What can you take to get rid of chlamydia

Overview

Chlamydia is a bacterial infection spread through sexual contact. It's one of the most common sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Most people who get chlamydia don't have symptoms. But they can still infect their sex partners.

Antibiotics can cure chlamydia. Your sex partner or partners also need treatment so they don't spread the infection.

Tell your doctor if you might be pregnant. Some antibiotics should not be used during pregnancy.

Treatment is important. If chlamydia isn't treated, it can cause a severe infection of the testicles (called epididymo-orchitis) as well as the uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries (called pelvic inflammatory disease, or PID). PID can make it hard to get pregnant.

Follow-up care is a key part of your treatment and safety. Be sure to make and go to all appointments, and call your doctor or nurse advice line (811 in most provinces and territories) if you are having problems. It's also a good idea to know your test results and keep a list of the medicines you take.

How can you care for yourself at home?

• If your doctor prescribed antibiotics to take at home, take them as directed. Don't stop taking them just because you feel better. You need to take the full course of antibiotics.
• Don't have sex with anyone while you are being treated. If your treatment is a single dose of antibiotics, wait at least 7 days after you take the dose before you have sex. Even if you use a condom, you and your partner may pass the infection back and forth.
• Make sure to tell your sex partner or partners that you have chlamydia. They should get treated, even if they don't have symptoms.
• Get any tests your doctor suggests. Your doctor may do tests for other STIs. And you may be advised to get tested again for chlamydia in several months.

How can you prevent it?

It's easier to prevent an STI than it is to treat one:

• Limit your sex partners. The safest sex is with one partner who has sex only with you.
• Talk with your partner or partners about STIs before you have sex. Find out if they are at risk for an STI. Remember that it's possible to have an STI and not know it.
• Wait to have sex with new partners until you've each been tested.
• Don't have sex if you have symptoms of an infection or if you are being treated for an STI.
• Use a condom (a male or female condom) every time you have sex. Condoms are the only form of birth control that also helps prevent STIs.
• If you're pregnant, be extra careful. Some STIs can be passed to your baby during delivery.

Vaccines are available for some STIs, such as HPV. Ask your doctor for more information.

When should you call for help?

Call 911 anytime you think you may need emergency care. For example, call if:

• You have sudden, severe pain in your belly or pelvis.

Call your doctor or nurse advice line now or seek immediate medical care if:

• You have new belly or pelvic pain.
• You have a fever.
• You have new or increased burning or pain with urination, or you cannot urinate.
• You have pain, swelling, or tenderness in the scrotum.

Watch closely for changes in your health, and be sure to contact your doctor or nurse advice line if:

• You have unusual vaginal bleeding.
• You have a discharge from the vagina or penis.
• You think you may have been exposed to another STI.
• Your symptoms get worse or have not improved within 1 week after starting treatment.
• You have any new symptoms, such as sores, bumps, rashes, blisters, or warts in the genital or anal area.

Where can you learn more?

Go to https://www.healthwise.net/patientEd

Enter X780 in the search box to learn more about "Chlamydia: Care Instructions".

What is chlamydia?

The bacteria that cause chlamydia usually infects a woman’s cervix or it may infect the urethra in both men and women. It can also infect the rectum, throat, or eyes.

Who has chlamydia?

A lot of people have chlamydia – as many as 1 in 10 young women test positive for it. In 2016, over 1 and a half million cases of chlamydia were reported to the CDC in the US. In California alone, there were almost 200,000 reported cases of chlamydia in 2016.

How do you get chlamydia?

You can get chlamydia from any type of sex. Chlamydia infections like to live in the type of tissue that lines the openings of your body – like the vagina, the urethra, the rectum, or the throat. It can get passed between two people any time these tissues come together – which happens most often during unprotected vaginal or anal sex. It’s less common – but not impossible – to get chlamydia from oral sex.

How do you know you have chlamydia? What are chlamydia symptoms?

Most people who have it don’t know because they don’t have symptoms. Among young women, chlamydia is sometimes called the “Silent Epidemic” because it causes so much damage in so many people without even showing any symptoms. A few people might have a thick yellow or clear discharge from the penis or vagina, pain or burning when they pee, or pain or bleeding during sex.

How do you test for chlamydia?

Clinicians can do a simple and painless urine test to find out if you have chlamydia. They may also collect a swab sample from the vagina, cervix, urethra or rectum during a physical exam.

Can you get rid of chlamydia?

Chlamydia can be cured with antibiotics. The best way to cure chlamydia and keep from infecting your partners, is to avoid sex for seven (7) days, until the antibiotics have done their job. If you do end up having sex while the antibiotics are still working it is really important to use a condom or else it is likely the medicine you took won’t work. If you got medication to take at home make sure you take all of the pills, even if you start to feel better – otherwise the infection might not go away completely.

How can you protect yourself from getting chlamydia?

The only method that is 100% effective in preventing STDs is abstinence, but if you’re sexually active, the best way to avoid chlamydia is to be mutually monogamous with someone who has tested negative for chlamydia. Condoms give good protection against chlamydia during vaginal sex and during oral sex on a male. It’s important for both partners to get tested because it’s easy to get re-infected if one partner still has it. If you test positive for chlamydia, get tested again three (3) months later to make sure you don’t have it again. If you’re sexually active and under 25, you should get tested for chlamydia every year – better safe than sorry.

For protection against chlamydia during oral sex on a female, you can use a dental dam as a barrier between the mouth and vulva. A dental dam is a thin square of latex that is placed over a woman’s vulva before her partner performs oral sex on her and acts as a barrier between the vulva and the mouth. They are sold in some stores, but you can make your own dental dam using a latex glove or a male condom. For protection against Chlamydia during any type of anal sex (rimming, penetration, etc.), you can use a female condom.

What’s the worst that could happen?

For women, a chlamydia infection can lead to Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID), an infection of parts of the reproductive system like the uterus, ovaries, and fallopian tubes. That means if you have chlamydia and you don’t get it treated, you might not be able to have babies if and when you want to. PID can also lead to problems like chronic pelvic pain or ectopic pregnancy.

In men, untreated chlamydia may spread to the testicles, causing pain, and in rare cases, infertility.

Chlamydia infection also increases your likelihood of getting HIV. Pregnant women who have chlamydia can pass it on to their babies during birth, which could cause blindness or lung damage.

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