the infection if you come into contact with the semen or vaginal fluids of someone who has chlamydia.
Chlamydia is most commonly spread through:
- vaginal or anal sex without a condom
- sharing sex toys that arent washed or covered with a new condom each time theyre used.
It can be spread by giving or receiving oral sex with someone who has chlamydia. The risk can be lowered by using a condom or a dam to cover the genitals.
If infected semen or vaginal fluid comes into contact with the eye it can cause conjunctivitis (infection or irritation of the eye.
If youre pregnant its possible to pass chlamydia to the baby .
Its not clear if chlamydia can be spread by transferring infected semen or vaginal fluid to another persons genitals on the fingers or through rubbing vulvas together.
You cant get chlamydia from kissing, hugging, sharing baths or towels, swimming pools, toilet seats or from sharing cups, plates or cutlery.
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How To Help Partners Get Treatment
If you are not sure whether your sexual partner will seek treatment, ask your doctor for extra chlamydia medication . You can give it to them so they can be treated as soon as possible.
This is known as patient delivered partner therapy for chlamydia. Talk to your doctor to see if PDPT is right for you and your sexual partner.
Chlamydia Is Caused By Sexually Transmitted Bacteria
The bacteria Chlamydia trachomatis causes chlamydia infection, which usually occurs in the genital tract, so the cervix in women and the penis in men. In both women and men, the bacteria may also infect the rectum and the throat.
Infections are spread during any kind of sexual activity: vaginal, anal, or oral intercourse, says Jonathan Schaffir, MD, an ob-gyn at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus.
Chlamydia trachomatis can also cause conjunctivitis if the bacteria come into contact with the eyelids or the clear membrane covering the white of the eye.
Because chlamydia infections often cause no symptoms, individuals who have one may not seek medical attention or get treated for it. However, anyone who is infected with chlamydia can pass it to other people, who can, in turn, pass it to others.
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How Accurate Are At
Lab-based tests provide standard, high-quality results, as long as the sample was well-collected. Most at-home tests are also processed at certified laboratories. So, as long as your sample was collected and preserved correctly until it was processed and then analysed at a CLIA-certified laboratory, your test results should be comparable to what you would receive otherwise.
Chlamydia Is Only Contagious From Person To Person
You can only get chlamydia by having intimate sexual contact with an infected person, not from casual contact, touching another persons clothing, or consuming contaminated food or water.
The chlamydia organism lives only in human cells and cannot be transmitted by external contact, such as towels or toilet seats, Schaffir says.
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What Antibiotic Kills Gonorrhea
The most common treatment is a single antibiotic injection of ceftriaxone and a single dose of oral azithromycin, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention treatment guidelines. Currently, there are no at-home treatments to cure gonorrhea. It is strongly advised that you get care from a doctor.
Chlamydia Symptoms In Women:
In certain situations, chlamydia can be even more serious for women. Symptoms are often mistaken for a bladder or vaginal infection. However, health complications for women who have untreated chlamydia can be quite serious, including infertility.
Here are the most common symptoms:
- A burning sensation while urinating
- An abnormal vaginal discharge that may have an odor
- Pain during sexual intercourse
- Itching or burning around the vagina
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How Can I Prevent Chlamydia
It’s easier to prevent an STI like chlamydia than it is to treat it:
- Don’t have more than one sex partner at a time. The safest sex is with one partner who has sex only with you. Every time you add a new sex partner, you are being exposed to all of the infections that all of their partners may have.
- Use a condom every time you have sex. Latex and polyurethane condoms keep out the viruses and bacteria that cause STIs.
- Be responsible. Don’t have sex if you have symptoms of an infection or if you are being treated for an STI.
- Wait to have sex with a new partner until both of you have been tested for STIs.
How Long Does It Take To Show Up In The Throat
Symptoms of chlamydia in your throat are typically caused by having oral sex with someone whos contracted the infection.
Its much less common to notice throat symptoms, but they may still appear after a week or so, up to a few months or longer.
STI tests that look for chlamydia arent always done on the throat since its an area that does not carry the infection often. Ask your doctor for a throat swab or other chlamydia test if you think youve been exposed through oral sex.
Here are the most common symptoms of chlamydia in both people with penises and people with vulvas.
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How Long Can Chlamydia Lay Dormant
22 February 2021
Chlamydia is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases in the UK. In 2018 alone, 49% of all new diagnoses of STDs were Chlamydia. A possible reason for this is that the Chlamydia can lay dormant for many years without the carrier knowing. In this blog, we will look at how Chlamydia is transmitted, and how to prevent and treat it.
Chlamydia Can Lead To Infertility
A lot of us don’t realize that some sexually transmitted diseases can cause no symptoms, meaning you could have an STD and not know it. And some STDs can silently lead to infertility, ectopic pregnancy, or chronic pelvic pain.
Chlamydia is one of those diseases. CDC estimates that more than 2.8 million people are infected each year.
Chlamydia is most common in sexually active young adults. More than half of all infections involve people ages 18 to 24. You can get chlamydia during oral, vaginal, or anal sexual contact with an infected partner. The disease can cause penile discharge in men and infertility in women. It can also cause serious health problems in newborn babies of infected mothers.
Many women, and some men, are infected with chlamydia but don’t know it. Even without symptoms, the disease can cause complications, particularly infertility. The longer the infection is untreated, the more damage that can be done.
If symptoms do show up, they usually occur within weeks of exposure. Men and women may face painful urination, an abnormal discharge from the urethra, or both. Women also may have abdominal pain, bleeding, and an abnormal discharge from the vagina. Symptoms usually appear within one to three weeks after being infected and may be very mild.
In pregnant women, chlamydia can cause premature delivery, the CDC says. A child born to an infected woman can develop an infection in their eyes and respiratory tracts.
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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.
How Long Can You Have Chlamydia Without Knowing
If youve had intercourse with an infected man or woman, chlamydia symptoms may appear between 1 3 weeks after contact.
However, you may still be asymptomatic after a chlamydia infection. This is because chlamydia can be silent or dormant for months and years without showing symptoms.
In men, about 50 70 percent will show symptoms of chlamydia while only 30 50 percent of women will be symptomatic. Absent symptoms of chlamydia do not mean absent infection. You should take chlamydia test to confirm if you have the infection or not.
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Natural Ways To Treat Chlamydia Without Going Doctor
In research, it is proved that no natural remedy can cure Chlamydia till now. But there are various natural supplements available which can cure the immune system which is the main cause of having Chlamydia. Some of them are:-
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Does Chlamydia Cause Cervical Cancer
No, chlamydia doesnt cause cervical cancer.
Its possible to get a sexually transmitted infection by having sex with someone who has an STI, even if they have no symptoms.
The following measures will help protect you from most STIs including chlamydia, gonorrhoea and HIV.
If you have an STI, theyll also help prevent you from passing it on to someone:
- Use condoms every time you have vaginal or anal sex.
- If you have oral sex , use a condom to cover the penis, or a dam to cover the vulva or anus.
- Avoid sharing sex toys. If you do share them, wash them or cover them with a new condom before anyone else uses them.
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Std Screening: The Basics
STD screening may not be dinner table talk, but if it came up, would you know how to handle it? Everyone who is sexually active should be screened for STDs at some point but which tests, and when, depend on your personal risk factors. Sometimes testing isnt necessary. But if it is recommended, and you do get diagnosed, there is some good news: Most STDs are curable, and all of them are treatable.
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You Wont Immediately Know If You Or Your Partner Have Chlamydia
Chlamydia is a serious disease, but if you or your partner become infected, you might not know right away. Early-stage infections often dont cause symptoms. When symptoms do occur, they can be easily overlooked.
If you have unprotected vaginal, oral, or anal sex, you could get chlamydia. While its possible to get chlamydia through any of these sex acts, the risk varies depending on the type of sex youre having.
For most women with chlamydia, the infection doesnt cause any symptoms. About half of men dont experience symptoms, either. This is why its so important to get tested regularly. For sexually active women under 25, yearly testing is recommended. Women who are over 25 should get tested when they have new partners or have other risk factors for chlamydia.
If symptoms occur, they usually start one to three weeks after infection. In women, these symptoms may include vaginal discharge, pain during sex, or painful urination. For men, signs of chlamydia may include discharge from the penis or pain in the testicles. Since these symptoms are relatively mild, its easy to overlook them.
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How Long Until Chlamydia Causes Damage
Symptoms usually appear within one to three weeks after being infected and may be very mild. If not treated, chlamydia can lead to damage to the reproductive system. In women, chlamydial infection can spread to the uterus or fallopian tubes and cause pelvic inflammatory disease , according to the CDC.
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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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How Does The Chlamydia Test Kit Work
The test kit provides you with the equipment needed to get your sample along with instructions.
Once your sample had been collected pack it back in the box provided and have it returned back to the specialist lab for testing.
Ensure the top part of the form is kept safely. You will need it if you want to track your sample online.
Your sample will then be analyzed and tested for any trace of Chlamydia at an ISO accredited lab.
Rest assured, the results are pin point accurate. If the smallest possible trace of Chlamydia resides in your body, it will be detected.
As soon as your sample has completed the Chlamydia testing process you will be notified via text message or email.
If you get a positive result, then your local NHS Chlamydia screening office will be in touch with you to arrange confidential, safe and free treatment.
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Young Sexually Active Women Are Most Susceptible
Women between ages 15 and 24 are most likely to be newly infected with chlamydia, according to the CDC, but anyone who is sexually active male or female can be infected. Men who have oral or anal sex with men are also at risk, notes the CDC. The CDC recommends regular chlamydia screenings for people at an increased risk of contracting it.
You should be screened annually for chlamydia if you are:
- A sexually active woman under age 25
- A woman age 25 or older who has multiple sexual partners
- A woman whose sexual partner may have multiple sexual partners
- Pregnant and under age 25 or pregnant and age 25 or older with an increased risk
- A man who has sex with men
- At an increased risk for other health reasons
I would emphasize that young women should be screened if they engage in any sexual behavior that puts them at risk because often has no symptoms, and early treatment is important to avoid long-term damage and infertility, Dr. Schaffir says.
Screening for chlamydia is painless: It usually involves testing a urine sample or a specimen swabbed from the vagina or penis. Some lab tests for chlamydia can use specimens from the throat or rectum.
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