CHLAMYDIA

Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted infection caused by bacteria that is common among teenagers and young people.

Untreated, chlamydia can permanently damage the reproductive organs. It is especially dangerous for women because the bacteria easily infects the warm, moist surface of the cervix.

Because women are infected internally, they are more likely than men to get chlamydia from unprotected sex. In women, damage occurs when an infection spreads from the cervix into the fallopian tubes. It can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, which can cause infertility. Scarring in the tubes can lead to ectopic or tubal pregnancy.

SYMPTOMS

Most women and about half of men have no symptoms. Since chlamydia is very common, people who have had sex should be tested once a year, even if they feel healthy.

Men

  • Painful burning urination
  • Mild, sticky, milky or mucus-like discharge from the penis
  • Testicular pain and swelling
  • burning and irritation around the opening of the penis
  • Symptoms may seem to come and go


    • Chlamydia is often silent in women with up to 90% of women not showing symptoms. Women can carry the bacteria for months or even years without knowing it.

    Women
  • Mild, milky or mucus-like discharge
  • Painful burning urination
  • Painful intercourse
  • Bleeding between periods
  • Abdominal pain


    • COMPLICATIONS

    When treated, there are no long term consequences of chlamydia. Serious complications can result, however, when left untreated.

    Men
  • Epididymitis-an inflammation of the testicles that can cause sterility
  • Prostatitis-an infection of the prostate gland
  • Reiter's Syndrome-an autoimmune, arthritis-like condition
  • Sterility


    • Women

  • Pelvic Inflammatory disease (PID)- an ascending infection that spreads from the vagina and cervix to the uterus and fallopian tubes that can lead to sterility
  • Perihepatitis-an infection around the liver
  • Reiter's Syndrome-an autoimmune, arthritis-like condition
  • Sterility
  • Eye infections, blindness, ear infection, pneumonia and death in infants


    • TREATMENT

    One kind of test uses a cotton swab to collect a small amount of fluid from an infection site or analyze a sample of urine.

    Chlamydial infections can be cured with antibiotic medicines.

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