Is The Treatment For Chlamydia And Gonorrhea The Same

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.

What Advantages Can You Get In Std Express Clinic Over Other Regular Clinics

For both gonorrhea and chlamydia testing, going to STD Express Clinic may be the best course of action. STD Express Clinic makes it easy to get yourself tested for a variety of sexually transmitted diseases without having to make an appointment in advance.

STD Express Clinic understands the social stigma STDs can place on people, and so we value patient privacy. The clinic follows HIPAA-compliant rules in place for protecting your health information.

STD Express Clinic is open on weekends as well, convenient for those with long working hours. The tests are affordable, effective, and are approved by the FDA. Finally, understanding that positive tests can create a lot of questions, doctor is available during extended clinic hours for any kind of assistance you may need.

What Your Chlamydia Gonorrhea And Trichomoniasis Test Results Mean

All three sexually transmitted diseases need to be routinely tested, to have an early diagnosis and prevent further complications. A positive test, for any of these three infections, indicate an ongoing infection that needs to be treated properly with a prescription medication, such as antibiotics.

A positive gonorrhea test indicates an active infection with the Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacteria. A positive chlamydia test indicates an active infection with the Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria. A positive Trichomoniasis test indicates an active infection with the Trichomoniasis vaginalis parasite. If your results came in positive for any of these sexually-transmitted diseases, keep in mind that both you are your partner would need to abstain from any sexual activity. Do not engage in anal, oral or vaginal sex, not until you are both fully treated and free of the infection. With the right treatment, an infection normally clears up in a couple of weeks. You are required to get re-tested, three months after to detect a possible re-infection.

A negative gonorrhea or chlamydia test result indicates the absence of an active infection caused by any of these two bacteria. A negative Trichomoniasis test indicates the absence of the parasite. It also indicates that the symptoms may be due to other underlying causes. However, if trichomoniasis is still suspected, other tests t may be needed to have a more accurate diagnosis.

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Is There A Cure For Chlamydia And Gonorrhea

Yes. Chlamydia and gonorrhea can both be cured with the right treatment. If these STDs arent treated, they can cause serious health problems, like making it difficult or impossible for a woman to get pregnant.

If you have an STD, its important to get treatment right away. Its also important to tell anyone youve had sex with that you have an STD so they can get treated, too. This can help protect you from getting infected again.

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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Symptoms Of Gonorrhea And Chlamydia

Sometimes someone with gonorrhea or chlamydia does not show any symptoms.

In fact, 75% of women and 50% of men with chlamydia exhibit no symptoms.

It is unclear how common it is with gonorrhea, but some estimates are that the majority of men and women show no symptoms.

Even with no symptoms, it is still possible to transmit the disease and damage the reproductive system. The key signs of gonorrhea and chlamydia can appear within one to three weeks after having sex with a partner with the STD.

There are some differences in how both STDs present in men vs women, but in general the most common reported symptoms in both men and women are:

• Discharge For chlamydia, women may have vaginal discharge that has a strong odor or is yellowish, and men may have cloudy or clear discharge around the tip of the penis. For Gonorrhea, women and men may have discharge from the vagina or penis that is green, yellow, or white.
• Burning sensation while urinating Also called dysuria, this symptom is common with other STDs and is an important sign to get tested.
• Painful, burning sensations in infected area For both STDs, this is most common inside the vagina for women and the penal opening for men. Additionally, throat infections from oral sex are common and can result in swollen glands in the throat.

Women can also have painful periods, bleeding between periods, pain during sex, abdominal pain, or a fever.

• Discharge
• Bleeding
• Rectal pain

How Are Gonorrhea And Chlamydia Tested

Gonorrhea and chlamydia are the easiest STDs to test for. A urine or swab sample is collected to check for genetic evidence of infection. The lab can usually offer results within a few business days.

The USPSTF recommends against routine asymptomatic screening for some other STDs like genital herpes as the harms outweigh the benefits. For genital herpes specifically, the task force didnt recommend screening in asymptomatic people because of the tests high false-positive rate, inability to differentiate genital from oral herpes, and potential to cause anxiety in relationships.

In general, the vast majority of people who have herpes do tend to have symptoms, Lincoln says, adding that its best to get tested if someone has lesions or concerns.

The CDC estimates one in six people between the ages of 14 and 49 have genital herpes. The virus cannot be cured, but it can be treated with antiviral medication. The CDC likewise does not recommend testing for genital herpes in asymptomatic people.

Regardless of infection, Lincoln says its important to acknowledge that STDs are common and most of them can be treated.

Being informed is being empowered, Lincoln says. These things don’t make you dirtythey just make you human. And if we can know about it, we can treat it.

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Who Needs To Get Tested For Chlamydia And Gonorrhea

The recommendations for getting tested for chlamydia and for gonorrhea are the same.

For women:

• If you’re age 24 or younger and having sex, get tested once every year
• If you’re age 25 or older, get tested if you have more than 1 sex partner, a new sex partner, or a sex partner with an STD

For men:

• Talk with a doctor to find out if you need to get tested for chlamydia, gonorrhea, or other STDs

Treatment For Chlamydia Is Quick And Easy

Two antibiotics are most often used for treating chlamydia:

• Azithromycin The main treatment for chlamydia is one gram of azithromycin, taken one time, says , deputy director of clinical services for public health with the Seattle and King County HIV and STD Program in Washington. That one gram comes as either two pills or four pills. It is not expensive.
• Doxycycline If your doctor prescribes doxycycline, you will take two pills daily for one week. It costs somewhat more than azithromycin.

Antibiotics can also cure chlamydia in infants, who can get the infection from their mothers, and treatment is essential for them. Without treatment, infants infected with chlamydia can develop conjunctivitis, which can cause blindness, or pneumonia, which can be fatal.

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What Happens If Chlamydia Goes Untreated

If a person is not treated for chlamydia, complications may occur. Women frequently develop pelvic inflammatory disease . PID can cause infertility , chronic pelvic pain, tubal pregnancies, and the continued spread of the disease. In men, untreated chlamydia can cause urethral infection and complications such as swollen and tender testicles. Chlamydia infection during pregnancy may result in premature rupture of membranes, preterm delivery and possible tubal pregnancy in a small percent of women. In addition, chlamydia can cause conjunctival and pneumonic infection in the newborn. Persons with a chlamydia infection have an increased chance of getting other infections such as gonorrhea or HIV.

Std Prevention In 3 Steps

As previously mentioned, anyone who is sexually active can get an STD. And as you can see from the information provided above, some of these diseases dont show any signs or symptoms.

It is for these reasons that you should do the following if you want to reduce your risk of contracting any sexually transmitted disease:

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Put Sex On Hold During And After Chlamydia Treatment

If you were given a single dose of antibiotics to treat your chlamydia, you should not have any kind of sex for a full seven days after the day you took the medicine. If youre taking antibiotics for a week, wait another seven days after the last day of your treatment. Be sure to take all of the medicine that is prescribed for you.

Not having sex for seven days after treatment is important so you dont spread the infection to your partner or partners.

Medication stops the infection and can keep you from spreading the disease, but it wont cure any permanent damage that the infection caused before you started treatment. In women, such damage can include blocking the fallopian tubes, causing infertility.

If you still have symptoms for more than a few days after you stop taking your medicine, go back to see your doctor or other healthcare provider so they can check you again.

When Can I Have Sex Again

If you had doxycycline, you shouldn’t have sex including vaginal, oral or anal sex, even with a condom until both you and your partner have completed treatment.

If you had azithromycin, you should wait 7 days after treatment before having sex .

This will help ensure you don’t pass on the infection or catch it again straight away.

