How can you transmit chlamydia

Because chlamydia is usually asymptomatic, screening is necessary to identify most infections. Screening programs have been demonstrated to reduce rates of adverse sequelae in women. Routine screening is not recommended for men. However, the screening of sexually active young men should be considered in clinical settings with a high prevalence of chlamydia e.

Sexually active men who have sex with men MSM who had insertive intercourse should be screened for urethral chlamydial infection and MSM who had receptive anal intercourse should be screened for rectal infection at least annually; screening for pharyngeal infection is not recommended..

More frequent chlamydia screening at 3-month intervals is indicated for MSM, including those with HIV infection, if risk behaviors persist or if they or their sexual partners have multiple partners.

At the initial HIV care visit, providers should test all sexually active persons with HIV infection for chlamydia and perform testing at least annually during the course of HIV care. There are a number of diagnostic tests for chlamydia, including nucleic acid amplification tests NAATs , cell culture, and others.

NAATs are the most sensitive tests, and can be performed on easily obtainable specimens such as vaginal swabs either clinician- or patient-collected or urine.

Vaginal swabs, either patient- or clinician-collected, are the optimal specimen to screen for genital chlamydia using NAATs in women; urine is the specimen of choice for men, and is an effective alternative specimen type for women. NAATs have demonstrated improved sensitivity and specificity compared with culture for the detection of C. Chlamydia can be easily cured with antibiotics. Persons with chlamydia should abstain from sexual activity for 7 days after single dose antibiotics or until completion of a 7-day course of antibiotics, to prevent spreading the infection to partners.

It is important to take all of the medication prescribed to cure chlamydia. Medication for chlamydia should not be shared with anyone.

Although medication will cure the infection, it will not repair any permanent damage done by the disease. Repeat infection with chlamydia is common. If a person has been diagnosed and treated for chlamydia, he or she should tell all recent anal, vaginal, or oral sex partners all sex partners within 60 days before the onset of symptoms or diagnosis so they can see a health care provider and be treated.

A person with chlamydia and all of his or her sex partners must avoid having sex until they have completed their treatment for chlamydia i. For tips on talking to partners about sex and STD testing, visit www.

To help get partners treated quickly, healthcare providers in some states may give infected individuals extra medicine or prescriptions to give to their sex partners.

This is called expedited partner therapy or EPT. In published clinical trials comparing EPT to traditional patient referral i. Latex male condoms, when used consistently and correctly, can reduce the risk of getting or giving chlamydia. More information is available at www. Genital ulcers and concomitant complaints in men attending a sexually transmitted infections clinic: implications for sexually transmitted infections management. Sexually transmitted diseases ; White JA.

Manifestations and management of lymphogranuloma venereum. Current opinion in infectious diseases ; Sexually transmitted infections among US women and men: Prevalence and incidence estimates, Sex Transm Dis ; in press. Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance, MMWR ; Sentinel surveillance of rectal chlamydia and gonorrhea among males—San Francisco, Rates of asymptomatic nonurethral gonorrhea and chlamydia in a population of university men who have sex with men.

Sentinel surveillance for pharyngeal chlamydia and gonorrhea among men who have sex with men—San Francisco, Chlamydial infection of mothers and their infants. The Journal of pediatrics ; Longitudinal studies on chlamydial infections in the first year of life. Pediatric infectious disease ; Chlamydia trachomatis infection in mothers and infants.

What is the treatment for chlamydia? Whatever treatment is prescribed, there are some important points about any treatment: The patient must take all medications as directed. All partners should be examined and treated. The infected person should not have sex until they and any partner or partners have been treated and cured. People who show symptoms after treatment should be tested again. Women should be retested three to four months after treatment because of a high rate of reinfection.

Because the symptoms of chlamydia are similar to the symptom of gonorrhea, and because a person can be infected with both, doctors will sometimes go ahead and treat people with chlamydia for both infections chlamydia and gonorrhea.

Remember, partners should be examined for infection and treated as well to avoid reinfection. What does chlamydia infection mean for my health? Untreated chlamydia infections in women may lead to: Pelvic inflammatory disease PID , a serious infection of the reproductive organs uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries. Left untreated, PID can cause infertility and inability to become pregnant or maintain a pregnancy , chronic pelvic pain, or ectopic tubal pregnancy. Cystitis inflammation of the urinary bladder A condition called mucopurulent cervicitis , characterized by a yellow discharge from the cervix Untreated chlamydia in men may lead to: Prostatitis inflammation of the prostate gland Scarring of the urethra Infertility Epididymitis inflammation of the epididymis, which is the elongated, cord-like structure that runs along the back of each testes.

More about Pelvic Inflammatory Disease For women, one of the most serious complications from untreated chlamydia is pelvic inflammatory disease PID.

If symptoms do occur, they could include: Dull pain or tenderness in the lower abdomen Burning or pain when you urinate pee Nausea and vomiting Bleeding between menstrual periods Increased or changed vaginal discharge Pain during sex Fever and chills PID can also be misdiagnosed as appendicitis, ectopic pregnancy, ruptured ovarian cysts or other problems.

PID can be treated successfully, if diagnosed and treated early. But any damage that may have been caused to the reproductive system cannot be reversed. This is why regular testing for chlamydia, and immediate treatment, is important.

People with chlamydia who have no symptoms can still pass the disease to others. If you do have symptoms, they may not appear until several weeks after you have sex with an infected partner. There are lab tests to diagnose chlamydia. Your health care provider may ask you to provide a urine sample.

For women, providers sometimes use or ask you to use a cotton swab to get a sample from your vagina to test for chlamydia. You should go to your health provider for a test if you have symptoms of chlamydia, or if you have a partner who has a sexually transmitted disease. Pregnant women should get a test when they go to their first prenatal visit.

In women, an untreated infection can spread to your uterus and fallopian tubes, causing pelvic inflammatory disease PID. PID can cause permanent damage to your reproductive system. This can lead to long-term pelvic pain , infertility , and ectopic pregnancy. Women who have had chlamydia infections more than once are at higher risk of serious reproductive health complications. Men often don't have health problems from chlamydia.

Sometimes it can infect the epididymis the tube that carries sperm. This can cause pain, fever, and, rarely, infertility. Both men and women can develop reactive arthritis because of a chlamydia infection. Reactive arthritis is a type of arthritis that happens as a "reaction" to an infection in the body. Babies born to infected mothers can get eye infections and pneumonia from chlamydia.

Call a sexual health clinic if you need help or advice. Only go to a clinic if you've been told to. Find sexual health clinic contact details. Chlamydia is a bacterial infection. The bacteria are usually spread through sex or contact with infected genital fluids semen or vaginal fluid.

Chlamydia cannot be passed on through casual contact, such as kissing and hugging, or from sharing baths, towels, swimming pools, toilet seats or cutlery. Although chlamydia does not usually cause any symptoms and can normally be treated with a short course of antibiotics, it can be serious if it's not treated early on.

If left untreated, the infection can spread to other parts of your body and lead to long-term health problems, especially in women.

In women, untreated chlamydia can cause pelvic inflammatory disease PID , ectopic pregnancy and infertility.