What Are The Symptoms
Most women and men with chlamydia are asymptomatic meaning no obvious symptoms are present. However, they can still infect sexual partners.
Women may notice symptoms such as:
- an unusual vaginal discharge
- a burning or stinging sensation when urinating
- pain or bleeding during intercourse and
- pelvic pain.
If left untreated, chlamydia can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease . Potential infection and scarring of the fallopian tubes may cause infertility or pregnancy complications. Ectopic pregnancies are also a real risk.
For men, typical symptoms include:
- a burning or stinging sensation when urinating
- discharge from the penis and
- if left untreated, painful or swollen testicles.
Men also run the risk of infertility.
Additionally, both genders can develop complications such as reactive arthritis . This is where the urethra, joints and eyes become inflamed.
Symptoms of chlamydia contracted through anal sex may include a painful bum and anal discharge.
You May Like: Can Chlamydia Turn Into Herpes
When To Contact A Doctor
If you have any of the symptoms described or have recently had unprotected sex with a partner of unknown STD status, you should get tested.
In general, if you are sexually active and have any unusual discharge, burning sensations, or pain while having sex, you may have a STD and should get tested.
If you are a woman, you should contact a doctor immediately if you have any of the following symptoms as they can be a sign of a serious complication from gonorrhea called pelvic inflammatory disease:
- Vomiting
- Fainting or signs of shock
- Serious lower abdominal pain
- Temperature that is higher than 101°F
You can make an online appointment with a PlushCare doctor to receive an official diagnosis and treatment plan, including necessary prescription antibiotics.
Book an appointment, here.
Dont Miss: Can H Pylori Be Cured Without Antibiotics
What Happens If I Get Chlamydia When Im Pregnant
- Chlamydia during pregnancy has been associated in very rare cases with problems such as premature birth, and infection of the uterus lining after the birth.
- It can be passed to the baby during the birth and before the baby is born. This can cause inflammation and discharge in the babys eye and/or pneumonia.
- You may be offered a chlamydia test as part of your antenatal care.
- Chlamydia can be treated with antibiotics when youre pregnant and when youre breastfeeding. The antibiotics wont harm the baby, but do tell the doctor or nurse that youre pregnant or breastfeeding.
- Youll be advised to have another test after you complete your treatment.
Read Also: How Fast Do Antibiotics Work For Uti
Why Can’t I Repeat The Chlamydia Test After I’ve Taken My Treatment To Check It Worked
You can, but it takes up to 6 weeks for the test to go back to negative after an infection. If you re-test too early a positive result can be a sign of continuing or re-infection, but it’s most likely to be positive from the initial infection, so it’s not at all helpful.
If you are under 25 years of age, it is recommended to have a repeat test 3 months after treatment as a significant number of young people get repeat infections which are linked to an increased risk of complications.
What Is The Best Home Remedy For Chlamydia
The only consistently proven cure for chlamydia is antibiotics. There are a few products and home remedies out there recommended by countless websites for curing chlamydia at home. Unfortunately, the results of these treatments can be inconsistent and never involve the use of actual antibiotics. The only guaranteed method of treating bacterial infections, like chlamydia, is antibiotics.
Also Check: What Antibiotics Treat Gum Abscess
What Is Chlamydia Like
Chlamydia is a common sexually transmitted infection . Most people who have confirmed cases of chlamydia are recorded to have no symptoms. When symptoms do appear, it occurs in the form of a pus-like yellow discharge, frequent or painful urination. Additionally, some women experience spotting between periods or after sex. Also, rectal pain irritation, bleeding or discharge can occur. Some patients may experience lower abdominal pain, swollen or tender testicles. If left untreated, chlamydia may lead to infertility or irreversible reproductive issues.
What Are The Treatments For Chlamydia
If you are diagnosed with chlamydia, your doctor will prescribe oral antibiotics. A single dose of azithromycin or taking doxycycline twice daily for 7 to 14 days are the most common treatments and are the same for those with or without HIV.
With treatment, the infection should clear up in about a week. Do not have sex for at least 7 days until you have taken all of your medication, and do not stop taking the antibiotics even if you feel better.
Your doctor will also recommend that your partner be treated as well to prevent reinfection and further spread of the disease.
Women with serious infections, such as pelvic inflammatory disease, may require a longer course of antibiotics or hospitalization for intravenous antibiotics. Some severe pelvic infections may require surgery in addition to antibiotic therapy.
Make sure you get retested after three months to be certain the infection is gone. Do this even if your partner has been treated and appears to be infection free.
You May Like: How To Cure A Sinus Infection Without Antibiotics
What Do They Prescribe For Chlamydia
If you are diagnosed with chlamydia, your doctor will prescribe oral antibiotics. A single dose of azithromycin or taking doxycycline twice daily for 7 to 14 days are the most common treatments and are the same for those with or without HIV. With treatment, the infection should clear up in about a week.
