Side effects of chlamydia male

Chlamydia - Symptoms - NHS

Most people who have chlamydia don't notice any symptoms.

If you do get symptoms, these usually appear between 1 and 3 weeks after having unprotected sex with an infected person. For some people they don't develop until many months later.

Sometimes the symptoms can disappear after a few days. Even if the symptoms disappear you may still have the infection and be able to pass it on.

Symptoms in women

At least 70% of women with chlamydia don't notice any symptoms. If they do get symptoms, the most common include:

pain when urinating
unusual vaginal discharge
pain in the tummy or pelvis
pain during sex
bleeding after sex
bleeding between periods

If chlamydia is left untreated, it can spread to the womb and cause a serious condition called pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). This is a major cause of ectopic pregnancy and infertility in women.

Read more about the complications of chlamydia.

Symptoms in men

At least half of all men with chlamydia don't notice any symptoms. If they do get symptoms, the most common include:

pain when urinating
white, cloudy or watery discharge from the tip of the penis
burning or itching in the urethra (the tube that carries urine out of the body)
pain in the testicles

If chlamydia is left untreated, the infection can cause swelling in the epididymis (the tubes that carry sperm from the testicles) and the testicles. This could affect your fertility.

Read more about the complications of chlamydia.

Chlamydia in the rectum, throat or eyes

Chlamydia can also infect:

the rectum (back passage) if you have unprotected anal sex – this can cause discomfort and discharge from your rectum
the throat if you have unprotected oral sex – this is uncommon and usually causes no symptoms
the eyes if they come into contact with infected semen or vaginal fluid – this can cause eye redness, pain and discharge (conjunctivitis)

When to seek medical advice

If you have any symptoms of chlamydia, visit your GP, community contraceptive service or local genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic as soon as possible.

Find a sexual health clinic.

You should also get tested if you don't have any symptoms but are concerned you could have a sexually transmitted infection (STI).

If you're a woman, sexually active and under 25 in England, it's recommended that you have a chlamydia test once a year, and when you have sex with new or casual partners.

If you're a man, sexually active and under 25 in England, it's recommended that you have a chlamydia test once a year if you are not using condoms with new or casual partners.

Symptoms (Men & Women), Diagnosis, Treatment

Written by WebMD Editorial Contributors

What Is Chlamydia?

Chlamydia is caused by bacteria. It is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases in the U.S. This infection is easily spread because it often causes no symptoms. That means you can pass chlamydia to sexual partners without knowing it. In fact, about 75% of infections in women and 50% in men have no symptoms. If you don’t treat it, chlamydia can cause serious complications.

Chlamydia Symptoms

If you do get chlamydia symptoms, they usually show up within 1 to 3 weeks after contact.

Chlamydia symptoms in women

Abnormal vaginal discharge that may have an odor
Bleeding between periods
Painful periods
Abdominal pain with fever
Pain when you have sex
Itching or burning in or around your vagina
Pain when you pee

Chlamydia symptoms in men

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

Unprotected sex can also lead to chlamydia in other body parts like your anus, throat, and eyes. Symptoms include:

Anus: Discomfort and discharge
Throat: There usually are no symptoms
Eyes: Redness, pain, and discharge

Chlamydia Causes

Chlamydia trachomatis, the bacteria that causes chlamydia, most often spreads through unprotected vaginal, oral, or anal sex. You get it from the semen or vaginal fluid of an infected person. It can also pass from an infected person to another through genital contact, even if there’s no sex. Pregnant women can give it to their unborn children during delivery.

Chlamydia Diagnosis

There are a few different tests your doctor can use to diagnose chlamydia. They’ll probably use a swab to take a sample, either from the urethra (the tube urine comes out of) in men or from the cervix in women. It goes to a laboratory for analysis. They may also check a urine sample for the bacteria.

Chlamydia Treatments

Chlamydia is curable. Because it’s a bacterial infection, doctors can treat it with antibiotics. If you have chlamydia, your doctor will prescribe oral antibiotics, usually azithromycin (Zithromax) or doxycycline. They’ll also recommend your partner(s) get treated to prevent reinfection and further spread of the disease.

