All you need to know about chlamydia & bull; hello healthy

Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted disease caused by bacteria chlamydia trachomatis . While you may not feel familiar with the name, chlamydia is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases. Because there are often no visible symptoms, many people suffer from this disease and don't know it.

These bacteria can pass from one person to another through both anal and vaginal sex, and possibly through oral sex. When a person touches body fluids that contain bacteria and then touches their eyes, chlamydial conjunctivitis may occur. Chlamydia can also be passed from mother to baby during childbirth. This causes pneumonia and conjunctivitis, which can become very serious in babies if left untreated. You can't catch chlamydia from towels, doorknobs, or toilet seats.

If I am a woman, how do I know if I have chlamydia?

It will be difficult for women to know whether they have chlamydia or not because most women don't experience any symptoms. Therefore, it is very important to see a doctor once a year if you are sexually active. Your doctor can tell you about related tests to check for chlamydia, even if you don't have any symptoms.

Sometimes, symptoms are present and cause unusual vaginal discharge and smell or pain during urination. Some women with chlamydia also experience pain in the lower abdomen, pain during sexual intercourse, or vaginal bleeding outside of their menstrual period.

If I am male, how do I know if I have chlamydia?

A man may also have difficulty recognizing the symptoms of this disease and should be checked by a doctor at least once a year if he is sexually active. When there are symptoms, a man may have a clear or cloudy discharge from the tip of his penis (urethra - where urine comes out), or itching and a burning sensation around the opening of the penis. Sometimes there is also swelling and pain in the testicles. Often times, a man with chlamydia has few or no symptoms, so he doesn't even know if he has the disease.

When do chlamydia symptoms appear?

A person who has chlamydia may notice symptoms a few weeks later. In some people, symptoms take 1 to 3 weeks to appear and many people don't develop symptoms.

What is the effect if I get chlamydia?

If left untreated in women, chlamydia can cause infection of the urethra (where urine comes out) and inflammation (swelling and pain caused by infection) of the cervix. It can also cause pelvic inflammatory disease, infection of the uterus, uterus, or fallopian tubes. Pelvic inflammatory disease can lead to infertility and an ectopic pregnancy at a later date.

Left untreated in men, chlamydia can cause inflammation of the urethra and epididymis (structures that attach to the testicles and help move sperm).

How to treat chlamydia?

If you think you have chlamydia or if you have a partner who has chlamydia, you need to check with your doctor, or gynecologist. Several local health clinics, can also provide examinations and treat people with chlamydia.

Doctors usually diagnose chlamydia by examining the person's urine. If you've been exposed to chlamydia or diagnosed with chlamydia, your doctor will prescribe antibiotics, which can cure the infection in 5 to 7 days.

All your sexual partners within the last two months also need to be checked and treated for chlamydia, as it may be that the person has been infected with the disease without any visible symptoms. If your last sexual partner had sexual contact in more than two months before the first symptoms appeared, he or she also needs to be checked. It is important for people with chlamydia not to have sex until they and their partners have been treated.

If your sex partner has chlamydia, treatment as soon as possible will lower the risk of complications and will lower your risk of being reinfected if you have sex with your partner (you can get reinfected with chlamydia even when you are treated because it doesn't make you immune to the disease).

It is better to prevent chlamydia than to treat it, and the only sure way to prevent infection is to abstain from any type of sexual intercourse. When you have sex, always use a condom. Only this method can help prevent chlamydia.