Chlamydia

Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI)

What is Chlamydia?

Chlamydia is a common sexually transmitted infection that is caused by a bacterium called Chlamydia Trachomatis.  These bacteria can infect both men and women.  One of the most rapidly emerging of the STIs (Sexually Transmitted Infections) it is important to detect and treat.  We search for Chlamydia in the throat, penile urethra, prostate, vagina, cervix, and anus.

This is sometimes asymptomatic and can be passed on to newborns at birth.   Antibiotics will cure the infection. You may get a one-time dose of the antibiotics, or you may need to take medicine every day for 7 days. Antibiotics cannot repair any permanent damage that the disease has caused.

To prevent spreading the disease to your partner, you should not have sex until the infection has cleared up. If you got a one-time dose of antibiotics, you should wait 7 days after taking the medicine to have sex again. If you must take medicine every day for 7 days, you should not have sex again until you have finished taking all of the doses of your medicine.  If you follow this link you will get important treatment information from institutions that are recognized for their scientific accuracy.

Symptoms of chlamydia experienced by women include:

  • Abdominal pain
  • Bleeding between periods
  • Pain or burning during urination
  • Urge to urinate more often
  • Painful intercourse
  • Bleeding after intercourse
  • Vaginal discharge in large quantities - may be yellow or foul-smelling 
  • Low-grade fever
  • Swelling in the vaginal or anal area

Symptoms of chlamydia experienced by men include:

  • Penile discharge
  • Testicle swelling or tenderness
  • Pain or burning during urination

With the proper treatment, chlamydia can be completely cured. Antibiotic therapy is recommended for both the patient and his or her sexual partner(s). If left untreated, chlamydia can cause serious complications such as infertility and ectopic pregnancy. Antibiotics such as azithromycin and doxycycline are very effective in treating chlamydia.

Doctors suggest testing three to four months after the treatment depending on risk factors to ensure that the virus is completely cured.

Chlamydia Common Questions

While this does happen with certain infections like chicken pox and measles it is not the case with chlamydia. Just because you have been successfully treated in the past does not mean that you are protected from becoming infected with Chlamydia again in the future.

Generally speaking, if you took the treatment exactly as instructed you would not normally need a follow-up test. However, you ought to repeat the test if you think you may have come into contact with chlamydia again, if you had unprotected sex with a partner before the treatment was finished, if you did not complete the treatment or did not take it according to the instructions, and if the signs and symptoms don’t go away. You may need to have a second dose of antibiotics to clear it up properly.

We advise not to have oral, vaginal or anal sex, or use sex toys, until seven days after you and your partner have both finished the treatment and any symptoms that you may have been experiencing have gone. This is to help prevent you being re-infected or passing the infection on to someone else. If you have been given a single dose treatment consisting of 1g of an antibiotic called azithromycin, then you will need to avoid sex for seven days after you have taken the tablets.

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