Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) that can cause serious health problems. It can damage a woman’s fallopian tubes or uterus, and lead to infertility. It can also cause a baby to be born too early, or with complications.
The best way to prevent chlamydia is by using condoms during vaginal, oral or anal sex. It is also important to get retested three months after treatment to make sure that the infection has cleared up.
1. Don’t touch your vaginal area
Chlamydia is easily treatable with antibiotics, and the treatment works 95% of the time. However, it’s important to note that chlamydia is still contagious and can be spread even if the person infected feels fine and has no symptoms. Because of this, it’s crucial to tell all sexual partners about your chlamydia infection and ask them to get tested and treated. Your doctor, sexual health centre or Department of Health partner notification officers (depending on your country) can help you to anonymously notify your partners.
It’s also a good idea to avoid vaginal, oral and anal sex until you are finished your course of antibiotics. And make sure to get retested in 3 months so you know that you are cured of chlamydia. If you are not, it’s time to go back to your GP and start antibiotics again. It’s also a good idea to see your GP about getting regular screening for chlamydia, especially if you are in a high-risk group, like a woman with a vagina or people AFAB who are more likely to get infected with the disease than men.
2. Don’t touch your testicles
Most chlamydia infections in men and women can be cured with antibiotics. However, 10-18% of people get reinfected (Hsu, 2021). This usually happens because the antibiotic course wasn’t completed as directed or because the person continued to have sex with an infected partner.
Untreated chlamydia can cause serious reproductive health problems. In women, the infection can spread to the uterus and fallopian tubes, causing pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). PID causes pain in the pelvis, and it may lead to long-term pelvic damage, infertility, and ectopic pregnancy. In men, untreated chlamydia can spread to the epididymis (the tube that carries sperm). This can cause painful sex, fever, and swollen testicles. In rare cases, chlamydia can also cause sex organ inflammation (epididymitis or epididymo-orchitis).
It’s important to avoid vaginal, oral, and anal sex until you finish the full course of antibiotics. In addition, you should have a follow-up test three months after treatment to make sure the chlamydia is gone. You should also notify your sexual partners about your chlamydia diagnosis so that they can get tested and treated if necessary.
3. Don’t touch your partner’s vaginal area
Chlamydia is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections (STIs). It can spread through unprotected vaginal, anal or oral sex, including sex with a toy. It can also be spread by touching the infected genital area, such as during a vaginal examination or during childbirth. Chlamydia can cause painful, serious health problems, including pelvic inflammatory disease and ectopic pregnancy.
Women and men with chlamydia should tell all of their recent sexual partners that they have the infection and encourage them to get tested and treated. Your doctor may also be able to give you extra chlamydia antibiotics to give to your partner(s) to help them stay free of the infection. This is called expedited partner therapy.
Even after you are finished with your antibiotics, you should continue to practice safe sex. If you have a history of chlamydia or other STIs, you should also ask your doctor about getting regular sex tests and counseling for STI prevention. It is important to be screened regularly because many people who have chlamydia don’t have any symptoms and may not know that they are infected.
4. Don’t touch your partner’s testicles
Chlamydia can be spread through vaginal, oral or anal sex. It can also be passed from a pregnant woman to her baby during delivery. Chlamydia doesn’t go away on its own, so your doctor will prescribe a course of antibiotic medicine for you to take. It’s important to wait for a week after you’re treated before you have sex. This helps prevent you from spreading chlamydia to your partner and it helps ensure that the antibiotics work properly to treat your infection.
You should also make sure your sexual partners get tested and treated as soon as possible. This is especially true for people under 25. Your genitourinary clinic may be able to help you contact your sexual partners and offer them a test.
If left untreated, chlamydia can spread from the neck of the womb (cervix) to the uterus and fallopian tubes, which can lead to long term health problems like pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), ectopic pregnancy or infertility. In men, chlamydia can also spread from the urethra to the testicles, causing pain and swelling of the testicles called epididymo-orchitis.
5. Don’t touch your partner’s vaginal area
Chlamydia is easy to treat with antibiotics. But you and your partner should be careful not to spread it again — if chlamydia spreads into the uterus, it can cause serious health problems, including pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which can make it hard to get pregnant.
If you have chlamydia, you should tell your recent sexual partners about it so they can get tested and treated, too. A health care provider can help you contact your partners, or a STI clinic might contact them for you. You should also be sure to take your antibiotics exactly as prescribed — if you don’t, the infection can return.
Chlamydia spreads when a person has unprotected sex, like vaginal, anal or oral sex without a condom. It can also be spread through semen. If left untreated, chlamydia can cause infection of the eyes, throat or rectum. Symptoms of an eye infection include red, watery eyes. An infection of the throat may have no symptoms, but can cause a sore or irritated throat. An infection of the rectum can cause pain, discharge or a burning sensation when you urinate.
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