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Chlamydia
Overview
The sexually transmitted disease (STD) that is most frequently reported in the United States is chlamydia. It is an infection with the Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria.
Infection with chlamydia can permanently harm a woman's fallopian tubes, which increases her chance of ectopic pregnancy and future infertility. A chlamydia infection during pregnancy also increases the risk of preterm labour and low birth weight for the expectant mother.
Once infected, a person can pass chlamydia to their partners through oral, anal, or sexual contact. Chlamydia sufferers who exchange sex accessories with their partners run the risk of contracting the disease.
Symptoms
It is nevertheless crucial to identify and treat this illness because it has the potential to permanently harm the reproductive tract. Cervicitis, an illness involving inflammation of the cervix, is the most typical symptom of chlamydia infection in women.
Chlamydia infection symptoms and indicators can include vaginal discharge and abdominal pain. The typical signs of a urinary tract infection, such as pain or burning when urinating, blood in the urine, feelings of urinary urgency (a constant need to urinate), and frequent urination, can also be caused by an infection of the urethra.
Men who are infected could also be symptomless. Penile discharge, burning while urinating, and less frequently, pain or swelling in one or both testicles, are examples of symptoms and signs that may be present.
Causes
Chlamydia trachomatis is the bacterium that causes the bacterial infection. The cervix, urethra, vagina, and rectum of an infected person may all have germs when an infection is present. It may reside in the throat as well. Sexual intercourse with an infected person, whether vaginal, anal, or oral, has the potential to transfer the virus.
Young persons who engage in sexual activity run a significant chance of contracting chlamydia
As the newborn goes through the vaginal canal after delivery, an infected mother can potentially infect her unborn child. The most frequent side effects of chlamydia acquired through the birth canal are pneumonia in the newborn and eye impairment.
Chlamydia can come back even after a patient has received treatment for the infection. Chlamydia frequently causes recurring infections.
Prevention
It is widely transmitted and can be challenging to avoid the illness because the majority of those with the infection do not exhibit symptoms and may not even be aware they are afflicted.
Men's condoms can lower the likelihood of contracting or transmitting the virus. A mutually monogamous relationship with a partner who has had chlamydia testing or treatment lowers the danger of getting the illness as well.
Treatment
Antibiotic medication makes it simple to treat chlamydia. A single dose of an antibiotic or a course of seven can be administered. To prevent the infection from spreading to others, women should refrain from sexual activity during the seven-day course of antibiotics or for seven days after the single dosage treatment.
Other antibiotics may also be used successfully to treat chlamydia infection besides the usual medications azithromycin and doxycycline. Antibiotics, such as azithromycin, amoxicillin, and erythromycin ethylsuccinate, but not doxycycline, can be safely used to treat chlamydia infection in pregnant women.
To prevent reinfection and further transmission, chlamydia should also be screened for and treated if necessary in a person's sexual partners.
Tests Required for Diagnosis
Chlamydia diagnosis requires a laboratory test to show that the organism is present, either through identification of the genetic makeup of the bacteria or through culture.
The more time-consuming and outdated approach of identifying the bacterium via culture is no longer often utilised. Rapid assays that identify the bacterial genetic material are frequently employed for routine diagnostic purposes.
Nucleic acid amplification tests, or NAATs, are the name for this. While the cervix can be swabbed during a gynecologic checkup to get the specimen for NAATs, diagnostic tests can also be performed on urine samples or self-collected vaginal swabs.
treatment
Antibiotic medication makes it simple to treat chlamydia. A single dose of an antibiotic or a course of seven can be administered. To prevent the infection from spreading to others, women should refrain from sexual activity during the seven-day course of antibiotics or for seven days after the single dosage treatment.
Other antibiotics may also be used successfully to treat chlamydia infection besides the usual medications azithromycin and doxycycline. Antibiotics, such as azithromycin, amoxicillin, and erythromycin ethylsuccinate, but not doxycycline, can be safely used to treat chlamydia infection in pregnant women.
To prevent reinfection and further transmission, chlamydia should also be screened for and treated if necessary in a person's sexual partners.
