Chlamydia

Chlamydia

Overview

Chlamydia is a common sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by bacteria. Chlamydia infections are treatable and curable. However, its symptoms are often unnoticeable. It’s important to receive treatment for chlamydia as soon as possible. Left untreated, chlamydia can lead to serious complications and cause permanent damage to your reproductive organs.

Once a person has chlamydia, they can spread it to their partners through sexual intercourse, anal sex or oral sex. Infections can also occur when a person with chlamydia shares sex toys with their partners.

Anyone who’s sexually active can get chlamydia. The bacteria that causes chlamydia transfers through vaginal fluid and semen. This means anyone who has sex can become infected with chlamydia and infect their partners, too. If you’re pregnant and have chlamydia, you can pass it on to your newborn.

How common is chlamydia?

Chlamydia is the most common STI caused by bacteria. About 1.5 million cases of chlamydia are reported each year. The number of infections is likely even higher. Most cases of chlamydia are asymptomatic, which means there are no signs or symptoms of an infection. Many of these cases likely go unreported.

Certain demographic characteristics (like age, gender and race) may make you more likely to get diagnosed with chlamydia. People who are more at risk for chlamydia include:

A teen or young adult aged 15 to 24. More than half of all diagnosed chlamydia cases in the U.S. occur in this age group. The rate is higher for women or people assigned female at birth (AFAB). For this reason, providers often recommend screening for chlamydia if you’re AFAB and between 15 and 24 years old.

A man who has sex with men (MSM). Chlamydia infections disproportionately affect men or people assigned male at birth (AMAB) who have sex with other men or partners AMAB, compared to those who have sex with women or people AFAB.

Black and non-Hispanic. Chlamydia infections disproportionately affect non-Hispanic Black populations.

Higher rates of transmission among certain groups are less about sexual behavior and more about networks and lack of access to STI prevention resources. For example, chlamydia is more likely to spread from person to person within communities that have higher infection rates. And it’s more likely to spread among groups that don’t have easy access to sex education or barriers to STIs like condoms and dental dams.

Chlamydia testing is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as part of your regular health maintenance.

How do you get chlamydia?

Chlamydia infections spread through sexual contact, when vaginal fluid or semen containing the bacteria that causes chlamydia travels from one person to another. Sexual contact includes all kinds of sex, including sex that doesn’t involve penetration or ejaculation. There are lots of ways that the fluids from one person’s genitals can transmit the bacteria that causes chlamydia:

Intercourse. Bacteria pass from one person’s penis to their partner’s vagina or vice versa.

Anal sex. Bacteria pass from one person’s penis to their partner’s anus or vice versa.

Oral sex. Bacteria pass from one person’s mouth to their partner’s penis, vagina or anus, or vice versa.

Sex involving toys. Bacteria pass from a toy to a person’s mouth, penis, vagina or anus.

Manual stimulation of the genitals or anus. Less commonly, infected vaginal fluid or semen can come in contact with a person’s eye, causing an infection called conjunctivitis (pink eye). For example, this can happen if you touch the genitals of an infected person and then rub your eyes without washing your hands first.

Symptoms

If you do notice symptoms, you’ll likely experience them differently based on if you have a penis or vagina.

Chlamydia spreads easily because most people don’t notice symptoms. When symptoms do occur, they may include pain when you pee and an unusual discharge.

Signs of chlamydia in women and people AFAB

Chlamydia bacteria often cause symptoms that are similar to cervicitis or a urinary tract infection (UTI). You may notice:

White, yellow or gray discharge from your vagina that may be smelly.

Pus in your urine (pyuria).

Increased need to pee.

Pain or a burning sensation when you pee (dysuria).

Bleeding in between periods.

Painful periods.

Painful intercourse (dyspareunia).

Itching or burning in and around your vagina.

Dull pain in the lower part of your abdomen.

Signs of chlamydia in men and people assigned male at birth (AMAB)

Chlamydia bacteria most often infect your urethra, causing symptoms that are similar to nongonococcal urethritis. You may notice:

Mucus-like or clear, watery discharge from your penis.

Pain or a burning sensation when you pee (dysuria).

Other signs of chlamydia

Chlamydia can affect parts of your body other than your reproductive organs, such as your:

Anus. You may notice pain, discomfort, bleeding or a mucus-like discharge from your buttocks.

Throat. You may have a sore throat, but you usually won’t notice symptoms if the bacteria’s in your throat.

Eyes. You may notice symptoms of conjunctivitis if C. trachomatis bacteria get in your eye. Symptoms include redness, pain and discharge.

See your healthcare provider immediately if you notice any of these symptoms.

Causes

The Chlamydia trachomatis bacterium is most commonly spread through vaginal, oral and anal sex. It also is possible for the bacterium to spread in pregnancy, during delivery of the baby. Chlamydia can cause pneumonia or a serious eye infection in the newborn.

Risk factors

People who have sex before age 25 are at higher risk of chlamydia than are older people. That's because younger people are more likely to have more than one risk factor.

