Where To Get Treated For Chlamydia

What Happens During A Chlamydia Test

Chlamydia testing can be as simple as peeing in a cup. Sometimes the test is done by gently rubbing your genitals with a cotton swab, to take cell samples from your urethra, vagina, cervix, or anus. The samples are tested for chlamydia bacteria. Your doctor may also be able to see chlamydia symptoms, like discharge on your cervix, during an exam.

Chlamydia can look like other common STDs like gonorrhea, so your nurse or doctor might test for a few infections.

The idea of getting tested may seem scary, but try not to freak out. STD testing is a regular part of being a responsible person and taking care of your health. The good news is chlamydia is totally curable with medication so the sooner you know you have it, the faster you can get rid of it.

When Can I Have Sex Again

If you had doxycycline, you shouldn’t have sex including vaginal, oral or anal sex, even with a condom until both you and your partner have completed treatment.

If you had azithromycin, you should wait 7 days after treatment before having sex .

This will help ensure you don’t pass on the infection or catch it again straight away.

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

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Whats The Treatment For Chlamydia

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.

Treatment For Gonorrhea Is Quick And Easy Too

The CDC currently recommends a shot of the antibiotic Rocephin and an oral dose of the antibiotic azithromycin, given at the same time, to treat gonorrhea.

Treatment recommendations for gonorrhea have changed over the years as the bacteria that causes gonorrhea, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, has become resistant to a growing number of antibiotics.

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Letting Partners Know You Have Chlamydia

Sexual partners may be infected too. If you have chlamydia, anyone you have had sex with from the last 6 months needs to be informed, tested and treated.

If they dont know, they could reinfect you or infect someone else if they are not treated. dont receive treatment.

Most people will appreciate being told they may have an infection and it is an important step in preventing further infection in the community.

Your local GP and sexual health centre can help you inform your partners and let them know that they need a test. This process is called partner notification. It can be done anonymously, and your confidentiality is always respected.

You can also anonymously notify your sexual partners of the need to get tested and treated for chlamydia via the Let Them Know website if you feel unable to speak to them personally.

There are also nurses who can help you anonymously notify your partners. They can be contacted on .

Chlamydial Infection Among Neonates

Prenatal screening and treatment of pregnant women is the best method for preventing chlamydial infection among neonates. C. trachomatis infection of neonates results from perinatal exposure to the mothers infected cervix. Initial C. trachomatis neonatal infection involves the mucous membranes of the eye, oropharynx, urogenital tract, and rectum, although infection might be asymptomatic in these locations. Instead, C. trachomatis infection among neonates is most frequently recognized by conjunctivitis that develops 512 days after birth. C. trachomatis also can cause a subacute, afebrile pneumonia with onset at ages 13 months. Although C. trachomatis has been the most frequent identifiable infectious cause of ophthalmia neonatorum, neonatal chlamydial infections, including ophthalmia and pneumonia, have occurred less frequently since institution of widespread prenatal screening and treatment of pregnant women. Neonates born to mothers at high risk for chlamydial infection, with untreated chlamydia, or with no or unconfirmed prenatal care, are at high risk for infection. However, presumptive treatment of the neonate is not indicated because the efficacy of such treatment is unknown. Infants should be monitored to ensure prompt and age-appropriate treatment if symptoms develop. Processes should be in place to ensure communication between physicians and others caring for the mother and the newborn to ensure thorough monitoring of the newborn after birth.

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You Can Get Chlamydia More Than Once

With some diseases, having one infection makes you immune to future infections. Thats 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 youve just completed treatment for it.

Both partners should be treated before reinitiating sexual intercourse to prevent relapse, Schaffir says.

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What Antibiotics Do You Get For Chlamydia

Chlamydia is one of the most common STDs. It can be treated easily if caught early. Some of the most recommended antibiotics used to treat chlamydia are azithromycin and doxycycline. Azithromycin is typically given as 2 tablets one time while doxycycline is given as 2 capsules a day for 7 days. These antibiotics are most effective if both partners have received treatment and have taken their prescription as directed.

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How Do I Tell My Partner

When contacting previous sexual partners about chlamydia, it’s important to be direct and honest. Let them know that you contracted chlamydia and when it was diagnosed. Encourage them to seek testing and treatment, and remind them that most people are asymptomatic.

Although it may be an uncomfortable conversation, notifying your partners is the best way to protect them and others from transmitting chlamydia. Although thereâs a lot of social stigmas associated with STIs, they can be a regular part of being sexually active thereâs nothing to be embarrassed about.

How To Get Rid Of Chlamydia In Males

Chlamydia in males is caused by a bacterial infection. This infection is mostly treated with oral antibiotics. The most effective and recommended treatment for chlamydia is the prescribing of Azithromycin or Doxycycline. After treatment, usually the infection will clear in 7 to 14 days. The recommended dosage should be finished for infection to be completely cleared. For treatment to be most effective, it is recommended that both partner complete treatment and abstain from any sexual contact for at least 7 days after completing their treatment.

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How Is Chlamydia Infection Diagnosed

Doctors have several tests they can use to screen for chlamydia. Note that screening for chlamydia in the throat isnt a part of usual STI testing.

If youve had a sore throat that doesnt seem to go away or have a partner that youve had oral sex with who tested positive for chlamydia, you might want to ask your doctor about pharyngeal chlamydia screening.

Doctors can use urine samples to diagnose chlamydia, but that doesnt help them diagnose chlamydia in the throat.

As a result, a doctor may swab your throat to test for chlamydia there. They send this swab to a laboratory, which tests the specimen for the presence of DNA from the bacteria that cause chlamydia.

This test is a little tricky because the Food and Drug Administration hasnt approved a swab test for pharyngeal chlamydia. Your throat contains a lot of bacteria, and this can make it hard to pinpoint chlamydia bacteria.

When a doctor uses a swab to test for chlamydia in the throat, its possible theyre doing so in an off-label fashion. This means the FDA hasnt specifically given the OK to use the test for pharyngeal chlamydia, but some doctors think swabs can help in detection.

What Is The Treatment For Chlamydia

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, to prevent spreading the infection to partners. It is important to take all of the medication prescribed to cure chlamydia. Medication for chlamydia should not be shared with anyone. Although medication will stop the infection, it will not repair any permanent damage done by the disease. If a persons symptoms continue for more than a few days after receiving treatment, he or she should return to a health care provider to be reevaluated.

Repeat infection with chlamydia is common. Women whose sex partners have not been appropriately treated are at high risk for re-infection. Having multiple chlamydial infections increases a womans risk of serious reproductive health complications, including pelvic inflammatory disease and ectopic pregnancy. Women and men with chlamydia should be retested about three months after treatment of an initial infection, regardless of whether they believe that their sex partners were successfully treated.

Infants infected with chlamydia may develop ophthalmia neonatorum and/or pneumonia. Chlamydial infection in infants can be treated with antibiotics.

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The Health Risks Of Chlamydia

For up to 40 percent of infected women, untreated chlamydia can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease . PID effects include abdominal pain, fever, internal abscesses and long-lasting pelvic pain effects also include scarring of the fallopian tubes, which can cause infertility and increase the chance of potentially life-threatening ectopic or tubal pregnancies.

Men can develop scarring of the urethra, making urination difficult and occasionally causing infertility. Although rare, both sexes are at risk of a type of arthritis known as Reiter’s Syndrome that causes inflammation and swelling of the joints.

If a pregnant woman has chlamydia, her baby may be born prematurely, have eye infections or develop pneumonia.

Get Tested For Chlamydia

The most common method of testing for chlamydia involves collecting a urine sample in combination with collecting swabs of the affected area. The most thorough process of screening involves urine collection along with throat swabs, rectal swabs, and genital swabs.

The genital swabs will collect a sample from the urethral opening of the penis or the cervical opening in the vagina.

Urine analysis alone can sometimes miss infections if swabbing is not also done. Throat and rectal infections can be overlooked, predominantly when asymptomatic.

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What Are The Side Effects Of Chlamydia Treatment

While doxycycline is an effective treatment for chlamydia, some people may have side effects when taking this chlamydia treatment.

Some common doxycycline side effects may include:

• headaches
• increased sensitivity to light
• nausea or being sick
• palpitations

• stomach ulcers
• joint or muscle pain

If you have any side effects when taking doxycycline, tell your doctor as soon as possible.

The full list of doxycycline side effects and cautions can be found in the patient information leaflet that comes with your medicine package.

When taking doxycycline, you should avoid drinking alcohol as it reduces doxycyclines effectiveness. You should also avoid sunlight as increased sensitivity to light has been reported as a side effect of doxycycline.

You should stop taking doxycycline and seek immediate medical attention if you develop any of the following rare but severe side effects, or symptoms of an allergic reaction:

• Ringing in your ear
• Fever, swollen lymph nodes or skin rash
• Symptoms of an allergic reaction such as difficulty breathing, wheezing, chest pain, swollen face, lips, mouth, hand or feet

Can You Get Chlamydia In Your Throat

Its possible, but not likely, that you could get chlamydia in your throat. To understand how or why it could happen, its important to consider how chlamydia is transmitted.

A person can get chlamydia when their mucus membranes, such as those of the vagina, penis, or rectum, come in contact with chlamydia bacteria. These bacteria enter the mucus membranes and multiply.

Chlamydia doesnt always cause symptoms. However, if not treated, the infection can result in damage that cant be reversed.

The most common way chlamydia is spread is through unprotected anal or vaginal sex. The bacteria typically infect and cause symptoms in the location they first entered the body.

Its possible that chlamydia can be transmitted to your throat if you give oral sex to a partner who has contracted a genital chlamydia infection.

Additionally, getting oral sex from someone who has contracted a chlamydia infection of the throat can potentially transmit the bacteria to your genitals.

You cant get chlamydia mouth-to-mouth kissing.

For a reason doctors dont fully understand, chlamydia bacteria more easily infect the groin area, such as the vagina, penis, or rectum, than the mouth.

• mouth sores that dont heal
• sores around lips and mouth

However, you can contract the infection in both the throat and genital area. In addition to a sore throat, you may have chlamydia symptoms in your genitals.

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Home Remedies For Chlamydia

Chlamydia is caused by a bacterial infection. The only true cure for this type of infection is antibiotics.

But some alternative treatments may help ease symptoms. Its important to remember that untreated chlamydia can lead to long-term complications, including fertility problems and chronic inflammation.

Home remedies for chlamydia that may be effective include:

• Goldenseal.This medicinal plant may limit symptoms during an infection by reducing inflammation.
• Echinacea. This plant has been widely used to boost the immune system in order to help people overcome infections of many types, from the common cold to skin wounds. It may help reduce symptoms of chlamydia.

Although compounds in these plants might help to ease inflammation and infection in general, there arent any quality studies that show theyre effective specifically for chlamydia symptoms.

What Are Oral Chlamydia Symptoms

Like most STDs, partners exposed to chlamydia may exhibit no symptoms. Similarly, in oral chlamydia, most people have no symptoms. When symptoms arise, some experience a sore throat. While others, may experience redness of the throat. In any situation, if you or a partner have been exposed to someone who has chlamydia, it is best to get treated as soon as possible to avoid complications.

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How Do I Know If I Have Chlamydia

You cant tell if you have chlamydia just by the way you feel. The only way to know for sure if you have chlamydia is to get tested whether or not you have symptoms.

If youre showing any signs of chlamydia, you should get tested. Testing is also a good idea if youve had unprotected sex or if a partner has chlamydia . In general, people who are sexually active should get tested for STDs, including chlamydia, about once a year. If youre pregnant, get tested for chlamydia at your first prenatal visit. Want to know if you should be tested for chlamydia? Check out this quiz to find out.

Chlamydia testing is pretty easy and painless. The best part about getting tested for STDs? Once you get it over with, it can really put your mind at ease. And if you DO have chlamydia, its best to know right away so you can take medicine and get better as soon as possible.

Treatment For Chlamydia Is Quick And Easy

Two antibiotics are most often used for treating chlamydia:

• Azithromycin The main treatment for chlamydia is one gram of azithromycin, taken one time, says , deputy director of clinical services for public health with the Seattle and King County HIV and STD Program in Washington. That one gram comes as either two pills or four pills. It is not expensive.
• Doxycycline If your doctor prescribes doxycycline, you will take two pills daily for one week. It costs somewhat more than azithromycin.

Antibiotics can also cure chlamydia in infants, who can get the infection from their mothers, and treatment is essential for them. Without treatment, infants infected with chlamydia can develop conjunctivitis, which can cause blindness, or pneumonia, which can be fatal.

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How Do You Get An Sti Test

You can get an STI test by making an appointment online at any Planned Parenthood location. All of our locations offer STI testing, whether or not you have symptoms.

We offer free STI testing for those who are eligible, as some restrictions may apply. If youre interested in free STI testing, please make an appointment online today or give us a call at 314-531-7526 or 417-883-3800 for more information.

Donna White is a nurse practitioner at Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri.

What If My Partner Or I Test Positive For Chlamydia

The good news is that chlamydia can be easily treated. If your partner tests positive, and you think youve been exposed, its very simple to get treated for chlamydia online by starting a visit with Virtuwell. Thats rightwe can likely still treat you without a confirmed positive testand you dont even have to go into the doctors office.

A chlamydia infection can be treated with antibiotics. If you are prescribed antibiotics to treat chlamydia, make sure to take the whole antibiotic course as prescribed, even if you start to feel better sooner.

If you or your partner tests positive for chlamydiait can also bring up a lot of questions and emotions. While it can be difficult, the best way to protect yourself and your partner from future exposure is to be open and honest. Your partner and you should also abstain from sexual contact until you complete your chlamydia treatment. Its also important to plan for how to prevent future exposure, such as using condoms or a dental dam when you have sex.

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