Wednesday, April 17, 2024
HomeAntibioticsWhat Antibiotics Do You Take For Chlamydia

What Antibiotics Do You Take For Chlamydia

Can Chlamydia Kill You

What You Need to Know About Chlamydia

As already mentioned before, this infection won`t cause any issues if treated right away. However, if it`s left untreated, it may lead to severe problems, especially when talking about women:

  • It the infection spreads, it may cause PID. This severe medical condition might make it difficult or even impossible for a woman to conceive.
  • Expecting mothers who experience this infection frequently pass it to their own future babies during delivery. If the condition gets in the eyes of the child, it may lead to blindness. Babies can have other issues, such as pneumonia, which can become deadly in a infant.
  • Having this particular infection makes anyone a lot more likely in getting HIV from other persons who are infected with HIV. This virus causes AIDS.

Who Can And Can’t Take Doxycycline

Doxycycline can be taken by adults and children over 12 years old. Doxycycline is not usually recommended in pregnancy or when breastfeeding.

It isn’t suitable for some people. To make sure this medicine is safe for you, tell your doctor if you have:

  • ever had an allergic reaction to doxycycline or any other medicine in the past
  • kidney problems
  • myasthenia gravis, an illness that causes severe muscle wasting

Does Chlamydia Treatment Have Side Effects

An antibiotic called Doxycycline is the most common medicine used to treat chlamydia. Like most medicines, it can cause mild side effects. The most common side effects of Doxycycline are nausea, vomiting, upset stomach, loss of appetite, mild diarrhea, skin rash or itching, change in skin color, vaginal itching, or discharge. These side effects should go away after you finish taking the medicine. Talk to your nurse or doctor about any medicines youre already taking and any medical issues you already have before taking Doxycycline.

Also Check: How Long After Chlamydia Treatment

What Medication Is Prescribed For Chlamydia

Chlamydia is a bacterial sexually transmitted infection . While most patients who have been treated for chlamydia are asymptomatic, it is imperative to be treated if you or a partner may have been exposed. The CDC recommended treatment for chlamydia is Azithromycin 1 g by mouth in a single dose or Doxycycline 100 mg by mouth twice a daily for 7 day. These options are equally as effective and chosen based on preference and patience tolerance to antibiotics.

When Do You Start On Antibiotics For Chlamydia

5 Cures for Chlamydia You Should Know!

You may be started on antibiotics once test results have confirmed you have chlamydia. But if its very likely you have the infection, you might be started on treatment before you get your results. The two most commonly prescribed antibiotics for chlamydia are: azithromycin given as 2 or 4 tablets at once.

You May Like: How Can A Person Get Chlamydia

What Can Be Done To Prevent The Spread Of Chlamydia

  • Limit your number of sex partners
  • Use a male or female condom
  • If you think you are infected or have been exposed, avoid any sexual contact and visit a local sexually transmitted disease clinic, a hospital or your doctor. Either bring your sex partners with you when you are treated or notify them immediately so they can obtain examination and treatment.

How Does Chlamydia Treatment Work

Chlamydia treatment works by stopping the bacteria that causes chlamydia from producing an important protein which it needs to multiply. This stops the bacteria from growing and replicating, so your symptoms should improve as your body is cleared of chlamydia.

The first line treatment for chlamydia in the UK is doxycycline. The usual dose is one tablet to be taken twice daily for 7 days. You can swallow doxycycline tablets whole with water and take them with or without food. You should sit up for about 30 minutes after each dose to prevent symptoms of throat irritation or stomach upset.

Read Also: Does Chlamydia Itch Like A Yeast Infection

Does The Treatment Work

Usually, yes. You can infect another sex partner as soon as you get chlamydia. Most women and some men do not have early signs of the disease.

A pregnant women can also pass on the infection to her baby as it is being born. This can lead to infection of the eyes and lungs in the infant. It is important to inform people you have had sex with during the past 3 months because they may have the disease and not know they need treatment. Your public health nurse will contact your partner if you prefer. Your name will be kept confidential.

