Chlamydia is the most common sexually transmitted disease but it is a curable disease. It can infect both men and women. It easily spreads and so that is a challenge with treatment. Most people who have this problem do not experience any symptoms and so it makes it difficult to diagnose and start the treatment. Chlamydia can be dangerous because it can cause serious and permanent damage to the reproductive system. It can also make getting pregnant very difficult for women.

What is Chlamydia?

Chlamydia is caused by bacteria. It spreads by incidental contact, oral, vaginal and anal sex. Condoms can help in preventing the spread but it should be kept on all the time and there should not be any skin contact. Millions of people are infected by this problem. It can also have fatal complications and reproductive problems. Most of the infected people are young adults.

Testing for Chlamydia is easy. Just a urine sample can help in determining whether the bacteria are present in your body or not. If the doctor suspects that Chlamydia is present in your urethra, eye, rectum or throat, he/she may ask for a culture test.

Chlamydia symptoms

As mentioned earlier, Chlamydia symptoms and not visible in every case and even though symptoms are there they may not be recognised. However, some of the symptoms that you can expect to see in case of Chlamydia are-

Symptoms in women

• Painful urination with burning
• Lower abdominal pain
• Vaginal discharge
• Painful sexual intercourse
• Bleeding between periods
• Bleeding after sex
• Rectal pain, discharge or bleeding
• Inflammation or infection in the eye
• Persistent sore throat
• Lower back pain
• Fever
• Nausea

Symptoms in men

• Painful urination, or burning sensation
• Testicular swelling, tenderness or pain
• Cloudy, milky, yellow-white, or thick discharge from the penis
• Redness, itching or swelling at the opening of the urethra
• Rectal pain, discharge or bleeding
• Inflammation or infection in the eye
• Sore throat

Risk factors

Anyone who is sexually active has the risk of contracting Chlamydia. Even though it is more common in young adults, older adults may also contract this disease. The most common risk factors in case of Chlamydia are

• being an sexually active adolescent or young men or woman
• multiple sexual partners
• unprotected sex
• improper use of condoms
• having sex partner or partners who are considered high-risk

Some vaginal bacteria may increase the risk of contracting Chlamydia. If Lactobacillus iners is present in the vagina, it increases the risk of Chlamydia infection in comparison to woman who does not have these bacteria.

People who are not practising safe sex are at a higher risk of suffering from Chlamydia. It does not include only young adults but also includes seniors. The numbers of occurrences of STD are increasing in retirement communities and assisted living centres and so it means it is also possible that seniors will suffer from this problem if they do not exercise safe sex.

Conventional treatment

When the doctor diagnoses Chlamydia, he or she is likely to prescribe an oral antibiotic for the next 5 to 10 days. The prescription will depend on the severity of the infection. During this time you should refrain from sexual contact with your partner because even during this period the infection may spread to other people.

Some of the most commonly prescribed antibiotics for Chlamydia are-

Doxycycline-it is one of the common antibiotic prescribed when you suffer from Chlamydia. However there are some side effects associated with this antibiotic. Some of those side-effects are loss of appetite, vomiting, rash, nausea, hides, bloody diarrhoea, stomach cramping and pain, sensitivity to the sun, dehydration, weight loss, blurry vision, headache, high blood pressure, irritation of the esophagus and anemia.

Erythromycin- another commonly prescribed antibiotic which you will need to take according to the prescription of a doctor. It has some side effects such as bloody or watery diarrhoea, headache with chest pain and severe dizziness, fast or pounding heartbeat, fainting, hearing problems, liver problems, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay coloured stools, jaundice, severe skin reactions, swelling of face or tongue etc.

References

1. The Essential Guide to Cure Chlamydia
2. Chlamydia
3. Chlamydia