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

Women who have a severe chlamydia infection may need treatment in a hospital, intravenous antibiotics (medicine given through a vein), and pain medicine.

After you finish the antibiotics, you should get retested after 3 months to be sure the infection is cured. This is particularly important if you aren’t sure your partner(s) were treated. But do get tested even if your partner(s) were treated. Don’t have sex until you’re sure both you and your partner(s) no longer have the disease.

Chlamydia Complications

If you don’t get treated for chlamydia, you run the risk of several health problems:

Women. If left untreated, a chlamydia infection can cause pelvic inflammatory disease, which can damage your fallopian tubes (the tubes that connect your ovaries to your uterus). It can even cause infertility (the inability to have children). An untreated chlamydia infection could also increase your risk of ectopic pregnancy (when the fertilized egg implants and develops outside your uterus). And chlamydia may cause premature births (giving birth too early). If mothers pass the infection to their children during childbirth, the newborn could have eye infections, blindness, or pneumonia.
Men. Chlamydia can cause an infection of the epididymis (the tube that carries sperm away from the testes) or proctitis -- inflammation of the rectum.
Both. Men and women can get a condition called nongonococcal urethritis (NGU) -- an infection of the urethra.

Chlamydia Prevention

To reduce your risk of a chlamydia infection:

Use condoms correctly every time you have sex.
Limit your number of sex partners, and don’t go back and forth between partners.
Practice sexual abstinence, or limit sexual contact to one uninfected partner.
If you think you’re infected, avoid sexual contact and see a doctor.

Any genital symptoms, like a discharge or burning during urination or an unusual sore or rash, should be a signal to stop having sex and to see a doctor right away. If you’re diagnosed with and treated for chlamydia or any other sexually transmitted disease, tell all your recent sex partners so they can see a doctor and be treated.

Because chlamydia often has no symptoms, infected people may unknowingly spread it to their sex partners. Many doctors recommend that all people who have more than one sex partner should be tested for chlamydia regularly, even if there are no symptoms.

Chlamydia - KVD №2

What is chlamydia?

Chlamydia is a common sexually transmitted infection (STI). The disease is caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis (Chlamydia trachomatis), which affects the female genital area and is the cause of non-gonococcal urethritis in men. Manifestations of chlamydia are usually minor or absent, but serious complications develop. Complications can cause irreparable damage to the body, including infertility - all this proceeds very secretly.

Chlamydia also causes penile discharge in infected men.

Chlamydia transmission routes

Chlamydia can be transmitted through:

vaginal or anal contact with an infected partner;
less common with oral sex;
use of sex toys with an infected partner;
infection of a newborn during childbirth from a sick mother.

Absolutely all sexually active people can get chlamydia. The greater the number of sexual partners, the greater the risk of infection. The risk of infection is especially high in girls, because their cervix is not fully formed. About 75% of new cases occur in women under 25 years of age. By the age of 30, approximately 50% of sexually active women have had chlamydia. In sexually active men, the risk of infection is highest between the ages of 20 and 24.

You cannot get chlamydia through kisses, hugs, dishes, baths, towels.

Manifestations of chlamydia

Chlamydia is very secretive. About 75% of infected women and 50% of infected men are asymptomatic. If manifestations of the disease develop, then this occurs approximately 1 to 3 weeks after infection.

In women, chlamydia first affects the cervix and urethra (urinary canal).

Manifestations:

unusual vaginal discharge;
pain or discomfort when urinating;

If the infection penetrates to the appendages, manifestations are possible:

pain in the lower abdomen;
pain in the lumbar region;
nausea;
slight increase in temperature;
pain during intercourse or bleeding after it;
bleeding between periods.

Symptoms in men:

clear or cloudy discharge from the penis;
pain or discomfort when urinating;
there may be burning and itching in the area of the outlet of the urethra;
rarely pain and/or swelling of the testicles.

Men or women who have anal sex with an infected partner can infect the rectum, resulting in inflammation, pain, discharge, or bleeding from the rectum.

Chlamydia can cause sore throat (pharyngitis) in men and women who have oral contact with an infected partner.

What complications can develop if chlamydia is not treated?