How Long Does It Take To Cure Chlamydia With Antibiotics

Chlamydia Infection Symptoms and Treatment (Antibiotic)

Ask U.S. doctors your own question and get educational, text answers â it’s anonymous and free!

Ask U.S. doctors your own question and get educational, text answers â it’s anonymous and free!

HealthTap doctors are based in the U.S., board certified, and available by text or video.

Recommended Reading: How Long For Chlamydia Results

How To Cope With Side Effects

What to do about:

  • headaches make sure you rest and drink plenty of fluids. Everyday painkillers, such as paracetamol and ibuprofen, are safe to take with doxycycline.
  • feeling or being sick stick to simple meals and do not eat rich or spicy food. It might help to take your doxycycline after a meal or snack but avoid dairy products like milk, cheese and yoghurt. Dairy products can stop your body absorbing your medicine properly. If you are being sick, drink plenty of fluids, such as water or squash, to avoid dehydration. Signs of dehydration include peeing less than usual or having strong-smelling pee. Do not take any medicines to treat vomiting without speaking to a pharmacist or doctor.
  • sensitivity to sunlight when you go outside, wear sunglasses and clothes that cover you up. Put sunscreen or sunblock on your skin – with a sun protection factor of at least 15 . Also use a sunscreen product for your lips. Do not use sunlamps or tanning beds. If you get sunburn, there are things you can do to treat your symptoms.

Why Should I Have Treatment If I Have No Symptoms

If you are infected with chlamydia, it is essential that you take treatment even if you do not have any symptoms of chlamydial infection. Reasons for this include:

  • The infection may spread and cause serious complications . This can be months or years after you are first infected.
  • You can still pass on the infection to your sexual partner even if you do not have symptoms.

Also Check: How Long Should You Wait After Chlamydia Treatment

Recommended Reading: What Happens When You Get Chlamydia

How Long Does It Take To Get Rid Of Chlamydia

Category:

How long does it take to get rid of chlamydia?

It depends. If youre diagnosed with chlamydia, your health care provider will probably prescribe an antibiotic. In some cases, treatment is possible with a single dose of medication in the health care providers office. Other medications must be taken for seven days. Its important to make sure that you take the antibiotic exactly as directed for as long as its prescribed even if your symptoms go away. Avoid having sex until your treatment is complete and the infection is cured. Its also important to let your sex partner know that you have chlamydia so they can get tested and treated, too. Some health care providers will give you medications to take home to your partner.

Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted infection thats caused by a type of bacteria called chlamydia trachomatis. Both women and men can get it by having unprotected vaginal or anal sex with an infected partner. It can also be spread from a woman to her fetus during birth, and rarely, from the hand to the eye and, less likely, during unprotected oral sex. Each year, more than three million people of all ages become infected with chlamydia.

What Does A Chlamydia Test Involve

Chlamydia Treatment and Prevention
  • If you have a vulva, you may be asked to take a swab around the inside of your vagina yourself.
  • A doctor or nurse may take a swab during an internal examination of your vagina and cervix .
  • You may be asked to provide a urine sample. Before having this test, youre advised not to pass urine for 12 hours.
  • A doctor or nurse may take a swab from the entrance of the urethra .
  • If youve had anal or oral sex, a doctor or nurse may swab your rectum or throat . These swabs arent done routinely on everyone.
  • If you have symptoms of conjunctivitis swabs will be used to collect a sample of discharge from your eye.

A swab looks a bit like a cotton bud but is smaller and rounded. It sometimes has a small plastic loop on the end rather than a cotton tip. Its wiped over the parts of the body that could be infected. This only takes a few seconds and isnt painful, though it may be uncomfortable for a moment.

Cervical screening and routine blood tests dont detect chlamydia.

If youre not sure whether youve been tested for chlamydia, just ask.

Dont Miss: How Much Is The Pill For Chlamydia

Don’t Miss: How Do Doctors Test Males For Chlamydia

How Long Does It Take For Chlamydia To Go Away

How long does it take for Chlamydia to clear up? Can you have Chlamydia for years and not know it? These are questions that give headache to a lot of women at some point in their lives.

