Can You Really Get Oral Chlamydia
When the term Chlamydia comes to mind, we do not usually think about it having any kind of relationship with our mouth and throat, but it does. The truth is that you can, indeed, develop Chlamydia in your mouth and throat. Unfortunately, oral Chlamydia is not explored extensively as the genital form of the disease, but its safe to expect things to change in the near future. A study from the Clinical Oral Investigations detected the presence of Chlamydia trachomatis in cellular specimens from the lining epithelium of diseased periodontal sites. In other words, the study provided preliminary evidence that Chlamydia can affect the oral cavity, in this case, in adults with periodontal disease.
In orderto understand how a person can develop oral Chlamydia in the first place, it isimportant to remember the very nature of this STD. A person develops Chlamydiawhen their mucous membranes such as penis, vagina, or rectum come in contactwith certain bacteria. Upon contact, the bacteria enter mucous membranes andstart multiplying.
Mostcases of Chlamydia occur due to unprotected vaginal or anal sex, but it isentirely possible to get this STD through oral sex as well. While oralChlamydia is not very common, its still possible to develop this STD, which iswhy safe sex practices are crucial.
How Is It Treated
Antibiotics are used to treat gonorrhea. Its important to take all of the medicine as directed. Otherwise the medicine may not work. Both sex partners need treatment to keep from passing the infection back and forth.
Getting treatment as soon as possible helps prevent the spread of the infection and lowers your risk for other problems, such as pelvic inflammatory disease.
Many people who have gonorrhea also have chlamydia, another STI. If you have gonorrhea and chlamydia, you will get medicine that treats both infections.
Avoid all sexual contact while you are being treated for an STI. If your treatment is a single dose of medicine, you should not have any sexual contact for 7 days after treatment so the medicine will have time to work.
Having a gonorrhea infection that was cured does not protect you from getting it again. If you are treated and your sex partner is not, you probably will get it again.
Finding out that you have an STI may make you feel bad about yourself or about sex. Counselling or a support group may help you feel better.
Chlamydia Symptoms In The Mouth
Chlamydia is one of the most prevalent sexually transmitted diseases in the world. Despite its wide prevalence, there is still a lot to learn about Chlamydia. The more we know, the easier it becomes to prevent it. Chlamydia doesnt affect the genital region only, but oral as well. What are the symptoms of oral Chlamydia? Learn more about this subject below.
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Male Complications Of Untreated Chlamydia
Men can also experience complications when chlamydia is left untreated. The epididymis the tube that holds the testicles in place may become inflamed, causing pain. This is known as epididymitis.
The infection can also spread to the prostate gland, causing a fever, painful intercourse, and discomfort in the lower back. Another possible complication is male chlamydial urethritis.
These are just some of the most common complications of untreated chlamydia, which is why its important to get medical attention right away. Most people who get treatment quickly have no long-term medical problems.
How Do You Get Gonorrhea
Gonorrhea is a STD, meaning it is transmitted by having oral, anal, or vaginal sex with a person who already has Gonorrhea. The infection is spread through semen and vaginal fluids, but the transmission of the disease is not dependent on ejaculation. While the infection comes from these fluids, it can infect the eyes, mouth, and throat in addition to the genitals, urethra, and anus. Anyone can get Gonorrhea, even if they have been diagnosed and treated for Gonorrhea before. Additionally, women who are pregnant can pass Gonorrhea onto their child during birth. This can result in the baby having joint, eye, or blood infections.
Since semen and vaginal fluids are required to transmit the bacteria that causes Gonorrhea, you cannot get gonorrhea through casual contact. For example, it is not possible to get Gonorrhea from kissing, holding hands, hugging, sneezing, sitting on a toilet, or sharing food.
Certain traits do increase your likelihood of contracting gonorrhea:
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What Complications Can Result From Chlamydial Infection
The initial damage that chlamydia causes often goes unnoticed. However, chlamydial infections can lead to serious health problems with both short- and long-term consequences.
In women, untreated chlamydia can spread into the uterus or fallopian tubes and cause pelvic inflammatory disease . Symptomatic PID occurs in about 10 to 15 percent of women with untreated chlamydia.30,31 However, chlamydia can also cause subclinical inflammation of the upper genital tract . Both acute and subclinical PID can cause permanent damage to the fallopian tubes, uterus, and surrounding tissues. The damage can lead to chronic pelvic pain, tubal factor infertility, and potentially fatal ectopic pregnancy.32,33
Some patients with chlamydial PID develop perihepatitis, or Fitz-Hugh-Curtis Syndrome, an inflammation of the liver capsule and surrounding peritoneum, which is associated with right upper quadrant pain.