Risk factors for chlamydia include:

Not using a condom or incorrect condom use.

Less use of health services to prevent and treat sexually transmitted infections.

New or multiple sex partners.

Changing sex partners before learning about a chlamydia infection.

Complications

Chlamydia trachomatis can be associated with:

Pelvic inflammatory disease, also called PID. PID is an infection of the uterus and fallopian tubes. Severe infections might require care in the hospital. PID can damage the fallopian tubes, ovaries and uterus, including the cervix.

Infection near the testicles. A chlamydia infection can inflame the coiled tube located beside each testicle, called the epididymis. The infection can result in fever, scrotal pain and swelling.

Prostate gland infection. Rarely, the chlamydia bacteria can spread to the prostate gland. Prostatitis can cause pain during or after sex, fever and chills, painful urination, and lower back pain.

Infections in newborns. The chlamydia infection can pass from the vaginal canal to your child during delivery, causing pneumonia or a serious eye infection.

Ectopic pregnancy. This occurs when a fertilized egg implants and grows outside of the uterus, usually in a fallopian tube. The egg needs to be removed to prevent life-threatening complications, such as a burst tube. A chlamydia infection increases this risk.

Infertility. Chlamydia infections can cause scarring and obstruction in the fallopian tubes, which might lead to infertility.

Reactive arthritis. People who have Chlamydia trachomatis are at higher risk of developing reactive arthritis, also known as Reiter syndrome. This condition typically affects the joints, eyes and urethra — the tube that carries urine from the bladder to outside of your body.

Prevention

The surest way to prevent chlamydia infection is to abstain from sexual activities. Short of that, you can:

Use condoms. Use a male latex condom or a female polyurethane condom during each sexual contact. Condoms used properly during every sexual encounter lower but don't eliminate the risk of infection.

Limit your number of sex partners. Having multiple sex partners puts you at a high risk of contracting chlamydia and other sexually transmitted infections.

Get regular screenings. If you're sexually active, particularly if you have multiple partners, talk with your healthcare professional about how often you should be screened for chlamydia and other sexually transmitted infections.

A medicine called doxycycline may be an option to prevent infection among people at higher risk than average of getting chlamydia. Higher risk groups include men who have sex with men and transgender women.

Taking doxycycline within 3 days of sexual activity lowers the risk of an infection with the bacteria that cause chlamydia. Your healthcare professional can prescribe doxycycline and any testing you need while taking the medicine.

Diagnosis

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends chlamydia testing for anyone with chlamydia symptoms. Regardless of symptoms, talk to your healthcare team to find out how often you should be screened for chlamydia. In general, some groups are screened more often than others, such as:

Sexually active women age 25 or younger. The rate of chlamydia infection is highest in this group, so a yearly screening test is recommended. Even if you've been tested in the past year, get tested when you have a new sex partner.

Pregnant people. Chlamydia screening may be offered during the first prenatal exam. If you have a high risk of infection, get tested again later in your pregnancy. You are at high risk if you are younger than age 25, have a new sex partner or have a sex partner who might be infected.

People at high risk. People who have new or multiple sex partners or men who have sex with men should consider more frequent chlamydia screening. Other markers of high risk are current infection with another sexually transmitted infection and possible exposure to an STI through an infected partner.

Screening and diagnosis of chlamydia is relatively simple. You may be able to use a test that's available without a prescription, sometimes called an at-home test, to see if you have chlamydia. If that test shows you have chlamydia, you'll need to see a healthcare professional to confirm the diagnosis and start treatment.

To determine whether you have chlamydia, your healthcare professional will analyze a sample of cells. Samples can be collected with:

A urine test. A sample of urine is analyzed in the laboratory for presence of this infection. This can be done for males and females.

A swab. A sample from the cervix, vagina, throat or anus is collected on a swab for testing. From the cervix, a member of your healthcare team collects a sample of the discharge from the cervix on a swab for testing. This can be done during a routine Pap test. For a swab from the vagina, either you or the healthcare professional can do the swab. For males and females, depending on sexual history, a swab may be taken from the throat or the anus.

Treatment

Chlamydia trachomatis is treated with antibiotics. You will likely need to take a medicine for seven days, or you may be given a one-time dose of a medicine.

In most cases, the infection clears up within 1 to 2 weeks after you take the antibiotic. But you can still spread the infection at first. So avoid sexual activity from when you start treatment until all your symptoms are gone.

Your sexual partner or partners from the last 60 days also need screening and treatment even if they don't have symptoms. Otherwise, the infection can be passed back and forth between sexual partners. Make sure to avoid sexual contact until all exposed partners are treated.

Having chlamydia or having been treated for it in the past doesn't prevent you from getting it again.

Three months after treatment, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends getting tested for chlamydia again. This is to make sure people haven't been reinfected with the bacteria, which can happen if sex partners aren't treated, or new sex partners have the bacteria.

Type of Doctor Department : Sexologist