If the disease is not treated, serious short-term and persistent complications develop. Like the disease itself, complications often occur insidiously.

In women with untreated chlamydia, infection can spread from the urethra to the fallopian tubes (the tubes that carry the egg from the ovaries to the uterus) - this causes (in 40% of cases) the development of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). PID causes permanent damage to the fallopian tubes, uterus, and surrounding tissues. Chronic pelvic pain, infertility and ectopic pregnancy are the result of PID.

Women with chlamydia are more susceptible to HIV infection, the risk increases by almost 5 times.

To prevent serious consequences of chlamydia, annual chlamydia screening is required for all sexually active women 25 years of age and younger. An annual examination is necessary for women over 25 who are at risk (new sexual partner, multiple sexual partners). All pregnant women should be screened for chlamydia.

Complications of chlamydia are rare in men. The infection sometimes extends to the epididymis and causes pain, fever, and, rarely, male infertility (sterility).

Rarely, chlamydial infection can cause inflammation of the joints in combination with skin lesions, inflammation of the eyes and urinary tract - this is the so-called Reiter's syndrome.

The effect of chlamydia on a pregnant woman and her child

Chlamydia in pregnant women increases the risk of miscarriage, premature detachment of the placenta. Newborns from infected mothers can get eye and lung infections. A lung infection (pneumonia) can be fatal to a newborn.

Diagnosis of chlamydia

Diagnosis includes observation of the patient's clinical symptoms, testing for chlamydia smears from the cervix, scraping from the urinary canal, the first morning urine. Most often, the study is carried out by PCR (polymerase chain reaction). Swabs and scrapings may cause minor discomfort.

In addition, a blood test by ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) for the presence of immunity to chlamydia is carried out, this auxiliary test often helps to establish an accurate diagnosis.

Treatment of chlamydia

Treatment of chlamydia is with oral antibiotics. To prevent re-infection, all sexual partners must be found, examined and treated. Patients with chlamydia should refrain from unprotected sex during treatment, otherwise it is possible to re-infect the sexual partner. Unfortunately, after successful treatment, re-infection with chlamydia is possible, since a strong immunity to this microorganism does not develop. Repeated infection of women with chlamydia leads to a significant increase in the risk of serious complications, including infertility. A re-examination is carried out 4 weeks after treatment.

Prevention of chlamydia

The best way to prevent sexually transmitted infections is through long-term sexual contact with one healthy sexual partner. Latex male condoms, when used correctly, drastically reduce the risk of transmission.

Annual chlamydia screening required for all sexually active women 25 years of age and younger. An annual examination is also necessary for women over 25 who are at risk (new sexual partner, multiple sexual partners). All pregnant women should be screened for chlamydia.

Any manifestations, such as pain or discomfort when urinating, unusual rash, discharge are a signal to stop sexual intercourse and immediately examine in a specialized clinic - KVD. If the patient is found to have chlamydia (or any other STI), he must inform his sexual partners so that they also undergo a full examination and appropriate treatment. This will reduce the risk of developing serious complications and prevent the possibility of re-infection.

Patients with chlamydia should refrain from unprotected sex during treatment, otherwise the sexual partner may be re-infected.

Chlamydia: symptoms, treatment, signs

Dermatovenerologist

Khasanova

Alina Rashidovna

Experience 10 years

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Chlamydia is the most common sexually transmitted infection. Medical statistics report that up to 15% of sexually active people are infected with chlamydia. In Russia, the number of patients diagnosed with chlamydia is two to three times higher than the number of patients with gonococcal infection. In recent years, an increase in the incidence has been noted not only among adults, but also among adolescents. Every year, up to 100,000 people in the world fall ill with chlamydia. The disease is dangerous with a wide range of complications, from inflammation of the reproductive organs to infertility.

Features and causes of the disease

The causative agent of the infectious disease is the bacterium chlamydia, which is spread by many animals and birds. But the most common cause of chlamydia is the contact of a healthy person with a sick person. Transmission of the infection occurs during sexual intercourse or by household means, as well as from an infected mother to a fetus during pregnancy or to a newborn during childbirth.

