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.
Can You Recognise Chlamydia From Pictures
Can you tell you if have chlamydia by comparing your visible symptoms with pictures?
No. You cannot tell if you have chlamydia just from the appearance. While you might notice some irritation of the genital area, swelling or discharge, these symptoms can also be caused by other infections. The only way to know that an infection is caused by chlamydia is to have a test.
Could a doctor tell you have chlamydia by looking at visible symptoms?
No. The only way to find out if you have chlamydia is to get tested. After a physical examination your GP may suspect you have chlamydia, but they wont be able to confirm a diagnosis without proper testing.
Could the visible symptoms of chlamydia be mistaken for something else?
Yes, but in many cases chlamydia is symptomless. Symptoms may not occur until 1-3 weeks after you have been infected. The symptoms can also be random and infrequent which can lead individuals to overlook that an infection may be causing the symptoms. It could be that your visible symptoms are a result of a different infection.
Further Testing: Extragenital Signs Of Chlamydia
Most people are unaware that it is possible for chlamydia to affect them outside of the genital area. Unfortunately, this is true. In fact, chlamydia specifically attacks the area where it is first contracted. One of the most common misconceptions about this STI is that it remains confined to the genital region. In fact, this genital-only test is typically the one given in clinics. The truth about chlamydia is much more complicated.
In fact, engaging in oral or anal sex with an infected person can result in an infection of your throat or rectum. Typically, STD exams from a clinic only test the genital area. Fortunately, myLAB Box, with its three-site testing solution, offers an extragenital screening option for chlamydia as well. In addition to genital regions, these extragenital packages are capable of screening your rectum and throat areas for chlamydia, as well. myLAB Boxs extragenital tests cover all possible areas of infection. myLAB boxs three-site test will catch infections that can easily be missed by a standard exam.
Here are some of the possible extragenital signs and symptoms of chlamydia:
- Rectal pain, including discharge and bleeding
- Conjunctivitis in the eyes
- Throat infection
Test for Chlamydia: Any Time and in Any Place
Fortunately, chlamydia is one of the many curable STIs. You simply need to know if whether or not you are infected in the first place. This requires regular screening.
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The Long Term Effects Of Chlamydia In Males Explained
STDs affect men and women differently. One STD that tends to impact the lives of women more than men is chlamydia. Its worth noting here that women under 25 are most at risk for contracting chlamydia statistically, but any sexually active person can get chlamydia. Part of the reason why chlamydia is so prevalent is that many individuals dont realize they have the infection, since its often asymptomatic. Furthermore, most of the complications associated with chlamydia are related to female fertility. Relatively fewer organizations address the long term effects of chlamydia in males. Today though, were going to set the record straight and explain what can happen to a man with untreated chlamydia.
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.
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Inflammation Of The Testicles
In men, chlamydia can spread to the testicles and epididymis , causing them to become painful and swollen. This is known as epididymitis or epididymo-orchitis. This is very rare.
The inflammation is usually treated with antibiotics. If it’s not treated, there’s a possibility it could affect your fertility.
Short Term Effects Of Chlamydia
Short term and early symptoms in women include:
- Fever
The risk factors for getting chlamydia infection include:
- Unprotected sex with partner suffering from untreated chlamydia infection.
- Not maintaining hygiene when dealing with infected patients. Infection spreads from infected eyes to hands.
- An untreated pregnant female passes chlamydia infection to the child in her womb.
- Very rarely one contracts infection on using infected towels.
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When Should You See A Doctor
If you find out your partner has chlamydia or any STD, you should go to a doctor or clinic and get tested. Usually, a urine test is all that is needed to confirm a diagnosis.
If you have symptoms, such as discharge from your penis or pain while urinating, you shouldnt wait to see a doctor. If there is discharge, a swab of a womans cervix or a mans urethra may be performed for additional diagnostic information. Waiting too long can only worsen your health. Chlamydia wont get better on its own.
Occasional episodes of ED are common for most men. Even young men experience erectile dysfunction. If these episodes become more frequent or you find yourself unable to become aroused or stay aroused, see your doctor or a urologist. A urologist is a specialist in male sexual health. Make an appointment and be ready to describe your symptoms.
Preventing future bouts with chlamydia or other STDS, as well as preventing an unwanted pregnancy, rely on both partners being proactive about safe sex.
Here are a few key tips:
- Wear a condom.
Ectopic Pregnancies Due To Chlamydia
When a woman gets pregnant, the egg is fertilised in the fallopian tubes before it moves to the womb .
An ectopic pregnancy happens when the egg implants outside the womb, for example in one of the fallopian tubes . This happens when PID, which is often caused by chlamydia, has caused scarring to the fallopian tubes and blocked them.
Recent studies have shown that chlamydia damages the fallopian tubes, inflicting a series of small scars. This process does not necessarily cause any symptoms and it often goes unnoticed.
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What Other Problems Can Chlamydia Cause
In women, an untreated infection can spread to your uterus and fallopian tubes, causing pelvic inflammatory disease . PID can cause permanent damage to your reproductive system. This can lead to long-term pelvic pain, infertility, and ectopic pregnancy. Women who have had chlamydia infections more than once are at higher risk of serious reproductive health complications.
Men often don’t have health problems from chlamydia. Sometimes it can infect the epididymis . This can cause pain, fever, and, rarely, infertility.
Both men and women can develop reactive arthritis because of a chlamydia infection. Reactive arthritis is a type of arthritis that happens as a “reaction” to an infection in the body.
Babies born to infected mothers can get eye infections and pneumonia from chlamydia. It may also make it more likely for your baby to be born too early.
Untreated chlamydia may also increase your chances of getting or giving HIV/AIDS.
Chlamydia And Female Fertility
If left untreated, chlamydia can spread and infect other parts of the female reproductive system, in particular the uterus and fallopian tubes, which can result in pelvic inflammatory disease . With one in five women with chlamydia developing PID, chlamydia is the most common cause of infertility in women.
PID sometimes develops without causing symptoms and just like chlamydia, it is often diagnosed too late. Over time, the disease causes blocking or scarring to the fallopian tubes, which leads to infertility as well as miscarriage, premature birth and stillbirth.
In other cases, PID can lead to an ectopic pregnancy, which represents a serious health risk for the mother.
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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.
What Will Happen If Chlamydia Infections Is Ignored So Long
Trachoma of the eye. Progression of trachoma. Trachoma, an infection of the eye caused by Chlamydia trachomatis. Trachoma is a bacterial infection that affects your eyes
If you are thinking hard to know about how is chlamydia transmitted then the only answer is via sexual contact. Unfortunately, the side effects of Chlamydia over male infertility are generally underestimated. But it is observed that this infection can damage sperm and may also lead to some serious or non curable reproductive disorder like permanent infertility.
Males that are suffering with Chlamydia use to have DNA level 3 times higher than its normal amount in DNA. It clearly means that the genetic material is not perfectly packed inside and it is more susceptible to breakage.
Structure of Mycoplasma cell. the bacterium is the causative agent of sexually transmitted diseases, pneumoniae, atypical pneumonia and other respiratory disorders. unaffected by many antibiotics.
Mycoplasma is also similar kind of disease and it is also transferred with sexual contact both these diseases can have direct effect on sperm production in male body. Once a person gets infected with Chlamydia then his rate of abnormal sperm reproduction gets increased up to 80% and it has about 10% lesser mobility inside body when compared with normal peers.
Other than this, male Chlamydia patients are observed to experience urethritis, conjunctivitis and rheumatological conditions along with reactive arthritis issues.
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Clinical Features And Sequelae
- Genital infections with C. trachomatis present as urethritis and proctitis in men and women, cervicitis, salpingitis, endometritis and pelvic inflammatory disease in women, and orchitis, epididymitis and prostatitis in men.
- Perinatal transmission of C. trachomatis can result in conjunctivitis and pneumonia in newborns and young infants.
- Conjunctivitis and respiratory infections can be the result of contact with contaminated hands, or direct exposure to semen and vaginal fluids.
- At least 70% of genital C. trachomatis infections in women and 50% in men are asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis.
- The natural course of genital chlamydia infections is not well understood:
- Spontaneous resolution of asymptomatic infections is not uncommon.
- Asymptomatic infections, particularly endocervical infections, can persist for long periods.
- Many patients with asymptomatic infections will at some point develop symptoms and clinical disease.
- Asymptomatic infections can result in complications such as blocked tubes and pelvic inflammatory disease.
How Do You Prevent Chlamydia
Using a new male or female condom or dental dam every time you have sex is the best way to protect against chlamydia.
Chlamydia can be passed on by sharing sex toys. Always cover sex toys with a new condom and wash them after use to reduce your risk of getting chlamydia and other STIs.
Its important to regularly test for chlamydia, even if you dont have any symptoms, especially if youve had multiple sexual partners.
The contraceptive pill and other types of contraception wont prevent you getting chlamydia, and neither will PrEP.
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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 To Prevent Chlamydia Infection
To avoid the serious long term effects of chlamydia, one must take proper precaution to avoid getting infection by it. The precautions include:
- To maintain good hygiene
- To stop with unprotected sexual practices
- To reduce number of sexual partners
- To get tested or get screened for presence of chlamydia by people engaged in unprotected sex every year
- Pregnant women should get tested early to start with immediate treatment so that the baby does not get chlamydia infection. Babies born with chlamydia infection suffer from trachoma which causes blindness.
- To avoid having sex with infected partner who has not completed the entire course of the treatment.
- The infected person should confirm if the treatment is working by retesting after 5 weeks of taking the medicines.
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Home Remedies For Chlamydia
Chlamydia is caused by a bacterial infection. The only true cure for this type of infection is antibiotics.
But some alternative treatments may help ease symptoms. Its important to remember that untreated chlamydia can lead to long-term complications, including fertility problems and chronic inflammation.
Home remedies for chlamydia that may be effective include:
- Goldenseal.This medicinal plant may limit symptoms during an infection by reducing inflammation.
- Echinacea. This plant has been widely used to boost the immune system in order to help people overcome infections of many types, from the common cold to skin wounds. It may help reduce symptoms of chlamydia.
Although compounds in these plants might help to ease inflammation and infection in general, there arent any quality studies that show theyre effective specifically for chlamydia symptoms.
How Is Chlamydia Prevented
You already know chlamydia is a sexually transmitted infection. Therefore, the safest and easiest way to prevent chlamydia is sexual abstinence. Other ways chlamydia can be prevented in men and women are
- Use condoms for intercourse
- Get your male or female sexual partners tested for the infection
- Recheck for chlamydia infection after 5 weeks of treatment
- Avoid intercourse while on chlamydia treatment
- Use adult toys with condoms
Now its your turn. Do you have any chlamydia symptoms? Let us know if we can help.
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Essential Facts About Chlamydia
Chlamydia often causes no symptoms in the short term, but it can have serious health consequences if it goes untreated.
If youre sexually active, you should know about chlamydia, a common sexually transmitted bacterial infection. These 10 facts will bring you up to speed on whos at risk, why regular screening is so important, and how to avoid getting chlamydia and other sexually transmitted infections .
Chlamydia Cdc Fact Sheet
Chlamydia is a common sexually transmitted disease that can be easily cured. If left untreated, chlamydia can make it difficult for a woman to get pregnant.
Basic Fact Sheet | Detailed Version
Basic fact sheets are presented in plain language for individuals with general questions about sexually transmitted diseases. The content here can be syndicated .
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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.
Long Term Effects Of Untreated Chlamydia In Males
Chlamydia can be difficult to recognize at a glance. It has symptoms that are rather difficult to detect. A medical diagnosis is the only way to know for sure if the infection is present.
To further compound the issue, it is possible for the infection to never show any visible symptoms at all. The only way to be absolutely sure if you are a carrier is to take a proactive interest in your own sexual health. And by sexual health, we mean overall health. Therefore, this infection may never be properly treated and can lead to complications in all parts of the body.
The best offense against chlamydia is a good defense. A regularly scheduled screening for sexually transmitted diseases and infections is critical. myLAB Boxs at-home STI testing kits are a perfect way to test without ever leaving the comfort of home.
Routine screening is paramount. Especially since the male symptoms of chlamydia can be remarkably difficult to detect.
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