A Note on Chlamydia

Chlamydia (kle mí dee ah) is the most widespread bacterial sexually transmitted disease in the United States. Like other STDs, chlamydia is more common in some communities than in others.

Chlamydia is a common STD that can infect both men and women. It can cause serious, permanent damage to a woman's reproductive system, making it difficult or impossible for her to get pregnant later on. Chlamydia can also cause a potentially fatal ectopic pregnancy (pregnancy that occurs outside the womb).

Once chlamydia is diagnosed, it is easy to treat and cure. But often, people who have chlamydia have no symptoms, so they don’t know they have it. Left untreated, this disease can increase your risk for HIV infection, make you infertile, or harm your pregnancy. 

How is chlamydia spread?

You can get chlamydia by having vaginal, anal, or oral sex with someone who has chlamydia.
If your sex partner is male you can still get chlamydia even if he does not ejaculate (cum).

If you’ve had chlamydia and were treated in the past, you can still get infected again if you have unprotected sex with someone who has chlamydia.

If you are pregnant, you can give chlamydia to your baby during childbirth.

For women who do have symptoms, these may include painful inflammation of the cervix or an unusual vaginal discharge. For men, chlamydia may cause painful urination.

If you are a woman, you are at increased risk for chlamydia if you have other risk factors for STDs or you are 25 or younger.

If you are at increased risk, you should be tested regularly even if you have no symptoms.

If you are a man, you may want to be tested, too. Since you can have chlamydia without knowing it, you may pass it to your sex partner without knowing.

If you are diagnosed with chlamydia, you should encourage your partner to see his or her doctor for testing, too.

Can chlamydia be cured?

Yes, chlamydia can be cured with the right treatment. It is important that you take all of the medication your doctor prescribes to cure your infection. When taken properly it will stop the infection and could decrease your chances of having complications later on. Medication for chlamydia should not be shared with anyone.

Repeat infection with chlamydia is common. You should be tested again about three months after you are treated, even if your sex partner(s) was treated.

You should not have sex again until you and your sex partner(s) have completed treatment. If your doctor prescribes a single dose of medication, you should wait seven days after taking the medicine before having sex. If your doctor prescribes a medicine for you to take for seven days, you should wait until you have taken all of the doses before having sex.