Chlamydia is a bacterial infection with the Chlamydia infectious agent, which is transmitted through sexual contact. It`s among the most common STDs in the world. Chlamydia infects the urethra in men and the cervix, urethra and superior reproductive organs in women. Chlamydia can also infect the rectum, eye surface and eyelids.

An infected mother can transmit the infection to her baby during childbirth. Between 50% and 70% of infants are born from infected mothers. They acquire the infection in the eyes, rectum, vagina and the back of the throat. Between 30% and 40% of these infected neonates develop complications, like conjunctivitis or pneumonia.

Chlamydia increases the risk of human immunodeficiency virus infection, in case of exposure.

Can A Person With Chlamydia Be Cured Of Hiv

Chlamydia can be easily 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 sexual activity for 7 days after single dose antibiotics or until completion of a 7-day course of antibiotics,

Don’t Miss: Chlamydia Vs Yeast Infection Symptoms

Follow Treatment Advice Make Sure Chlamydia Is Properly Treated

  • Take the antibiotic treatment given to you, as directed, and without delay.
  • Do not miss out doses.
  • Finish the course.
  • No sex on treatment not even sex with a condom. This is because the condom does not give 100% protection from STIs and it is still possible, until the full 7 days have elapsed, to transmit the infection, or become reinfected.
  • Any current sexual partners should be treated as they are contacts. This applies to all sexual partners in the past 3 months.
  • However, the sexual partner may opt to be tested for chlamydia and wait for their results. If they do this, there should be no sexual activity while waiting to be tested, until their results are available, and then for the time period to complete treatment, if they test positive.

    In many ways, including the fact no tests are 100% accurate, it is preferable for both of you to be treated, and the easiest option, is to take your antibiotics both at the same time. This is called epidemiological treatment, and is good medical practice.

    If all the tablets were taken correctly and there has been no sex on treatment, there is no need to repeat the chlamydia test .

    However a test of cure should be performed if:

    • there is chlamydia in the rectum,
    • it chlamydia is treated in pregnancy,
    • it chlamydia is treated with erythromycin,
    • if you have symptoms when diagnosed with chlamydia, and these symptoms have not resolved, or
    • if any of the rules about taking treatment were not followed.

    How Do You Know If Chlamydia Is Gone After Treatment

    Chlamydia | Top 5 Symptoms Experienced by Men and Women

    Your chlamydia symptoms should improve within a week of completing your course of antibiotics.

    You do not need an immediate follow-up test to check if your chlamydia treatment has worked, as dead chlamydia bacteria may be detected 3 to 5 weeks after treatment, which would give a false positive result. But, if you have a rectal infection, you should have a test after treatment is completed.

    If you are under 25 and have tested positive for chlamydia, it is recommended you take a repeat test 3 months after completing your treatment, to check you have not caught chlamydia again.

    Also Check: Things Not To Do When You Have Chlamydia

    How Often Should I Get Checked For Chlamydia

    Sexual health check-ups are recommended for anyone who is sexually active. Frequency of testing also depends on your STI risk:

    • An annual sexual health check-up is highly recommended if you are sexually active especially if you are under 25.
    • Get checked more often during the year if you frequently change sexual partners.
    • Remember, you are at greater risk if you have sex without a condom with 1 or multiple sexual partners.

    How Long Does It Take For Chlamydia To Go Away With Antibiotics

    If your test results are positive for chlamydia, your doctor will prescribe antibiotics. Chlamydia typically goes away within 1 to 2 weeks. You should avoid sex during this time to prevent transmitting the disease. Your doctor may prescribe a one-dose medication or a medication youll take daily for about a week.

    Recommended Reading: How To Make Chlamydia Go Away

    Best Over The Counter Antibiotics For Chlamydia

    In order to get best over the counter antibiotics for chlamydia, you should onsult your doctor, your doctor will not turn his back on you, often time you might not get rid of Chlamydia by going to counter medication. Sometime you may have false positive chlamydia test result, so it is better to consult doctor. Moreover if you fail to treat this disease you might end up with PID which is Pelvic Inflammatory Disease and then you will also consult your doctor and by that time things will be worse. So the best thing is to go to a doctor if you notice the symptoms. But if you must use, then go for Amoxicillin, azithromycin, erythromycin, Doxycycline, levofloxacin, and ofloxacin. But always consult your doctor before taken the pills.

