Stop Chlamydia before it starts

Do you know enough about chlamydia? You probably know you don’t want it, but there’s more you need to know.

First of all, chlamydia trachomatis (that’s its full name), a bacterial infection, is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI). Four times as common as gonorrhea. Six times as common as herpes. More than 30 times as common as syphilis. Three million Americans get it every year. And guess who’s most at risk? Women and men under the age of 25.

If you’re sexually active, especially with multiple partners, you’re at risk. Chlamydia is spread by vaginal and anal intercourse. “It’s so easily transmissible,” says Susan Kaufman, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey.

The news gets worse. When you have a cold or the flu, you know. You have symptoms. With chlamydia, there’s a very good chance you won’t know you have it unless you get screened. According to Planned Parenthood, up to 85% of women and 40% of men infected with chlamydia show no symptoms.

Therefore, sexually active individuals should get screened.

Diagnosis is fairly simple: It can be done by a urine test, a test of cells from the penis, cervix, urethra, or anus, or examination of the cervix. If you are diagnosed with chlamydia, you should tell your sexual partners and you can both begin treatment with antibiotics immediately — even if you’ve never noticed any symptoms.

But there’s more to worry about with chlamydia than just the symptoms: According to Planned Parenthood, chlamydia is a serious health threat, especially for women. The infection usually begins in the cervix and it can spread to the fallopian tube and ovaries. It can cause complications like pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and tubal scarring, which can lead to ectopic pregnancy or complete infertility. Young women are especially at risk, Kaufman says, because the cells on their cervix are immature and because they are more likely to have multiple sexual partners.

In men, chlamydia can spread from the urethra to the testicles, which can cause a condition called epididymitis. That, in turn, can cause sterility. Chlamydia can also lead to Reiter’s syndrome in young men, which can cause lesions that form hard crusts on the penis, ulcers in the throat or mouth, conjunctivitis, and arthritis. It’s not pleasant.

While chlamydia is treatable — if detected — with antibiotics, if the chlamydia has caused complications, they can recur even if you get treated, Kaufman says. So it’s important to take every measure possible to avoid chlamydia, or to treat it early before complications occur.

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Not everyone who has chlamydia experiences symptoms. However, if you do have symptoms, they might include bleeding between periods, bleeding after intercourse, abdominal pain, painful intercourse or urination, and abnormal discharge (for women).

For men, symptoms can include pus or discharge from the penis, pain or burning upon urination, and swollen, tender testicles.

Luckily, there are measures you can take to protect yourself from chlamydia. Kaufman recommends consistently following these relatively simple steps:

    * Use a condom with ALL episodes of sexual intercourse

    * Always ask your partners about their sexual history (just remember, there’s no guarantee they’ll be honest, so use protection.)

    * Get regular check-ups — and let your doctor know that they should do a routine screening for STIs like chlamydia and gonorrhea. If your doctor asks you about your sexual history, be honest.

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