Chlamydia

Chlamydia is the most common sexually transmitted infection  in the UK. This infection is easily spread because it often causes no symptoms and may be unknowingly passed to sexual partners. In fact, about 75% of infections in women and 50% in men are without symptoms.

How do I know if I have chlamydia?

It is not easy to tell if you are infected with chlamydia since symptoms are not always apparent. But when they do occur, they are usually noticeable within one to three weeks of contact and can include the following:

Chlamydia symptoms in women

• Abnormal vaginal discharge that may have an odour
• Bleeding between periods
• Painful periods
• Abdominal pain with a temperature
• Pain when having sex
• Itching or burning in or around the vagina
• Pain when urinating.

Chlamydia symptoms in men

• Small amounts of clear or cloudy discharge from the tip of the penis
• Painful urination
• Burning and itching around the opening of the penis
• Pain and swelling around the testicles.

How is chlamydia diagnosed?

There are a few different tests your doctor can use to check for chlamydia. He or she will probably use a swab to take a sample from the urethra in men or from the cervix in women and then will send the specimen to a laboratory to be analysed. There are also other tests which check a urine sample for the presence of the bacteria.

How is chlamydia treated?

If you have chlamydia, your doctor will prescribe oral antibiotics, usually azithromycin or doxycycline. Your doctor will also recommend your partner(s) be treated as well to prevent reinfection and further spread of the disease. 

With treatment, the infection should clear up in about a week or two. It is important to finish all of your antibiotics even if you feel better.

Women with severe infection may require hospitalisation, intravenous antibiotics (medicine given through a vein), and pain medicine. After taking antibiotics, people should be re-tested to be sure the infection is cured. This is particularly important if you are unsure that your partner(s) obtained treatment. Do not have sex until you are sure both you and your partner no longer have the disease.

What happens if I don't get my chlamydia treated?

If you do not get treated for chlamydia, you run the risk of several health problems.

• For women. If left untreated, the infection can cause pelvic inflammatory disease which can lead to damage of the fallopian tubes (the tubes connecting the ovaries to the uterus) or even cause infertility (the inability to have children), and untreated chlamydia infection could increase the risk of ectopic pregnancy (when the fertilised egg implants and develops outside the uterus). Furthermore, chlamydia may cause premature births (giving birth too early) and the infection can be passed along from the mother to her child during childbirth, causing an eye infection, blindness, or pneumonia in the newborn.
• For men. Chlamydia can cause a condition called nongonococcal urethritis (NGU) - an infection of the urethra (the tube by which men and women pass urine), epididymitis - an infection of the epididymis (the tube that carries sperm away from the testes), or proctitis - an inflammation of the rectum.