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What Happens When You Have Chlamydia

How Chlamydia Tests Are Carried

5 Things Your Doctor Needs You To Know About Chlamydia

The experts will ask you for urine sample and in order to generate best results it is essential to refrain passing urine for at least two hours before taking the test sample. In case you were engaged in anal sex and are now experiences few symptoms of Chlamydia then it is important to visit GP and follow procedures for swab of your throat or rectrum.

These samples will be processed in laboratories and you will get final results within few days. But in case if you cannot wait so long then it is good to order a home Chlamydia testing kit and get it delivered within 48 hours.

When To See A Healthcare Professional

If you suspect you have chlamydia, see a healthcare professional as soon as possible. Abstain from allsexual activity until your appointment.

If you arent comfortable getting tested for STIs with your usual provider, you can find a clinic in your area.

There are many free or low-cost clinics. Heres how to find one near you.

You can also visit GetTested or call CDC Info at 800-232-4636 to find local clinics.

How Do You Get Tested

There are several different reliable tests for chlamydia. Newer tests, called NAATs , are very accurate and easy to take. Your healthcare provider can explain what testing options are available . If you dont have a regular healthcare provider, you can search here for a clinic near you.

People infected with chlamydia are often also infected with gonorrhea, so patients with chlamydia are often treated for gonorrhea at the same time, since the cost of treatment is generally less than the cost of testing.

If you live in Alaska, Maryland, or Washington, D.C., you can have a free at-home chlamydia test. Visit iwantthekit.org for more information.

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Do I Need To Have A Test To Check That The Chlamydia Has Gone

If you take the treatment according to the instructions, you wont usually need a test to check the chlamydia has gone.

If youre aged under 25, you should be offered a repeat test 3 months after finishing the treatment. This is because youre at a higher risk of getting chlamydia again.

Whatever your age, you may need a repeat test or more treatment if:

  • you think youve come into contact with chlamydia again
  • you had sex without a condom with a partner before the treatment for both of you was finished
  • you didnt complete the treatment or didnt take it according to the instructions
  • the signs and symptoms dont go away
  • your test was negative but you develop signs or symptoms of chlamydia
  • youre pregnant.

A repeat test can be done 56 weeks after the first test.

If the chlamydia was in your rectum , you may need another test around 3 weeks after finishing the treatment. Your doctor, nurse or clinic will let you know if you need another test.

You can go back to the doctor, nurse or clinic if you have any questions or need advice on how to protect yourself from infection in the future.

Can You Tell How Long Youve Had Chlamydia

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Is it possible to tell how long Ive had chlamydia? Not usually, because chlamydia often doesnt cause any symptoms. This means you can have the infection without knowing you could have had it for months or even years. Depending on how many people youve had sex with, it can be hard to trace it to one person.

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Symptoms Can Differ For Men And Women

By and large, most cases of chlamydia are asymptomatic they are picked up by screening, which is why it’s so important to have good screening programs in place, notes Dr. Stoner. Men or women who have chlamydia symptoms may experience painful urination.

Women may also have these symptoms:

  • Smelly discharge from the cervix
  • Pain during sex

And men may have these symptoms:

  • Discharge from the penis

How Does Chlamydia Affect A Pregnant Woman And Her Baby

In pregnant women, untreated chlamydia has been associated with pre-term delivery,34 as well as ophthalmia neonatorum and pneumonia in the newborn. In published prospective studies, chlamydial conjunctivitis has been identified in 18-44% and chlamydial pneumonia in 3-16% of infants born to women with untreated chlamydial cervical infection at the time of delivery.9-12 Neonatal prophylaxis against gonococcal conjunctivitis routinely performed at birth does not effectively prevent chlamydial conjunctivitis.37-39

Screening and treatment of chlamydia in pregnant women is the best method for preventing neonatal chlamydial disease. All pregnant women should be screened for chlamydia at their first prenatal visit. Pregnant women under 25 and those at increased risk for chlamydia should be screened again in their third trimester. Pregnant women with chlamydial infection should be retested 3 weeks and 3 months after completion of recommended therapy.40

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How Can You Avoid Chlamydia During Pregnancy

All STIs including chlamydia can be avoided by abstaining from sex. However, there is not an option for many people. Other tips may involve taking precautions such as using protection when having sex such as using a condom. Remember that contraceptive pills can help avoid pregnancy, but they can’t protect you from contracting STIs such as chlamydia.

Navigating pregnancy is difficult on its own even without adding a sexually transmitted infection. Having the two conditions at the same time is quite stressing and can cause additional anxiety. Therefore, if you suspect that you have chlamydia or you are wondering what happens if you have chlamydia while pregnant, it’s crucial to talk to your doctor right away even without waiting for the free chlamydia and pregnant first-trimester test. And, since the infection can be cleared quite quickly and easily with antibiotics, there is entirely no reason to put your baby at risk.

Chlamydia Is Only Contagious From Person To Person

Chlamydia | What you NEED to know | STDs with Dr Natalia Novikova

You can only get chlamydia by having intimate sexual contact with an infected person, not from casual contact, touching another persons clothing, or consuming contaminated food or water.

The chlamydia organism lives only in human cells and cannot be transmitted by external contact, such as towels or toilet seats, Schaffir says.

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Female Complications Of Untreated Chlamydia

Some women develop PID, an infection that can damage the uterus, cervix, and ovaries. PID is a painful disease that often requires hospital treatment.

Women can also become infertile if chlamydia is left untreated because the fallopian tubes may become scarred.

Pregnant women with the infection can pass the bacteria to their babies during birth, which can cause eye infections and pneumonia in newborns.

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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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.

Other Complications Of Untreated Chlamydia In All People

What Does Chlamydia Do To You
  • Conjunctivitis, spread by touching the infected area and then touching the hand to the eye
  • Inflammation of the mucous membrane of the rectum , if the chlamydia is from anal sex
  • Varied symptoms, such as joint and eye inflammation, caused by bacterial infection
  • Lymphogranuloma venereum, or LGV. This is caused by a type of chlamydia that is usually rare in the United States, but it is becoming more common in men who have sex with men. It causes open sores in the genital area, headache, fever, fatigue, and swelling of the lymph nodes in the groin. It also causes proctitis in people who get chlamydia through anal sex.

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How Do You Get Chlamydia

Chlamydia is a bacterial infection. The bacteria are usually spread through sex or contact with infected genital fluids .

You can get chlamydia through:

  • unprotected vaginal, anal or oral sex
  • sharing sex toys that are not washed or covered with a new condom each time they’re used
  • your genitals coming into contact with your partner’s genitals this means you can get chlamydia from someone even if there’s no penetration, orgasm or ejaculation
  • infected semen or vaginal fluid getting into your eye

It can also be passed by a pregnant woman to her baby.

Chlamydia cannot be passed on through casual contact, such as kissing and hugging, or from sharing baths, towels, swimming pools, toilet seats or cutlery.

Can Chlamydia Be Prevented

The only sure way to prevent chlamydia is to not have vaginal, anal, or oral sex.

Correct usage of latex condoms greatly reduces, but does not eliminate, the risk of catching or spreading chlamydia. If your or your partner is allergic to latex, you can use polyurethane condoms.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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How Long Does It Take Chlamydia To Turn Into Pid

Bleeding between periods. How long after infection do symptoms appear? PID symptoms can appear shortly after being diagnosed with an STD such as chlamydia or gonorrhea. It may take upwards of a year for most people to develop PID, but others can develop it earlier, depending on the severity of the infection.

Young Sexually Active Women Are Most Susceptible

Can Chlamydia Go Away without Treatment?

Women between ages 15 and 24 are most likely to be newly infected with chlamydia, according to the CDC, but anyone who is sexually active male or female can be infected. Men who have oral or anal sex with men are also at risk, notes the CDC. The CDC recommends regular chlamydia screenings for people at an increased risk of contracting it.

You should be screened annually for chlamydia if you are:

  • A sexually active woman under age 25
  • A woman age 25 or older who has multiple sexual partners
  • A woman whose sexual partner may have multiple sexual partners
  • Pregnant and under age 25 or pregnant and age 25 or older with an increased risk
  • A man who has sex with men
  • At an increased risk for other health reasons

I would emphasize that young women should be screened if they engage in any sexual behavior that puts them at risk because often has no symptoms, and early treatment is important to avoid long-term damage and infertility, Dr. Schaffir says.

Screening for chlamydia is painless: It usually involves testing a urine sample or a specimen swabbed from the vagina or penis. Some lab tests for chlamydia can use specimens from the throat or rectum.

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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

Does Chlamydia Feel Like A Uti

The symptoms Urinary tract infections and chlamydia can also cause pain in the lower abdomen or pelvic region. The main symptom that chlamydia does not share with UTIs is penile or vaginal discharge. A chlamydial infection can cause a yellowish, strong-smelling vaginal discharge or a watery, milky penile discharge.

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How Is Chlamydia Spread

You can get chlamydia by having vaginal, anal, or oral sex with someone who has chlamydia.

If your sex partner is male you can still get chlamydia even if he does not ejaculate .

If youve had chlamydia and were treated in the past, you can still get infected again. This can happen if you have unprotected sex with someone who has chlamydia.

Does Your Partner Need To Get Treated Too

Can a Treated STD Come Back?

If you have a sexual partner, or if youve recently had sex with someone, talk with them about your chlamydia diagnosis. Theyll need to get tested and treated, too.

If your sexual partner doesnt seek treatment, theres a risk that they can transmit it back to you, even after your infection has been cured.

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When Will The Signs And Symptoms Go Away

You should notice an improvement quite quickly after having treatment.

  • Discharge or pain when you urinate should improve within a week.
  • Bleeding between periods or heavier periods should improve by your next period.
  • Pelvic pain and pain in the testicles should start to improve quickly but may take up to two weeks to go away.

If you have pelvic pain or painful sex that doesnt improve, see your doctor or nurse as it may be necessary to have some further treatment or investigate other possible causes of the pain.

Who Is At Risk For Chlamydia

Any sexually active person can be infected with chlamydia. It is a very common STD, especially among young people.3 It is estimated that 1 in 20 sexually active young women aged 14-24 years has chlamydia.5

Sexually active young people are at high risk of acquiring chlamydia for a combination of behavioral, biological, and cultural reasons. Some young people dont use condoms consistently.15 Some adolescents may move from one monogamous relationship to the next more rapidly than the likely infectivity period of chlamydia, thus increasing risk of transmission.16 Teenage girls and young women may have cervical ectopy .17 Cervical ectopy may increase susceptibility to chlamydial infection. The higher prevalence of chlamydia among young people also may reflect multiple barriers to accessing STD prevention services, such as lack of transportation, cost, and perceived stigma.16-20

Men who have sex with men are also at risk for chlamydial infection since chlamydia can be transmitted by oral or anal sex. Among MSM screened for rectal chlamydial infection, positivity has ranged from 3.0% to 10.5%.6.7 Among MSM screened for pharyngeal chlamydial infection, positivity has ranged from 0.5% to 2.3%.7.8

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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.

How Can I Prevent Chlamydia

What’s the Worst That Can Happen If You Have an STD?

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.

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Why Is Treatment Of Chlamydia Important

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 Reiters 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.

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