How Easy Is It To Get Rid Of Chlamydia
It is relatively simple to get rid of chlamydia after receiving a diagnosis. The typical recovery time isnt much longer than two weeks for an average case. One of the largest hurdles for many patients comes with detecting chlamydia in the first place. This is why its important to regularly schedule STD screenings that include chlamydia and gonorrhea while sexually active with multiple partners.
Recommended Reading: How Much Does It Cost For Antibiotics Without Insurance
Where Can I Get A Test
There are a number of services you can go to. Choose the one you feel most comfortable with.
A chlamydia test can be done at:
- a genitourinary medicine or sexual health clinic
- your general practice
- contraception and young peoples clinics
- some pharmacies.
Abortion clinics, antenatal services and some gynaecology services may also offer a chlamydia test.
In England, if youre a woman aged under 25 years old, you may be offered a chlamydia test as part of the National Chlamydia Screening Programme when you visit some service for other reasons, for example at a pharmacy or your GP.
The NCSP aims to identify people without symptoms to reduce the complications of untreated infection. If chlamydia is not treated, it can cause health complications, especially in women. Untreated chlamydia in women can cause pain in the pelvis, ectopic pregnancy and infertility .
If you are a woman aged under 25 years old and you are offered a chlamydia test as part of the NCSP you should consider taking it.
In many areas, free home self-sampling tests for chlamydia are available to order online. This is where you take your own sample and send it to be tested. See www.nhs.uk
Its also possible to buy a chlamydia test to do at home. The accuracy of these tests varies. Some types are very accurate when carried out according to the instructions, others can be less reliable. If you buy a testing kit make sure you get advice from a pharmacist or your doctor.
To Get Tested For An Std
- Walk-ins, during clinic hours, are accepted but it may take you longer to be seen.
- Please cancel your appointment if you have a fever, new onset of cough, and/or if you have been in contact with someone with COVID-19 in the last 14 days.
- In order to maintain physical distancing, no additional guests will be allowed in the clinic other than sex partner that may also need to be examined or treated.
- There are no fees for testing. If STD treatment is needed, that is also free.
Kansas City, Mo. Health Department2400 Troost Ave.
You May Like: Best Antibiotic For Dog Eye Infection
Can Stds Be Treated Naturally At Home
Antibiotics were developed to fight infections caused by bacteria in humans and animals by either killing the bacteria or making it difficult for the bacteria to grow and multiply. Antibiotics are our best defense to fighting sexually transmitted infections.
There is no proven alternative therapy to treating an STI. Treatment is testing and antibiotics.
The most effective complementary treatments of STIs that is, those that that go along with standard medical treatment involve prevention and patient counseling. Monogamy, use of condoms, avoiding risky sexual activities and medication compliance are some strategies. Others employ vitamins such as A and C, zinc and carotenoids that increase immunity as an aid to prevention.
However, while these are healthy preventive tactics, Ill say it again: Antibiotics are necessary to treat the infection and possible complications.
Chlamydia Treatment Cost Without Insurance
06 Mar 2022
- Written by Dr. Patricia Shelton on March 07, 2022
Chlamydia is a very common sexually transmitted disease thats caused by bacteria. Its important to treat this disease, in order to prevent serious complications. Antibiotics are generally effective for chlamydia. Its relatively rare for chlamydia to be resistant to antibiotics, although this has been reported in some cases.
Many people worry about the cost of their treatment, especially if they dont have health insurance. How much does chlamydia treatment cost? Will insurance cover it?
Don’t Miss: Antibiotics That Start With D
Why Its Important To Get Tested For Stis
Going untreated for an STI can cause major health problems down the line. It can increase your risk of other STIs, infertility and cancer, says Krishna Upadhya, MD. Shes vice president of quality care and health equity at Planned Parenthood Federation of America. All STIs are treatable, and many are curable. But you cant get treatment if you dont know your status, Dr. Upadhya says.
And, yes, its possible to have an STI and not know it even for years.
A common misconception is that people will know if they have an infection because theyll have symptoms, says Eleanor Bimla Schwarz, MD. Shes a professor in the department of general medicine, specializing in womens health, at UC Davis in Sacramento, California. But many times, sexually transmitted diseases have no obvious signs.
Getting screened for STIs is a vital part of taking care of your body, says Dr. Upadhya. How often you should be getting tested depends on different factors. If youre under 25 and are sexually active, the general rule is to get tested every few months to a year. If youre 25 or older, you should be tested yearly if you have a new sex partner, multiple partners or a partner who has an STD. You can learn more about STI screening recommendations on the CDC website.
Home Test Kit For Chlamydia & Gonorrhoea
If you have had unprotected sex and you think that you may have been infected with either chlamydia or gonorrhoea, we can send you a test to carry out in the comfort of your own home. You should wait 14 days after unprotected sex before taking the test as it can taken up to 2 weeks for the infection to show.
You can also carry out the test as a general health check or when meeting a new partner as precaution. The simple urine test will check for genital chlamydia and genital gonorrhoea.
