Thursday, July 25, 2024
HomeFactsWhat Do They Treat Chlamydia With

What Do They Treat Chlamydia With

The Costs Of Infertility

What You Need to Know About Chlamydia

Treating chlamydia is easy, but for those who do not get treated or get treated too late, living with the damage caused by the infection can be hard.

Rabin has treated many women who never knew they had had chlamydia until they couldnt get pregnant due to blocked fallopian tubes. These women often wind up trying in vitro fertilization , which does not always succeed.

There are all kinds of costs involved for these women, say Rabin. There are emotional costs and physical costs. There are also financial costs with IVF. Its much better to not let the tubes get damaged, she says, and get pregnant the old-fashioned way.

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.

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.

You May Like: How To Treat Chlamydia Male

How Many Days Does It Take To Recover From Chlamydia

It can take up to two weeks to recover from a chlamydia infection. Most prescriptions last 7 to 14 days on average and chlamydia is typically cleared up at the end. However, you will likely have to be retested after 3 months to ensure you have recovered fully. If you have severe chlamydia it may take longer to recover and a hospital stay may be involved.

How Often Should I Get Checked For Chlamydia

Chlamydia Infection: Treatments &  Home Remedies

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.

Don’t Miss: How Long Does It Take To Treat Chlamydia

What Are The Treatments For Chlamydia

If you are diagnosed with chlamydia, your doctor will prescribe oral antibiotics. A single dose of azithromycin or taking doxycycline twice daily for 7 to 14 days are the most common treatments and are the same for those with or without HIV.

With treatment, the infection should clear up in about a week. Do not have sex for at least 7 days until you have taken all of your medication, and do not stop taking the antibiotics even if you feel better.

Your doctor will also recommend that your partner be treated as well to prevent reinfection and further spread of the disease.

Women with serious infections, such as pelvic inflammatory disease, may require a longer course of antibiotics or hospitalization for intravenous antibiotics. Some severe pelvic infections may require surgery in addition to antibiotic therapy.

Make sure you get retested after three months to be certain the infection is gone. Do this even if your partner has been treated and appears to be infection free.

How Is Chlamydia Treated

Chlamydia can be cleared up with antibiotics in about a week or two. But dont stop taking your medication just because your symptoms improve. Ask your provider about what follow-up is needed to be sure your infection is gone after youve finished taking your medicine.

Part of your treatment should also include avoiding sexual activities that could cause you to get re-infected and ensuring that any sexual partners who may be infected also get treatment. You should:

  • Abstain from sex until your infection has cleared up. Starting treatment doesnt mean that youre in the clear. Take all your medication as your provider directs, and avoid all sexual contact in the meantime.
  • Contact all sexual partners. Tell any sexual partners from the last 3 months that youre infected so that they can get tested, too.
  • Get tested for other STIs . Its common to have multiple STIs, and its important to receive treatment thats tailored to each infection.

Antibiotics can get rid of your infection, but they cant reverse any harm the bacteria may have caused to your body before treatment. This is why its so important to get screened regularly for chlamydia, to see your provider at the first sign of symptoms, and get treatment immediately if youre infected.

Don’t Miss: Does Chlamydia Make You Nauseous

How Do You Know If Chlamydia Is Gone After Treatment

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.

Why Is Treatment Of Chlamydia Important

Video: Curing Chlamydia Through the Gut: Medicines Next Big Thing?

When treated early, chlamydia does not cause any long-term complications. Left untreated, serious and permanent damage can occur.

It may lead to pelvic inflammatory disease . This is when female reproductive organs, found in your pelvis, become inflamed. PID may cause ectopic pregnancies , infertility or chronic pelvic pain.

If not treated, chlamydia can spread to testicles, leading to pain and swelling. Chlamydia may occasionally cause infertility in men. Sometimes chlamydia may trigger a condition called Reiter’s disease which causes inflammation of your eyes, skin and joints.

Chlamydia can be passed from mother to baby during birth. The baby may subsequently develop eye and/or ear infections or pneumonia.

You May Like: Are There Other Ways To Get Chlamydia

How Chlamydia Diagnosis Process Is Carried On In Men

Early treatment of Chlamydia is essential to have a healthy life ahead. In case if you had unprotected sex with your recent partner then you must get tested for STIs as soon as possible. This test can be carried out at any local GUM clinic or GP. With improved facilities of digital world, patients can also order Chlamydia test kits to their home from online sources.

Once this test is carried out then depending upon its results further treatment will be carried out. Note that, Chlamydia disease is very common between age groups of 16 to 25 so most of the clinics these days are offering free tests to identify this disease on time. In case if you had oral or anal sex with your new partner who is suspected to be infected then it is good to undergo an oral swab test pr rectal swab test.

Chlamydia Treatment And Prevention

Milly DawsonSanjai Sinha, MDShutterstock

Chlamydia is easy to cure. If you test positive for chlamydia, basically you take an antibiotic, says Jill Rabin, MD, cochief in the division of ambulatory care for women’s health programs and prenatal care assistance program services for Northwell Health in New Hyde Park, New York.

Your partner must take an antibiotic, too, to keep them from reinfecting you, she says.