In pregnant women, untreated chlamydia has been associated with pre-term delivery,34 as well as ophthalmia neonatorum and pneumonia in the newborn.
Reactive arthritis can occur in men and women following symptomatic or asymptomatic chlamydial infection, sometimes as part of a triad of symptoms formerly referred to as Reiters Syndrome.35
Chlamydia Symptoms & Treatment
FAST FACTS
- Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted infection that is normally passed on through sex without a condom or sharing sex toys with someone who has the infection.
- Using male or female condoms and dental dams during sex will help to protect you from getting chlamydia.
- Chlamydia is often symptomless however if left untreated it can lead to long-term health problems.
- Chlamydia is easily treated with antibiotics.
- Chlamydia can be passed on from mother to child during pregnancy, so its important for pregnant women to get tested.
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Can Gonorrhea Be Prevented
The only way to prevent gonorrhea and other STDs is to not have sex . If you decide to have sex, using a latex condom every time can prevent most STDs.
If you are sexually active, get tested for STDs every year, or more often as recommended by your health care provider. This way, you can get treated right away if you get an STD.
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Hepatitis Symptoms In Women
Hepatitis is an inflammatory condition of the liver that causes liver damage. Certain types are caused by viral infections, the most common being hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C. Hepatitis A is spread through eating or drinking something contaminated by infected fecal matter. It can be transmitted during any sexual contact with an infected person, including fecal-oral contact. Hepatitis B and C can be spread through exposure to infected blood, such as sharing contaminated needles, as well as through sex.
Usually, it takes a few weeks or months after infection to show hepatitis symptoms. New hepatitis A infections usually cause symptoms, but up to half of people with new hepatitis B and hepatitis C infections are asymptomatic, meaning they dont see or feel any changes.10
Hepatitis symptoms in women include:
- Fever
- Yellowed skin and eye whites
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When To See A Doctor
If a person has symptoms of chlamydia after testing and treatment or thinks that they have come into contact with chlamydia again, they should see their doctor.
Females are less likely than males to have symptoms of chlamydia, so testing is especially important for them.
The recommend chlamydia testing every year for the following groups of people:
- sexually active females under the age of 25 years
- females over the age of 25 years who have new or multiple sexual partners
- anyone with a sexual partner who has an STI
- sexually active gay and bisexual males
Pregnant women should have a chlamydia test early on in their pregnancy.
What Problems Can Happen
If it’s not treated, chlamydia can lead to:
- in girls: pelvic inflammatory disease , which can damage the reproductive system, making it hard or impossible for a woman to get pregnant later on
- in guys: swelling in the testicles and tubes at the back of the testicles, possibly preventing a man from fathering kids later on
- joint problems
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What Can Happen If Chlamydia Is Not Treated
Untreated chlamydia can cause serious health problems in women, including:
- Pelvic inflammatory disease , an infection of a woman’s reproductive organs. PID can lead to chronic pelvic pain, pregnancy problems, and infertility . Untreated chlamydia is a common cause of PID. It affects about 10% to 15% of women with untreated chlamydia.4
- Increased risk of getting HIV from sexual activity
Knowing Other Bodily Symptoms Of Chlamydia
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How Did I Get Chlamydia If I Didnt Cheat
You can get chlamydia if your partner had vaginal, oral or anal sex with someone who was infected and then had sex with you. People in relationships may have different ideas about what kinds of sexual contact counts as cheating, and this miscommunication can lead to infections. Communicate honestly with your partner about what sex youre having and what sex theyre having. Practice safer sex to reduce your risk of catching chlamydia, and get regularly screened to be sure.
A note from Cleveland Clinic
It can be embarrassing to talk about anything sex-related with your healthcare provider, including STI prevention. But your sex life is an important part of your health that your provider needs to know about to care for you. Not getting the treatment you need for chlamydia can pose serious risks to your health. Speak with your provider about getting regularly screened for chlamydia and other STIs to reduce your risks of complications. Practice safer sex to prevent the spread of chlamydia.
How To Tell Your Partner You Have Chlamydia
The first thing you need to do when your test comes back positive is to tell your partner. Your sexual partner should know about the infection so that they too can be tested and treated. If you dont tell them about your condition, youre risking getting reinfected.
Here are some tips for handling the conversation:
- Educate yourself about the STD youve contracted so you can thoroughly explain to your partner what exactly you have, the treatment, and how you plan on keeping them safe.
- Inform your current or most recent sexual partner about a positive STD test by telling them face-to-face, or by calling them. Sending them a message is not the most respectful way.
- When telling them the news, stay calm and collected. Sit them down and tell them youve been tested. Tell them that the results are positive and discuss the next steps.
- Make sure you keep your partner from getting infected. Use condoms at all times, take antibiotics, and abstain from intercourse during your treatment.
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How Is Chlamydia Treated
Chlamydia can be treated with antibiotics to kill the bacteria. After getting a diagnosis, it is recommended that any partner that you have had sexual contact with in the last 60 days, and/or your last sexual partner, be tested.
It is possible to transmit chlamydia even while being treated with antibiotics. Stay away from sexual contact until 7 days after completion of the full course of antibiotic medicationâeven if symptoms have already gone away. Three months after treatment, you should get re-tested for chlamydia .
What Is Gonorrhea How Do You Get It
Gonorrhea is a bacterial infection caused by the organism Neisseria gonorrhoeae that is transmitted during unprotected sex. Gonorrhea is one of the oldest known sexually transmitted diseases. Among individuals who are infected with gonorrhea, 50% to 70% also will be infected with chlamydia, another type of bacteria that causes another STD.
Contrary to popular belief, gonorrhea cannot be transmitted from toilet seats or door handles. The bacterium that causes gonorrhea requires very specific conditions for growth and reproduction. It cannot live outside the body for more than a few seconds or minutes, nor can it live on the skin of the hands, arms, or legs. It survives only on moist surfaces within the body and is found most commonly in the vagina, and, more commonly, the cervix. It can also live in the tube through which urine drains from the bladder. Neisseria gonorrhoeae can even exist in the back of the throat and in the rectum .
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What Are The Treatments For Gonorrhea Can Gonorrhea Be Cured
In the past, the treatment of uncomplicated gonorrhea was fairly simple. A single injection of penicillin cured almost every infected person. Unfortunately, there are new strains of gonorrhea that have become resistant to various antibiotics, including penicillins, and are therefore more difficult to treat. Fortunately, gonorrhea can still be treated by other injectable or oral medications.
Uncomplicated gonococcal infections of the cervix, urethra, and rectum, are usually treated by a single injection of ceftriaxone intramuscularly or by cefixime in a single oral dose. For uncomplicated gonococcal infections of the pharynx, the recommended treatment is ceftriaxone in a single IM dose.
Alternative regimens for uncomplicated gonococcal infections of the cervix, urethra, and rectum is spectinomycin in nonpregnant women in a single IM dose or single doses of cephalosporins , or cefotaxime).
It is important to note that doxycycline, one of the recommended drugs for treatment of PID, is not recommended for use in pregnant women.
Gonorrhea is one of the easier STIs to prevent because the bacterium that causes the infection can survive only under certain conditions. The use of condoms protects against gonorrhea infection. Since the organism can live in the throat, condoms should be used during oral-genital contact as well.
How Do I Test For Chlamydia
You can get tested for chlamydia even if you dont have any symptoms.
Getting tested for chlamydia is easy and doesnt hurt. A healthcare professional will ask for a urine sample and/or take a swab from the area that might be infected. This is usually the lower part of the womb or the vagina for women, and the tip of the penis for men. If youve had anal or oral sex, you may have a swab taken from your anus or throat.
In some countries you can get a self-testing kit to do at home.
If you test positive for chlamydia, its important to tell any recent sexual partner/s so they can also get tested, and treated if necessary. If you need advice about how to do this, speak to your healthcare professional. You should also test for other STIs.
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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.
How Can I Reduce My Risk Of Getting Gonorrhea
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 gonorrhea:
- Being in a long-term mutually monogamous relationship with a partner who has been tested and has negative STD test results
- Using latex condoms the right way every time you have sex.
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Gonorrhea Compared To Similar Conditions: Uti Chlamydia And Bv
In this chapter, we compare gonorrhea to other common medical conditions. This will help you understand the most important differences from a doctorâs viewpoint.
Often, different conditions have similar symptoms and signs. Any experienced doctor keeps in mind other conditions that look and present similarly. Itâs called making a differential diagnosis.
The differences between similar conditions can be subtle. So, all signs and symptoms should be analyzed carefully:
- Whatâs the timing of the symptoms?
- How did the symptoms begin?
- How are the symptoms evolving over time?
- What do statistics tell us about the prevalence in the relevant geographic area of the conditions youâre considering?
- Other relevant questions
In this section, weâll help you distinguish the gonorrhea infection from other similar conditions: UTI, chlamydia, and BV.
We present side-by-side comparisons in tables so it will be easier to see the similarities of and differences between those conditions and gonorrhea.
After the tables youâll see frequently asked questions from real patients and an expert physicianâs answers.
Letâs proceed!
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