Chlamydia are intracellular parasites that penetrate inside a living cell and feed on its contents. After the final destruction of the cell, the multiplied bacteria attack other cells of healthy tissue, gradually spreading in the body of the host. The length of time between infection and the onset of symptoms of chlamydia varies from a few days to one and a half months, but for most people it is three to four weeks.

The contagiousness of chlamydia is not particularly high: infection through sexual contact occurs in about one in four cases. There are a number of risk factors that contribute to the transmission of infection. Among them:

promiscuity, frequent change of partners;
addiction to alcohol and/or drugs;
inadequate or malnutrition;
sexual contact during adolescence;
use of an intrauterine device for contraception;
reduced immunity.

When released into the external environment, chlamydia remain viable for up to 48 hours. Within one minute, they die in boiling water and in contact with an antiseptic - alcohol, solutions of hydrogen peroxide or potassium permanganate.

How to recognize?

The difficulty in identifying the disease lies in the fact that it often proceeds without external manifestations. Chlamydia symptoms are absent in 46% of infected men and 67% of women, at the same time, these people are able to transmit the bacteria to sexual partners and are at risk of developing complications of the disease. In men and women, the clinical manifestations are somewhat different.

Signs of infection in men

Chlamydia in men often begins with an acute form of the disease. During urination, burning, itching is felt, mucous, purulent or watery discharge from the urethra appears, its external opening swells and acquires a reddish tint. Sexual intercourse becomes painful. After some time, if left untreated, the symptoms become less acute, and the discharge appears only in the morning. The disease passes into the chronic stage.

Signs of infection in women

The symptoms of chlamydia in women are much less distinct and are manifested mainly by the appearance of specific secretions of a yellowish or yellow-greenish hue with an unpleasant odor. Some patients feel burning or itching in the vagina and urethra, pain in the lower abdomen and a slight increase in temperature may appear. However, in most cases, discharge in chlamydia is not accompanied by distinct unpleasant sensations.

Pregnant women infected with chlamydia often develop chlamydia colpitis with profuse yellowish discharge, itching and burning in the genital tract. Infection often leads to adverse pregnancy outcomes, including:

to spontaneous abortions;
to premature outflow of fetal water during childbirth;
to premature onset of labor;
to inflammatory diseases of the placenta and chorion;
to postpartum complications of a septic nature.

In addition, the possibility of infection of the child during childbirth is not excluded, which leads to the development of bronchitis, conjunctivitis or pneumonia.

Diagnostic methods

For detection, it is necessary to perform a number of laboratory tests, including:

general swab: specific secretions for chlamydia are taken for analysis;
PCR: currently the most accurate method to detect the presence of even a small amount of chlamydia, the accuracy of the analysis reaches 95%;
ELISA: detection of antibodies to chlamydia allows you to identify the pathogen in about 70% of cases;
bakposev: cultivation of a culture of the pathogen allows not only to establish the cause of the disease, but also to determine its sensitivity to antibiotic drugs in order to choose the most effective drug.

In addition, for analysis, urine, blood, scrapings of cells of the affected organs are taken from the patient, and sperm from men.

Treatment of chlamydial infection

Effective treatment of chlamydia is carried out taking into account concomitant diseases, special attention is paid to the urogenital area, intestines and the immune system. During the course of treatment, it is recommended to refrain from sexual intercourse, drinking alcohol, and spicy foods. The patient is prescribed:

antibiotics penetrating into cellular structures - tetracyclines, macrolides, fluoroquinolones;
means for strengthening immunity - immunomodulators, vitamin complexes, antifungal agents, enzymes, bacteriophages, probiotics;
local treatment - suppositories, tampons, baths, enemas;
physiotherapy.

In the presence of a permanent sexual partner, both partners must undergo a course of therapy. Treatment continues until tests for infection are negative.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can chlamydia be transmitted through kissing?

No, the transmission of the pathogen occurs only during intercourse, and its nature can be not only vaginal, but also oral or anal. The contact-household route of infection through hygiene items is also possible, but such cases are extremely rare.

Can you get re-infected?

The transferred disease does not form immunity to infection, therefore, after a complete cure, a person can be re-infected.

How can you reduce your risk of contracting chlamydia?

Prevention measures include: