Chlamydia Overview

Chlamydia is a bacterial infection that gets transmitted from one person to another through sexual activity. This is the most common STD in the United States and around 5% of the adult population in the country is affected by it. The disease is more common among women and around 10% of the sexually active young females are infected with it. Chlamydia infection is most commonly seen among young adults, people from lower economic strata and African Americans.

The bacteria is transmitted through vaginal and anal sex. The genital tract gets affected by this virus as the bacteria targets the soft tissues of the urethra and anus. Though, any sexually active man and woman can get infected with this disease, it is the teenagers who are at highest risk. Though, chlamydia is a common sexually transmitted disease, many people are unaware that they have the disease as sometimes it does not show any symptoms. So, women who are between the ages of 20 to 25 years should undergo an annual screening for this disease. If a patient tests positive, then he/she must be treated immediately to arrest the spread of this disease.

The bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis is responsible for Chlamydia infection. The most common form of transmission is from one person to another through sexual contact, it can be vaginal, anal and even oral. The most disturbing fact of this disease is that it can even pass from the mother to the child through the birth canal. The newborn is at serious risk if he/she is affected with chlamydia. Pneumonia and serious eye infections are very common in newborns that are born to infected mothers in developing countries.

The symptoms of chlamydia are highly dependent on gender. Around 80% of the women who are afflicted with chlamydia do not experience any symptoms at all. The rest may show bleeding after sexual relations or have a lower abdominal pain during urination. Similarly, men who are infected with chlamydia may not show any symptoms. Around 50% of the infected men do not show any symptoms. The rest may have discharge from the penis or feel pain and a burning sensation during urination.

Chlamydia can be prevented if you take certain precautions. Make sure to use a latex condom during sexual intercourse. It is also advisable to avoid sex with high-risk partners. If you are going to have sexual intercourse with a high-risk person, then it is best to have him/her tested for such diseases. In 25% of the cases, the ’safe’ partner gets affected as the ‘infected’ person was not treated.

When you are visiting a health care practitioner to check whether you have been affected with chlamydia, the doctor will prescribe some routine examinations and tests. During physical examination, the doctor will look for tenderness of the sex organs and pus from vagina or penis. The doctor may also prescribe diagnostic tests to look at the discharge sample under a microscope.

The common treatment of chlamydia is through antibiotics. It is effective in 95% of the cases if taken correctly. The course of treatment usually lasts two weeks but there are single doses available which can be highly expensive. If the doctor believes that you are already infected with chlamydia, then he can start the treatment even before the test results are received.

You must finish the course of all the medications prescribed to you otherwise the treatment will be ineffective in getting rid of the infection. You must speak with your doctor about the prescription of antibiotics if you are pregnant. Needless to say, there are some side effects of these antibiotics but they are usually mild. The most common side effects are stomach pain and diarrhea. Some antibiotics do cause skin rashes but it is very rare. Lastly, do remember that you cannot have sex or indulge in any sort of sexual activity till the time you have finished your course of treatment for chlamydia.