We will send you a test kit box which includes:
A urine collection box
Pre-Paid envelope to The Doctors Laboratory
How to conduct the test:
1. Simply collect your urine in the collection box and transfer this into the sample tube.
2. Fill out the date you collected your urine and send this using the free-post bag provided with the test kit.
3.This will be sent to the Doctors Laboratory who will then send the results to us.
4. Your results will be received within a week of your sample reaching the lab. We will contact you with your results via your preferred method. If you have chlamydia, we are able to offer you treatment with antibiotics. If you are infected with gonorrhea, we will refer you to your local GUM clinic or GP for treatment. Please ensure all details are correct on your sample as any incorrect or missing information may cause a delay.
99.9% Test Accuracy:
You May Like: How Can A Woman Tell If She Has Chlamydia
Also Check: How Long Do You Take Antibiotics For A Uti
Are Strep Throats Contagious
Yes, Strep throats are contagious, and the bacteria are easily transmitted and spread by coughing or sneezing or after coming into contact with infected droplets, and then touching your mouth, nose, or eyes. Transmission of bacteria can also occur via contact with people with Scarlet fever, or other group A skin infections.
Without treatment, people with Strep throat can pass on the bacteria to others for one to two weeks after symptoms appear. The best way to prevent infection is to wash your hands often and always before eating or after being in contact with an infected person. Do not share utensils, linen, or personal items. People with Strep throat or scarlet fever should stay home for at least 24 hours after starting antibiotics or until they feel well enough to return to school or work.
How Is Chlamydia Treated
Chlamydia can be cleared up with antibiotics in about a week or two. But dont stop taking your medication just because your symptoms improve. Ask your provider about what follow-up is needed to be sure your infection is gone after youve finished taking your medicine.
Part of your treatment should also include avoiding sexual activities that could cause you to get re-infected and ensuring that any sexual partners who may be infected also get treatment. You should:
- Abstain from sex until your infection has cleared up. Starting treatment doesnt mean that youre in the clear. Take all your medication as your provider directs, and avoid all sexual contact in the meantime.
- Contact all sexual partners. Tell any sexual partners from the last 3 months that youre infected so that they can get tested, too.
- Get tested for other STIs . Its common to have multiple STIs, and its important to receive treatment thats tailored to each infection.
Antibiotics can get rid of your infection, but they cant reverse any harm the bacteria may have caused to your body before treatment. This is why its so important to get screened regularly for chlamydia, to see your provider at the first sign of symptoms, and get treatment immediately if youre infected.
Recommended Reading: Whatâs Chlamydia Caused By
Read Also: What Antibiotic Is Used To Treat Strep Throat
Testing And Treating Sexual Partners
If you test positive for chlamydia, it’s important that your current sexual partner and any other recent sexual partners you’ve had are also tested and treated.
A specialist sexual health adviser can help you contact your recent sexual partners, or the clinic can contact them for you if you prefer.
Either you or someone from the clinic can speak to them, or the clinic can send them a note to let them know they may have been exposed to a sexually transmitted infection .
The note will suggest that they go for a check-up. It will not have your name on it, so your confidentiality will be protected.
Page last reviewed: 01 September 2021 Next review due: 01 September 2024
Research Is Preliminary But Exciting
This novel therapy is still in the preclinical stage. The research team is a couple of years away from testing it in humans. But so far, the therapy has shown a 65 percent success rate.
Ho says, That doesnt sound too exciting to others, but its exciting to us in terms of science. This was based on a single treatment. When you take antibiotics, you have to take them for one or two weeks. If we treated it for an entire week, we expect that the percentage will be a lot higher. We need additional study.
He adds, The hope is that it will be developed into a cream or gel that women can apply to the vagina and men can apply to the penis at the time of intercourse, which is usually when transmission occurs.
Also Check: Can You Treat Sinusitis Without Antibiotics
Can Bactrim Be Used To Treat Strep
4.8/5Bactrimtreatmentstreptreat strep
Similarly, you may ask, what is the best antibiotic for strep throat?
Doctors most often prescribe penicillin or amoxicillin to treat strep throat. They are the top choices because theyre safer, inexpensive, and they work well on strep bacteria.
Secondly, what type of infections does bactrim treat? Bactrim DS is a combination of two antibiotics used to treat urinary tract infections, acute otitis media, bronchitis, Shigellosis, Pneumocystis pneumonia, travelers diarrhea, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus , and other bacterial infections susceptible to this
Also question is, can bactrim be used to treat chlamydia?
The clinical observations suggested that of the antibiotics studied, doxycycline, erythromycin, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole were effective for treatment of chlamydial infection and nongonococcal urethritis.
Is bactrim a broad spectrum antibiotic?
Uncomplicated urinary tract infections should be treated first with narrow-spectrum drugs , the guidelines say, rather than broadspectrum ones like Cipro or Levaquin.
In the meantime, try these tips to relieve symptoms of strep throat:
How can you relieve a sore throat without antibiotics?
