Publication date Sep 13, 2007
Chlamydia is an infection that is passed from person to person during sex. It is easily treated. But if it is not picked up and treated, it can cause serious health problems. 'Safe sex' habits will help you to avoid getting it.
Chlamydia is an infection caused by bacteria called Chlamydia trachomatis. You can get chlamydia when you have sex.
Newborn babies also can be affected by chlamydia. This is because women who have the infection can pass it on during childbirth. Their babies may be born with eye infections or pneumonia. Both of these problems can be treated with antibiotics.
Chlamydia is sometimes called the 'silent disease' because you can have it without knowing it. Up to 8 in 10 women with chlamydia and 5 in 10 men don't have any obvious signs of infection.
If you do get symptoms, you may get these if you're a woman:
Or you might get these if you're a man:
You may also get pain, discomfort, bleeding, constipation or an unusual discharge from your back passage (rectum).
If you get these symptoms, you should visit your doctor or your local sexual health clinic. A sample of your urine or a swab will be tested for the infection. If you're a woman, the swab will be taken from your womb. If you're a man, the swab will be taken from the tube that carries urine down from the bladder (the urethra).
If the test shows you have chlamydia, your last sex partner, and any other partners you've had within the last few months, should be tested for chlamydia too.
If you have chlamydia, treatment with antibiotics will get rid of the infection. Antibiotics are medicines that kill bacteria. The ones usually used for chlamydia are called azithromycin and doxycycline. You take azithromycin as a single dose. You take doxycycline for seven days.
Research shows that taking one of these antibiotics gets rid of chlamydia in 8 or 9 in every 10 people. Antibiotics called tetracycline and erythromycin also work well.
Antibiotics don't usually cause serious side effects. But you may feel sick or get an upset stomach, stomach pain or diarrhoea.
There are many other antibiotics that can be used to treat chlamydia. But these have not been studied enough to say how well they work.
You will probably be treated with either erythromycin or amoxicillin. Neither of these drugs is harmful in pregnancy. You will probably take erythromycin and amoxicillin for seven days.
You might feel sick, vomit and have diarrhoea after taking either of these medicines.
Amoxicillin belongs to a group of antibiotics called penicillins. You shouldn't take this if you are allergic to penicillin. If you get a rash or think you are having an allergic reaction, see a doctor at once.
It’s not always clear whether these medicines will prevent the infection in the unborn baby even if they seem to clear up the infection in the mother.
Chlamydia is easy to treat and cure. But if it is not recognised and treated, chlamydia can spread. This can have serious effects on your health.
Chlamydia that isn't treated can spread to your ovaries, womb or the tubes that lead from your ovaries to your womb (the fallopian tubes). When this happens it is called pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). About a third of women who have chlamydia that hasn't been treated get pelvic inflammatory disease.
Pelvic inflammatory disease can lead to blocked tubes, which can make it hard for you get pregnant, or an ectopic pregnancy. In an ectopic pregnancy a fertilised egg starts growing in the fallopian tube. It is dangerous and the pregnancy may need to be ended.
Men who have chlamydia that isn't treated can get inflammation in the tubes leading to the testicles or in the testicles themselves. This inflammation may make you less fertile (you may have problems getting a woman pregnant), although researchers aren't sure about this.
Men with untreated chlamydia can also get a form of arthritis known as Reiter's syndrome.
The best way to reduce your risk of getting infected with chlamydia again is to:
This information does not replace medical advice. If you are concerned you might have a medical problem please ask your Boots pharmacy team in your local Boots store, or see your doctor.
© BMJ Publishing Group Limited ("BMJ Group") 2007. All rights reserved
This information does not replace medical advice.
If you are concerned you might have a medical problem please ask your Boots pharmacy team in your local Boots store, or see your doctor.