You have to have your partner treated, and if you have more than one partner, they should all be treated, says Dr. Rabin, regardless of your partners genders.

Even if you dont have chlamydia now, its wise to learn how to protect yourself so you wont develop this common infection in the first place. In women, chlamydia can create serious health problems, including infertility. Besides, no one ever wants to have a sexually transmitted disease and then have to tell other people about it.

Also Check: Can You Get Symptoms Of Chlamydia The Next Day

What Dosage Treats Chlamydia

For people with uncomplicated genital chlamydia, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends a single dose of azithromycin taken orally to cure the infection.

Azithromycin comes in three forms:

  • Tablet
  • Regular-release powder

For both powder formulas, either you or a pharmacist mix it with liquid to take.

How Do The Symptoms Compare

Chlamydia in men: Symptoms, treatment, and complications

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.

Also Check: Where To Buy A Chlamydia Test

How To Treat Chlamydia

This article was medically reviewed by Lacy Windham, MD. Dr. Windham is a board certified Obstetrician & Gynecologist in Tennessee. She attended medical school at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis and completed her residency at the Eastern Virginia Medical School in 2010, where she was awarded the Most Outstanding Resident in Maternal Fetal Medicine, Most Outstanding Resident in Oncology, and Most Outstanding Resident Overall.There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 137,194 times.

Experts say chlamydia often causes no symptoms at first, so you may not even realize you have it. Chlamydia is a very common sexually transmitted infection caused by Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria, and you can contract it during vaginal, anal, or oral sex.XTrustworthy SourceMedlinePlusCollection of medical information sourced from the US National Library of MedicineGo to source Research suggests that untreated chlamydia may increase your risk of contracting other infections, having an ectopic pregnancy, or becoming infertile.XTrustworthy SourceMayo ClinicEducational website from one of the world’s leading hospitalsGo to source Fortunately, chlamydia is a curable condition, so it’s possible to make a full recovery with the right treatment.

Who Should Be Tested For Chlamydia

You should go to your health provider for a test if you have symptoms of chlamydia, or if you have a partner who has a sexually transmitted disease. Pregnant women should get a test when they go to their first prenatal visit.

People at higher risk should get checked for chlamydia every year:

  • Sexually active women 25 and younger
  • Older women who have new or multiple sex partners, or a sex partner who has a sexually transmitted disease
  • Men who have sex with men

Read Also: Can Chlamydia Be Cured With Antibiotics

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.

Whats The Treatment For Chlamydia

Chlamydia Infection Symptoms and Treatment (Antibiotic)

Chlamydia is usually easy to get rid of. Your nurse or doctor will get you antibiotics to treat the infection. Sometimes you only have to take one dose of medication. Another chlamydia treatment lasts for 7 days. Your doctor will help you figure out which treatment is best for you.

If youre treated for chlamydia, its really important for your sexual partners to get treated also. Otherwise, you can keep passing the infection back and forth, or to other people. Sometimes your doctor will give you medicine for both you and your partner.

Don’t Miss: Oral Chlamydia And Gonorrhea Test

What Happens If Chlamydia Is Left Untreated

  • reduced fertility
  • reactive arthritis
  • an infection of the testicles and epididymis
  • pelvic inflammatory disease which can cause pain, infertility and increase the risk of having ectopic pregnancies
  • reactive arthritis
  • pregnancy complications like miscarriages, premature births and stillbirths

Back to top

What Is Throat Chlamydia

Throat chlamydia is a rare sexually transmitted disease wherein the bacteria Chlamydia trachomatis infects the throat. It is contracted through oral sex with an infected individual. Though chlamydia is one of the more common sexually transmitted diseases , it typically affects the genital region in atypical cases, however, it may attack the throat. Common symptoms include sore throat and throat redness, but in many instances it produces no symptoms at all. Another type of throat chlamydia is caused by Chlamydia pneumoniae and is not transmitted sexually.

Chlamydia of the throat is transmitted through unprotected oral sex with someone who is already infected with the chlamydia bacteria. If symptoms present themselves, which in the majority of cases they do not, they will typically appear one to three weeks after transmission. A sore throat or irritation to the throat will usually be the first symptoms of chlamydia in the throat. If a sore throat lasts longer than average, it could be an indication of the condition it is advised that a sore throat lasting a week or more be checked out by a doctor.

Don’t Miss: How You Get Rid Of Chlamydia

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.

How Is Chlamydia Screening Done

Can chlamydia cause erectile dysfunction? What to know

A person can test for chlamydia at home or in the lab. They can take either a urine sample or a swab.

  • Females can take a swab, place it in a container, and send it to a laboratory.
  • Males will usually use a urine test.

A doctor can advise individuals on the best option. They may also recommend rectal or throat testing, especially for people who are living with HIV.

Home screening tests are available, but it is not always easy to do them correctly at home. A healthcare provider will usually recommend following up on any home tests by visiting a doctors office.

The person will likely need to provide a urine sample for a test to confirm a diagnosis. After treatment, they will need to retake the test to ensure that the treatment has worked.

If anyone wishes to try home testing, chlamydia screening test kits are available for purchase online.

Also Check: How Long Until Chlamydia Shows Up On A Test

RELATED ARTICLES

Most Popular