Chlamydia

What is chlamydia?

Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) that is caused by a bacteria. Chlamydia is also the most commonly diagnosed STD in the United States. The symptoms of chlamydia are usually mild and sometimes there are no symptoms at all. If left untreated, chlamydia causes serious health complications. These complications can occur before a woman is even aware that she has been infected. And women often become reinfected if their sexual partners are not treated.
Return to Top

How do I know if I or a partner has chlamydia?

Chlamydia is known as a silent infection because the majority of women (as many as 75% of those infected) and about half of the men infected have NO symptoms at all. When symptoms do occur, they usually appear within one to three weeks after exposure. Women who do have symptoms might have an abnormal vaginal discharge or a burning sensation when urinating. If the infection spreads from the urethra or cervix to the fallopian tubes, some women may experience lower back pain, cramps, painful intercourse, abdominal pain, nausea, fever, or bleeding between menstrual periods. Chlamydia infection of the cervix can spread to the rectum. Men with chlamydia who have symptoms may experience a discharge from their penis, burning and itching around the opening of the penis, and (rarely) pain and swelling of the testicles.

Women who have anal intercourse (their partner puts their penis in her anus) may become infected in the rectum, which can cause rectal pain, discharge, or bleeding. Chlamydia can also be found in the throats of women and men having oral sex with an infected partner.
Return to Top

How do women get chlamydia and how is it diagnosed?

Women can become infected with chlamydia during vaginal, anal, or oral sex. It can also be passed from an infected mother to her baby during vaginal childbirth. Any sexually active person can be infected with chlamydia; so the more partners a woman has, the higher her risk of becoming infected.

Laboratory tests to diagnose chlamydia can be performed by your health care provider. Some tests are performed on a urine sample, while others require that a specimen be collected from a site such as the cervix or anus.
Return to Top

What are the complications of untreated chlamydia?

If a woman has chlamydia but goes untreated, the infection can worsen and cause serious health problems for both the short-term and the long-term. The untreated infection can spread into the uterus or fallopian tubes. This can result in chronic pelvic pain, ectopic pregnancy (when the fertilized egg attaches to the wall of the fallopian tube instead of the uterus), infertility, and a condition called pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). PID is very serious. It can cause permanent damage to the fallopian tubes, uterus, and surrounding tissues. Up to 40% of women with untreated chlamydia end up with PID. In rare instances, chlamydia can cause an arthritis condition known as Reiter’s syndrome, which can cause skin lesions and inflammation of the eye and urethra.

Lastly, women infected with chlamydia are much more vulnerable to becoming infected with HIV when exposed—up to five times more likely than women who do not have chlamydia!
Return to Top

What is the treatment for chlamydia?

Chlamydia can be easily treated and cured with antibiotics. If a woman has been diagnosed with chlamydia, all of her sex partners should be evaluated, tested, and treated. This not only protects her partner but prevents an untreated partner from causing her to become reinfected. (When a woman’s partner has not received adequate treatment her risk of becoming reinfected is very high.) Because chlamydia is so common, sexually active women, especially women with multiple partners, should be screened regularly (at least once a year).
Return to Top