Should you be tested for chlamydia?
Publication Date:09/11/2007
Young men as well as women should be tested for chlamydia, doctors say. The sexually transmitted infection often has no symptoms, so you may not realise you have it. Left untreated, chlamydia can cause long-term health problems. So it's important for young men as well as women to have the test.
What is chlamydia?
Chlamydia is one of the most common infections in young men and women. Research shows 1 in 10 people under 25 years old who are tested for chlamydia have the infection. Chlamydia can cause infertility in women and possibly also in men.
The bacteria which cause chlamydia spread very easily during sexual contact. You don't need to have lots of different sexual partners to catch chlamydia. You might get infected even if you've only had one sexual partner. Using condoms reduces your risk of getting infected, but not completely. Some people do get infected while using condoms.
Fortunately, it's easy to find out if you have chlamydia, and it's also easy to treat.
Tests on your urine can show whether you have chlamydia. You need to give a sample of urine to have it checked. Women can also have tests on a swab taken from your vagina. The test is free and confidential. No one need know you've had it done.
If the test shows you have chlamydia, you need a short course of antibiotics. You also need to not have any type of sex (including oral sex or sex using condoms) until you and your partner have both been tested and treated. Otherwise you could pass the infection between you.
How do I know if I've got it?
The trouble with chlamydia is that you don't always get symptoms, so you may not realise you've been infected. About half of men get some of these symptoms:
- Pain while passing urine
- Discharge from the tip of the penis
- Soreness or itching around the tip of the penis
- Painful swelling of the testicles.
And about a quarter of women get some of these symptoms:
- Vaginal discharge
- Pain while passing urine
- Pain during or after sex
- Bleeding between periods
- Pain in the pelvic area (between the hips).
You should always get these symptoms checked out. But even if you don't have symptoms, it's worth having a chlamydia test to make sure you don't have the infection.
What does the new report say?
Young women are more likely to get tested for chlamydia than young men. That's partly because they're more likely to go to the doctor, for the contraceptive pill or to have smear tests, for example. But also, doctors tend to ask women more about screening tests because we know that chlamydia can cause serious health problems for women if they don't get treated.
Now experts say it's important that more young men are tested. Men can get health problems from chlamydia too. Also, if men are not tested and treated, they will carry on infecting women. The numbers of people infected with chlamydia will only start to go down if everyone at risk is tested and treated, including men.
Doctors are being encouraged to ask men if they want to have a test. Also, there will be more publicity about how men can get a test, and more information about why it's a good idea.
The report says about 1 in 5 young men are now tested for chlamydia. That's a big improvement on a few years ago, but more men should be getting tested.
Where does the report come from?
The report comes from the Health Protection Agency, which runs the National Chlamydia Screening Programme in the UK.
What does this mean for me?
If you're a man under 25 years old and you haven't had a chlamydia test, you should think about having one. Chlamydia isn't just a problem for women. If you don't have it treated, it can cause painful testicles because of swelling in the tubes that carry sperm. This condition is called epididymitis. It might affect your ability to have children, although doctors don't know that for sure.
Latest research also shows chlamydia may affect the quality of men's sperm. That might also make it harder for you to have children in future.
Everyone under 25 years old should get a test, once they've started having sex.
What should I do now?
If you want to be tested for chlamydia, you can get a free test. To find out what your options are in your local area, go to the website http://www.chlamydiascreening.nhs.uk. If you put your postcode into the website, it will give you contact details for your local screening services. Or you can call the sexual health line on 0800 567 123, text 0800 521 361, or ask your GP. Lots of places provide free chlamydia testing, including some young people's clinics, colleges, youth clubs, GP surgeries, pharmacies and family planning clinics.
You can also buy testing kits from some pharmacies.
If your test is positive, it means you have chlamydia. It's very important to get treated quickly, by taking antibiotics. The screening service will arrange this. It's also very important that your latest sexual partner, or any recent partners, are tested and treated for chlamydia. If they don't know about it, they could get serious health problems. They might also carry on spreading the infection, or infect you again. If you can't face telling them yourself, the screening services can do it for you. They can tell the person they need to get checked out, without mentioning your name.
How can I avoid getting health problems from chlamydia?
You can't tell if someone is infected with chlamydia just by looking at them. So it's not easy to avoid a chlamydia infection. Here are some things that may help:
- Use a condom every time you have sex
- Every time you have sex with someone new, get a chlamydia test
- Have a chlamydia test every year until you are 24.
From:
National chlamydia screening programme aims to target more men with new strategy. Health Protection Agency press statement. 9 November 2007. See also http://www.chlamydiascreening.nhs.uk/.
To find out more, see our information about chlamydia.
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© 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.
