So How Does Someone Get Chlamydia Or Gonorrhea
The bacteria that cause chlamydia or gonorrhea can spread very easily through any type of sexual contact The tricky thing is that a lot of people dont know they have an STI, at least in the first few weeks. a hidden epidemic). In the meantime, an infected person can unintentionally get someone else sick. Condoms may help reduce that risk, but they are not 100% effective, even when used correctly. The only way to protect oneself against these STIs is to either abstain from any sexual activity or to be in a long-term, trusted, and monogamous relationship such as marriage.
What Is A Chlamydia Infection
Chlamydia is among the most common STDs in the world. Many people have it its estimated that 1 in 20 sexually active young women aged 14-24 has chlamydia.
The main cause for chlamydia is the bacteria Chlamydia trachomatis that affects both men and women. The chlamydia infection is easily spread because it often has no symptoms and you can unknowingly pass it to your sexual partner.
Although you dont have outward symptoms in the early stages, its important to be careful. If you dont treat it on time, chlamydia can cause infertility or a risky pregnancy.
Can You Get Chlamydia More Than Once
Yes, you can get the infection even if youve successfully treated it already.
A sexual partner who has chlamydia can transmit it to you again, even if youve already had it and treated it.
You can also get chlamydia again if it wasnt fully treated the first time. This can happen if you stop taking the necessary treatment. Its important to complete the antibiotics youve been given, even if your symptoms get better.
The CDC recommends getting tested 3 months after treatment of your initial infection to ensure the infection is cleared.
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Youre Not Immune To Chlamydia Once Youve Had It
Once youve had some diseases, you cant catch them again. Unfortunately, this isnt true for chlamydia. Repeat chlamydia infections are common.
If youve had chlamydia in the past, you have no immunity against the infection. If youre sexually active with somebody who has the infection, you could catch it again. Since reinfection is common, you should get tested for chlamydia about three months after being treated for the infection.
Can You Get Chlamydia From Drinking After Someone
The belief that you can catch chlamydia from drinking after someone is a myth. In reality, theres no risk of catching the infection when sharing food, water, or cutlery.
You can only catch chlamydia during:
- Unprotected vaginal, oral, or anal sex.
- Sharing sex toys.
- Contact with the genitals of an infected partner.
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How Is Chlamydia Diagnosed
Your healthcare provider will ask you questions about your health and sexual history. He or she will need to know when your symptoms started. Tell your provider about any STIs you or your partner may have. You may need any of the following:
- Blood or urine tests may show the bacteria that causes chlamydia.
- A sample of discharge may help providers know what treatment is best for you.
What Are The Signs And Symptoms Of Chlamydia
- Vaginal redness or itching
- Thick, yellow-green discharge coming from your penis, rectum, or vagina
- Feeling like you need to urinate more often than usual
- Pain or burning when you urinate
- Pain when you have sex
- Pain in your lower abdomen, penis, or vagina.
- Sore throat or swollen lymph nodes in your neck
- Fever
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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.
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.
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When Should I See A Doctor
Since anal chlamydia doesnt usually have symptoms, this is a slightly tricky one. Of course, if you have signs of anal chlamydia, you should see a doctor. But, in general, Dr. Leone says its just a good idea to get tested for anal chlamydia if youre having any kind of anal sex. If you placed anything up theresex toy, finger, penisits something to consider getting screened for, Dr. Leone says.
So, during your routine STI screening, just ask your doctor to swab your anus as well.
If you do happen to have anal chlamydia, Dr. Leone says its treated the same way as vaginal chlamydia: with a single-dose or seven-day course of antibiotics. If you get diagnosed and treated, it will clear the same way from your anus as it would from your vagina, he says.
Keep in mind that youll want to avoid sex for seven days after youre done your treatment to lower the odds youll pass on the infection, per the CDC. After that, youre fine to have anal sex againjust use a condom to protect yourself in the future.
I Was Treated For Chlamydia When Can I Have Sex Again
You should not have sex again until you and your sex partner have completed treatment. If your doctor prescribes a single dose of medication, you should wait seven days after taking the medicine before having sex. If your doctor prescribes a medicine for you to take for seven days, you should wait until you have taken all of the doses before having sex.
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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.
Now I’m Worried How Do I Get Tested
You’ve got two basic choices. Go and see someone, or do a home test.
GPs, family planning clinics, Genitourinary medicine clinics, and some pharmacies offer the service.
There’s no poking or probing with a rubber-glove.
For men the chlamydia test involves peeing in a pot.
Women can also give a urine sample, or take a swab of their vagina.
Home tests are available from the internet and some high-street chemists.
You might have to pay for them, but many local authorities offer free kits.
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What Other Medical Conditions Can Chlamydia Cause
For women, if chlamydia is left untreated it can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, pain, future ectopic pregnancy, permanent damage to reproductive organs, infertility, and reactive arthritis. For men, if chlamydia is left untreated it can cause an infection of the epididymis, pain, reactive arthritis, and possibly infertility.
What Is Chlamydia Exactly
Chlamydia is an infection caused by the chlamydia trachomatis bacteria, which tends to be passed with intimate contact and is thus considered a sexually transmitted infection,” explains Betsy Greenleaf, D.O., FACOG, advisor for pH-D Feminine Health, a sexual health company.
Chlamydia can be spread through sexual activity or any kind of contact that involves an “opening in the skin or mucous membranes inside the mouth, or the mucous membranes of the vagina or the genitals,” says Renita White, M.D., board-certified ob-gyn in Atlanta, Georgia. This means chlamydia can be transmitted through vaginal, anal, and oral sex, even if condoms are used .
This means it’s also possible to pass chlamydia through a used, unclean sex toy, explains Tamika K. Cross, M.D., FACOG, advisor for pH-D Feminine Health.
“Pregnant moms can spread to their newborn, and if bacteria enters the eyes, this can cause conjunctivitis,” says Emily Rymland, D.N.P., F.N.P.-C., director of clinical services for telehealth provider Nurx.
To put it in perspective, remember that “the term ‘infection’ represents the fact that foreign bacteria have ‘infected’ the body,” says Dr. Greenleaf. “There are other infectious diseases such as strep throat that can be passed with kissing or close contact, but we don’t consider strep an STI.”
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How Common Is Anal Chlamydia
Theres not a lot of data on how often women get chlamydia in their anus, but it does happen. In women who reported having anal sex and got tested for STIs at the Miami Dade Health Department, 17.5 percent had rectal chlamydia and 12.5 percent of those had anal symptoms, per a study published in 2017. It’s hard to translate that to the general population, though, given that we’re talking about 17.5 percent of people who had anal intercourse and got tested for STIs. Still, it’s clearly an issue that can pop up.
Its a lot to take in, but its good to be aware of this information just in case. Heres what you need to know about anal chlamydia.
How Can I Protect Myself Against Chlamydia
Theres a lot you can do to keep yourself safe from chlamydia while sexually active:
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Get tested for chlamydia at least once a year. Since most people with chlamydia dont have symptoms, the CDC recommends that sexually active people get tested regularly.
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Use barrier protection for all sexual activity. Barriers, like condoms, keep chlamydia from being passed from person to person. Chlamydia can be passed in all bodily fluids, so make sure to use condoms during all types of sexual activity.
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Make sure your partner gets tested. Have an honest conversation with your partner encourage them to get tested for chlamydia. This will help protect you and will also keep them safe from chlamydia complications
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Take all your antibiotics. If you get diagnosed with chlamydia make sure you finish all the antibiotics prescribed, even if you feel healthy and dont have any symptoms.
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What Causes Chlamydia
Chlamydia infections spread through sexual contact, when vaginal fluid or semen containing the bacteria that causes chlamydia travels from one person to another. Sexual contact includes all kinds of sex, including sex that doesnt involve penetration or ejaculation. There are lots of ways that the fluids from one persons genitals can transmit the bacteria that causes chlamydia.
- Intercourse. Bacteria pass from one persons penis to their partners vagina or vice versa.
- Anal sex. Bacteria passes from one persons penis to their partners anus or vice versa.
- Oral sex. Bacteria passes from one persons mouth to their partners penis, vagina, or anus, or vice versa.
- Sex involving toys. Bacteria pass from a toy with the bacteria to a persons mouth, penis, vagina or anus.
- Manual stimulation of the genitals or anus. Less commonly, infected vaginal fluid or semen can come in contact with a persons eye, causing an infection called conjunctivitis. For example, this can happen if you touch the genitals of an infected person and then rub your eyes without washing your hands first.
Could I Get Chlamydia
Anyone who is sexually active, including people who experience sexual violence, can get chlamydia.
Chlamydia is most easily passed on during sex without a condom this includes vaginal intercourse and anal intercourse.
Although less common, chlamydia can also be passed on:
- when a person with the infection in their mouth or throat gives oral sex to another person
- when a person gives oral sex to a person with an infection of the genitals
- through oral-anal contact
- through sharing sex toys or during a hand job or fingering if infected fluids get onto the toy or hand
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Book Your Private Or Home Chlamydia Test Today
Here at Your Sexual Health we offer private STD tests to diagnose a range of conditions including chlamydia. If youve had unprotected sex with someone you didnt know or youre suspicious that your partner may have, then our private chlamydia testing options will give you the answer you need. This information resource from Your Sexual Healths Dr Rashid Bani will provide you with the knowledge you need to make an informed decision before booking a test.
Do I Need To Get Tested For Chlamydia
- If you are 24 or younger and have sex, you need to get tested for chlamydia.3 Chlamydia is most common in women between 15 and 24 years old.2 You need to get tested if you have had any symptoms of chlamydia since your last negative test result or if your sex partner has chlamydia.
- If you are older than 24, you need to get tested if, in the past year or since your last test, you:3
- Had a new sex partner
- Had your sex partner tell you they have chlamydia
- Traded sex for money or drugs
- Have had chlamydia or another STI in the past
- Did not use condoms during sex and are in a relationship that is not monogamous, meaning you or your partner has sex with other people
You also need to be tested if you are pregnant or if you have any symptoms of chlamydia.
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Chlamydia Can Sometimes Go Away On Its Own
Some diseases and infections can go away on their own, so its not surprising that people wonder: does chlamydia go away on its own? The truth is, it sometimes does. In about 20% of people who have no symptoms, chlamydia may resolve spontaneously without treatment. It means that under certain circumstances host immune responses can control chlamydia naturally.
Untreated chlamydia can go on without any symptoms for a long period of time. Thats why its so important to get tested and catch it early. When chlamydia isnt treated, it can cause a number of serious complications. In women, the infection can spread to the uterus and uterine tubes, while in men, it can spread to the prostate gland. Chlamydia can also cause reactive arthritis, which affects your joints and eyes.
When chlamydia isnt treated, it can cause a number of serious complications.
Some people claim that chlamydia can be treated with home remedies like garlic and turmeric, but these methods are unproven and should be avoided. The only proven cure for chlamydia is treatment with antibiotics, which usually clear up the infection in a week or two.
What Are The Signs And Symptoms
Signs and symptoms differ slightly between men and women, but are not always present.
Signs and symptoms of Chlamydia for men include:
painful urination, burning and itching around the opening of the penis, pain and swelling around the testicles, small amounts of clear or cloudy discharge, and infertility.
Signs and symptoms of Chlamydia for women include:
painful urination, burning and itching in or around the vagina, bleeding between periods, painful periods, abnormal vaginal discharge that may have an odor, pain during intercourse, and infertility.
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Measures To Protect Yourself Against Chlamydia
Sleeping with multiple sexual partners is a risk factor of chlamydia and if youre engaging in a one night stand its important that you use protection. The proper use of condoms will dramatically reduce your risk of contracting chlamydia. However, condoms are never 100% guaranteed to prevent STDs. If youve had more than one sexual partner in the last six months or have had a one night stand you should book a private chlamydia test to be on the safe side.
There are also other measures that should be taken to ensure that you dont contract chlamydia, including not sharing sex toys and using a condom or dam when performing oral sex.
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.
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What Are The Long
Experts used to think that a one-time chlamydia or gonorrhea infection didnt have any big impact on someones health and life. More recently, they found out that its not the case. Women who test positive for chlamydia, for example, are at risk for several different reproductive problems, and that risk remains throughout 17 years of follow-up, which is way longer than the previously estimated 1 year only. Gonorrhea too can cause irreversible damage. So what are those risks?
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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