    Treatment Of Other Types

    How often to take amoxicillin 500mg for tooth infection ...

    Two other conditions caused by Chlamydia trachomatis are uncommon in the United States, but very common worldwide:

    • Lymphogranuloma venereum : Lymphogranuloma venereum is treated in the same way as standard genital chlamydia infections, but a longer course of therapy is used . Other care may also be required to treat genital ulcers or abscessed inguinal nodes if they occur.
    • Trachoma: Trachoma is the leading preventable cause of blindness worldwide and often requires aggressive treatment with antibiotics and surgery addressing unsanitary living conditions is also necessary.

    Also Check: What Medication To Take For Chlamydia

    What Are The Risks Of Chlamydia Infection

    Untreated chlamydia can lead to many serious health conditions.

    Women can develop pelvic inflammatory disease. This can lead to pelvic pain, complications with pregnancy, and fertility difficulties. Sometimes women become infertile from the effects of untreated chlamydia.

    Men may develop inflammation of their testicles from untreated chlamydia and may also experience fertility issues.

    Babies who acquire chlamydia during childbirth can develop pink eye and pneumonia. Its important for women to be treated for chlamydia during pregnancy to avoid spreading it to an infant.

    Sexual behavior of any kind puts you at risk of contracting chlamydia. Some ways to reduce your chances of getting chlamydia include:

    • refraining from sexual activity

    Diagnosis And Treatment Of Chlamydia Trachomatis Infection

    KARL E. MILLER, M.D., University of Tennessee College of Medicine, Chattanooga, Tennessee

    Am Fam Physician. 2006 Apr 15 73:1411-1416.

    Chlamydia trachomatis infection most commonly affects the urogenital tract. In men, the infection usually is symptomatic, with dysuria and a discharge from the penis. Untreated chlamydial infection in men can spread to the epididymis. Most women with chlamydial infection have minimal or no symptoms, but some develop pelvic inflammatory disease. Chlamydial infection in newborns can cause ophthalmia neonatorum. Chlamydial pneumonia can occur at one to three months of age, manifesting as a protracted onset of staccato cough, usually without wheezing or fever. Treatment options for uncomplicated urogenital infections include a single 1-g dose of azithromycin orally, or doxycycline at a dosage of 100 mg orally twice per day for seven days. The recommended treatment during pregnancy is erythromycin base or amoxicillin. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommend screening for chlamydial infection in women at increased risk of infection and in all women younger than 25 years.

    SORT: KEY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRACTICE

    Azithromycin or doxycycline is recommended for the treatment of uncomplicated genitourinary chlamydial infection.

    SORT: KEY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRACTICE

    Azithromycin or doxycycline is recommended for the treatment of uncomplicated genitourinary chlamydial infection.

    You May Like: How Can Guys Get Tested For Chlamydia

    How To Clear Chlamydia Without Antibiotics

    Chlamydia is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections. While we are unable to recommend any treatment not recommended by the CDC in the treatment of chlamydia there are some who have utilized alternative treatment to reduce infection but does not cure it. These remedies include garlic, turmeric, or dieting.

    Get Retested Following Treatment

    Do I Have Chlamydia? Symptoms of Chlamydia

    Many people have more than one chlamydia infection. If youre a girl or woman and your sex partners are not treated for the infection, you will be at high risk for reinfection. Repeated infections with chlamydia make it much more likely that your ability to have children will be affected. Repeated infections also raise your risk of painful complications, such as pelvic inflammatory disease.

    Both women and men with chlamydia should be retested about three months after they are first diagnosed and treated. Go to be retested even if you think your sex partners were successfully treated.

    Also Check: After You Get Treated For Chlamydia

    RELATED ARTICLES

    Most Popular