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Always Practice Safe Sex

Notice how this is under a section titled How can you reduce your risk. Reduce being the operative word. Even if you always wear a condom or a dental dam, theres a risk of infection. This is because some diseases are spread from skin to skin contact, from bodily fluids touching a part of your body, or from defective prophylactics.

This includes vaginal, anal, and oral sex. So if youre in high school and think that by going down on someone youre safe, hopefully youre reading this before going to that party.

Chlamydia Tops The Chart For Most Googled Sti Across The World

Professional and discreet testing experts Stress Free Health Testing have analyzed Google search trends to determine which STIs make the worlds population itch with anxiety.

Chlamydia tops the chart for the most googled STI worldwide, with a record 27 countries where people Google the STI more than any other sexually transmitted infection.

This top-ranking STI is the subject of a high number of Google searches in the United Kingdom and Germany, where it gets looked up a whopping 110,000 times per month. Chlamydia also wreaks havoc in France with around 74,000 monthly searches.

Syphiliss many Google searches across the globe make it the second most searched for STI. Only topping the charts in eight countries fewer than Chlamydia, Syphilis is the second most googled STI in 19 of the worlds nations.

Hepatitis B is the third most searched STI globally, but there are 12 countries where it ranks first for monthly searches. It is googled around 22,200 times per month in Nigeria, 14,800 times in Malaysia, and 6,600 times in Ghana.

Scabies tops the charts in only two counties fewer than Hepatitis B. It is the most googled STI in ten countries, including Ireland and Pakistan. People in Ireland look up Scabies around 12,100 times per month, while those living in Pakistan Google Scabies 9,900 times.

Most googled STIs in the world

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Is Gonorrhea Serious

Gonorrhea usually won’t lead to any lasting complications if you catch it early but if you’ve had it more than once this increases your risk of problems. Gonorrhea can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease which can be linked to infertility and ectopic pregnancy. If you are pregnant, gonorrhea can trigger a miscarriage or premature labour. It also carries the risk of your baby being born with conjunctivitis. Men might get an infection in the testicles or prostate gland but have less of a risk of becoming infertile.

How To Get Tested

A person can meet with a doctor to get a diagnosis for either of these infections.

The doctor will collect bodily fluids to test for the infection. The test can use either a urine sample or a sample from the vagina or penis, which a doctor will collect with a cotton swab.

Most health insurance plans, including Medicare, cover sexually transmitted infection testing completely. If a person does not have health insurance, they can go to a free clinic, their local health departments STI clinic, a student health center, or an urgent care clinic.

Because both chlamydia and gonorrhea can present with no symptoms, it is important that people who are sexually active get tested regularly.

After a doctor has determined which infection a person has contracted, they will prescribe an antibiotic.

People should take the full course of antibiotics and wait an additional 7 days before having sex again. This helps prevent a person from spreading the infection to another person and possibly reinfecting themselves later.

A person can contract both chlamydia and gonorrhea again, even if they have already experienced and treated the STI before.

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Frequently Asked Questionsexpand All

• What is a sexually transmitted infection ?

  A sexually transmitted infection is an infection spread by sexual contact. There are many STIs. This FAQ focuses on chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis. These STIs can cause long-term health problems and problems during pregnancy. Having an STI also increases the risk of getting human immunodeficiency virus if you are exposed to it.

• What is chlamydia?

  Chlamydia is the most commonly reported STI in the United States. Chlamydia is caused by a type of bacteria, which can be passed from person to person during vaginal sex, oral sex, or anal sex. Infections can occur in the mouth, reproductive organs, urethra, and rectum. In women, the most common place for infection is the cervix .

• What are the risk factors for chlamydia?

  The following factors increase the risk of getting chlamydia:

• Having a new sex partner

• Having more than one sex partner

• Having a sex partner who has more than one sex partner

• Having sex with someone who has an STI

• Having an STI now or in the past

• Not using condoms consistently when not in a mutually monogamous relationship

• Exchanging sex for money or drugs

If You Have Further Questions Contact Your Ob

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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 women’s 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.

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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: