Chlamydia is a very common sexually transmitted diseases. Only in the United States, there are about one million chlamydia affected patients. It is a bacterial infection. Chlamydia has no symptoms and it can be cured easily, however, when untreated, it can cause severe sexual health issues and permanent damage in women, amongst others, genital and eye diseases. Chlamydia conjunctivitis or trachoma may cause blindness; it can spread by fingers or shared towels. Chlamydia, when left untreated, can make you prone to get HIV virus.
Chlamydia may lead to ectopic pregnancy (pregnancy outside of the uterus) that might be fatal.
If you are a sexually active woman under 25, you are at risk for chlamydia. If you get chlamydia while expecting a child, your baby can get infected, and it may lead to an eye infection or pneumonia. Get tested for chlamydia while you are pregnant.
Chlamydia is particularly dangerous for women, since it can spread to the womb and the fallopian tubes. It may lead to pelvic inflammatory disease. It is asymptomatic, at most, the affected woman will experience pain in her abdomen. However, it can damage her reproductive organs, it can cause infertility or ectopic pregnancy.
Straight, gay and bisexual men also should get tested for chlamydia, since they are at risk.
For men, chlamydia is less dangerous, but they can infect their female sex partners, so they should get tested and cured. It may happen that chlamydia leads to male infertility, but it is rare.
How to Prevent Chlamydia
Oral, vaginal and anal sex can infect you with chlamydia. Always use latex condoms or dental dams when having sex, and use them the right way. Even if you have never had chlamydia, you should get tested once in a while. If you are a woman, you are younger than 25 years old and you have one or more sex partners, you should get tested at least once a year.
Symptoms of Chlamydia
Chlamydia has no symptoms. When you start having symptoms, most certainly you have been infected for a while. However, while it has no symptoms, it still can lead to damages in the female reproductive organs. Vaginal bleeding, strange vaginal discharge or painful urinating can be red flags. In men, a discharge from penis, painful urination, and swollen testicles might be symptoms of chlamydia.
Treatment of Chlamydia
When you notice these symptoms, you should get a test for chlamydia. You are supposed to provide urine sample or samples from your vagina.
Chlamydia can be treated with antibiotics easily. However, you can get infected again. Your health care provider should monitor your health for several months. Your sexual partner should be cured, too. You should avoid having sex until you have finished your chlamydia treatment. If you were treated only once, you should wait a week with having sex.