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.
Tips For Safe Kissing
Follow these tips to practice safe kissing and prevent transmission of other conditions:
- Avoid kissing someone if either of you has open sores.
- Avoid kissing someone if either of you has cuts in or around the mouth.
- Avoid kissing someone when youre sick or if theyre sick.
- Dont bite during kissing.
- Find other parts of the body to kiss instead of the lips, such as the cheek or hand.
Kissing doesnt have to be off-limits to prevent the transmission of disease. If you temporarily avoid kissing or change the way you kiss during a bout of illness, you could lower your chances for getting the condition.
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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Chlamydia Infection May Have Long
For women, the long-term effects of an untreated chlamydia infection may include:
- Severe infection with pain and fever requiring a hospital stay
- Pelvic inflammatory disease, an infection of the upper reproductive tract
- Scarring in the reproductive tract that causes infertility
- Higher risk of ectopic pregnancy
Men are less likely than women to have major health problems linked to chlamydia, although they can develop epididymitis, an inflammation of a structure within the testicles called the epididymis that can result in infertility.
A chlamydia infection can sometimes result in reactive arthritis in both men and women.
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.
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Im Pregnant How Does Chlamydia Affect My Baby
If you are pregnant and have chlamydia, you can pass the infection to your baby during delivery. This could cause an eye infection or pneumonia in your newborn. Having chlamydia may also make it more likely to deliver your baby too early.
If you are pregnant, you should get tested for chlamydia at your first prenatal visit. Testing and treatment are the best ways to prevent health problems.
How Does Someone Get Chlamydia
Chlamydia is passed through oral, anal, or vaginal sex. Chlamydia can be passed from one person to another even if the penis or tongue does not go all the way into the vagina or anus.Eye infections can occur when discharge caries the disease into the eye during sex or hand-to-eye contact.
Chlamydia can also be passed from mother to newborn as the baby passes through the infected birth canal. This can result in eye infections, pneumonia or other complications.
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You Can Get Chlamydia More Than Once
With some diseases, having one infection makes you immune to future infections. That’s not the case with chlamydia. If you engage in sexual activity with a person who has a chlamydia infection, you can get it again, even if you’ve just completed treatment for it.
“Both partners should be treated before reinitiating sexual intercourse to prevent relapse,” Schaffir says.
The Chances Of Getting Or Passing Stis
For an STI to be passed during sex, one of the partners has to have the infection. It is not always possible to know whether someone has an infection just by looking at them. Some symptoms, such as blisters, warts or sores, can be obvious, but thats not always the case. Many people with STIs dont even know they have an infection because they have no symptoms. Even if they do know, they might not be comfortable talking about the infection.
The chances of getting or passing an STI can change depending on:
- the type of STI
- the type of sex youre having
- whether or not steps are taken to lower the chances of getting or passing an STI
The following charts will help you to better understand the chances of getting or passing an STI, depending on the type of sex youre having. Having the right information about risk can help you decide what youre comfortable with. Many STIs are passed in similar ways, but some are more commonly passed than others under certain conditions. Keep in mind that comfort levels can change over time and under different circumstances, but when you have the facts its easier to have the sex you want and take care of your sexual health at the same time. The charts are based on sex where no risk-reduction tools are used . The information is based on the latest research, but they are general estimates only and may not cover every situation.
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How Chlamydia Is Treated
Chlamydia can usually be treated easily with antibiotics.
You may be given a course of doxycycline to take for a week or azithromycin to take once a day for 3 days.
If you have doxycycline, you should not have sex until you and your current sexual partner have finished treatment.
If you have azithromycin, you should wait 7 days after treatment before having sex .
It’s important that your current sexual partner and any other recent sexual partners you have had are also tested and treated to help stop the spread of the infection.
Under-25s who have chlamydia should 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.
Sexual health or genitourinary medicine clinics can help you contact your sexual partners.
Either you or the clinic can speak to them, or they can be sent a note advising them to get tested.
The note will not have your name on it, so your confidentiality will be protected.
If Had Chlamydia Twice Are You At Risk For Being Infertile
I’ve contracted chlamydia twice in my life, both over two years ago, and I’m only twenty… I heard once that if you have an STD multiple times, you have a higher risk for not having children one day. All I’ve ever wanted to be was a mom…How likely are my chances of being infertile?
Hi Susan,I was treated for chlamydia two weeks ago and my boyfriend was then treated a week later, however we had sex on the fourth day of his treatment. Is it likely that I would have been reinfected? Or what is the best thing to do? Should I go back and do another test, or ask for another round of antibiotics?
Hi I contracted chlaymida off my ex back in September and got it treated the same month I then ended up getting back with my ex at the end of February and he told me he got treated and stupidly believed him but I recently got a uti which turned into a kidney infection and got treated and it went away but now I’m worried that it could of been pid and worried I’ve chlaymida again but could pid been diagnosed wrongly as a kidney infection , and the what is the chances I would be infertile as Its only March now and I’m getting checked tomorow
Hi Susan ,
I got chlamydia 5 years ago but recently got it again, I went to the doctor and was only given two pills, should that be enough to get rid of it?
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Chances Of Getting An Std From Oral Sex
Oral sex involves using the mouth, tongue, or lips to sexually stimulate a partners vagina, anus, or penis. Oral sex is common among sexually active people of all genders and orientations.
Many STIs and other infections can be spread through oral sex. Sexual contact with a partner who has an STI can lead to an infection in the throat, mouth, rectum, or genitals.
The chances of getting an STD from oral sex depend on a variety of factors including:
- The specific type and severity of the STI
- The prevalence of STIs in the population
- The use of protection
In general, there are some key things to remember about oral sex and the risk for STIs. Its possible to contract certain STIs in the throat or mouth from giving oral sex to a partner if they have an anal/rectal or genital infection.
Its also possible to contract some STIs in the vagina, rectum, or anus while getting oral sex from a partner who has a throat or mouth infection. STIs arent limited to one area of the body, either, so an infection is possible in more than one region at the same time .
Its important to remember that if the other person has an STI, there is a chance of getting an STD from oral sex even if they arent showing any signs or symptoms of an active infection. In some cases, symptoms just dont present themselves. And since several STIs transmitted through oral sex can spread to other parts of the body if left untreated, regular STI testing is essential.
STIs that can be spread through oral sex are:
Who Should Get Tested For Chlamydia
Because chlamydia is very common and often has no symptoms, anyone who is sexually active should think about being tested. Because chlamydia is very common among young women, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend sexually active women age 25 or younger get tested once per year. Chlamydia testing is also recommended for women with new or multiple sexual partners and pregnant women.
Anyone who is sexually active should talk with a healthcare provider about whether they need testing for chlamydia or other STIs. Dont be afraid to speak openly about your sex life, as you can get the best care by having an honest discussion with your healthcare provider.
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What Happens If I Dont Get Treated
The initial damage that chlamydia causes often goes unnoticed. However, chlamydia can lead to serious health problems.
If you are a woman, untreated chlamydia can spread to your uterus and fallopian tubes . This can cause pelvic inflammatory disease . PID often has no symptoms, however some women may have abdominal and pelvic pain. Even if it doesnt cause symptoms initially, PID can cause permanent damage to your reproductive system. PID can lead to long-term pelvic pain, inability to get pregnant, and potentially deadly ectopic pregnancy .
Men rarely have health problems linked to chlamydia. Infection sometimes spreads to the tube that carries sperm from the testicles, causing pain and fever. Rarely, chlamydia can prevent a man from being able to have children.
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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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 .
What Are The Symptoms Of Chlamydia
Chlamydia is known as a silent infection because most infected people are asymptomatic and lack abnormal physical examination findings. Estimates of the proportion of chlamydia-infected people who develop symptoms vary by setting and study methodology two published studies that incorporated modeling techniques to address limitations of point prevalence surveys estimated that only about 10% of men and 5-30% of women with laboratory-confirmed chlamydial infection develop symptoms.21.22 The incubation period of chlamydia is poorly defined. However, given the relatively slow replication cycle of the organism, symptoms may not appear until several weeks after exposure in those persons who develop symptoms.
In women, the bacteria initially infect the cervix, where the infection may cause signs and symptoms of cervicitis , and sometimes the urethra, which may result in signs and symptoms of urethritis . Infection can spread from the cervix to the upper reproductive tract , causing pelvic inflammatory disease , which may be asymptomatic 23 or acute, with typical symptoms of abdominal and/or pelvic pain, along with signs of cervical motion tenderness, and uterine or adnexal tenderness on examination.
Men who are symptomatic typically have urethritis, with a mucoid or watery urethral discharge and dysuria. A minority of infected men develop epididymitis , presenting with unilateral testicular pain, tenderness, and swelling.24
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Chances Of Getting An Std From Oral
Various STDS are able to spread through oral sex just as they can through vaginal intercourse and through anal sex. There can be increased risk if you dont use protection during oral sex, even if you do use them during other types of sex. Since pregnancy wont happen by oral sex and people may find it more pleasurable without protection, it may be likely that you wouldnt use protection during this type of sexual act. But the lack of protection makes you more vulnerable to contracting STDs.
Its possible to get an STD of the mouth or throat from oral sex or to spread an STD from the mouth or throat to the genitals, rectum or anus, but it depends on the type of STD as to how it can spread and where in your body you can get it. You could also have an STD that shows itself both on the mouth/throat area and the genital area.
Its hard to know whether your odds are higher with oral or penetrative sex. Thats because there havent been many studies on it and because people often have both types of sex, so its hard to separate them. Its best to assume that you could get an STD from any type of sexual contact, which is true. When any type of sexual contact is unprotected, the risk is higher.
You have an STD oral sex risk from these STDs:
- Herpes
- Trichomoniasis
- Syphilis
Its also possible to get hepatitis A from oral sex, and this infection is sometimes considered an STD because it can be spread through sexual contact as well as through other means.
Prevalence Of Chlamydia In Gay And Bisexual Men By Anatomical Site
As we can see from the table below, rectal and penile chlamydia are much more prevalent than oral chlamydia among homosexual males.
For that reason, all anal-receptive males should have a chlamydia swab, in addition to a urine test/penile swab, as a routine part of STD testing.
Note: A negative test in one anatomic area does not exclude the possibility that you have chlamydia in another area. Chlamydia infection stays at the point of contact and infects the local area.
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