What is chlamydia?

Chlamydia is a common sexually transmitted disease. It is caused by bacteria called Chlamydia trachomatis. It can infect both men and women. Women can get chlamydia in the cervix, rectum, or throat. Men can get chlamydia in the urethra (inside the penis), rectum, or throat. You can get chlamydia during oral, vaginal, or anal sex with someone who has the infection. A woman can also pass chlamydia to her baby during childbirth. If you’ve had chlamydia and were treated in the past, you can get re-infected if you have unprotected sex with someone who has it. Chlamydia is more common in young people, especially young men. You are more likely to get it if you don’t consistently use a condom, or if you have multiple partners. It is highly infectious as it is usually symptomless and unrecognizable therefore goes untreated. It is therefore also known as “silent infection”.

Chlamydia Symptoms

1. No symptoms

Chlamydia doesn’t usually cause any symptoms. So you may not realize that you have it. People with chlamydia who have no symptoms can still pass the disease to others. If you do have symptoms, they may not appear until several weeks after you have sex with an infected partner.

2. Lower abdominal pain

If you experience a sharp pain in the lower part of my stomach and have a problems bending or taking deep breaths, and also have very painful urination. Then you’re right to be concerned about the sharp pains you feel in your lower abdomen; symptoms like that are certainly cause for concern.

3. Pus-like discharge from penis

Penile discharge is a condition in which fluid collects in the urethra as a result of a bacterial, viral or yeast infection. The urethra is the tube through which urine and semen leave the penis.Here the discharge from the penis can be watery and clear, or opaque and cloudy containing pus and even blood. Penile discharge can vary a lot.A sexually transmitted disease like chlamydia can cause similar symptoms to a urinary tract infection.

4. Painful testes

Testicle pain is an uncomfortable symptom that men can experience and has a variety of causes. Pain in one or both testicles can be caused by an infection (whether by an STD or non-STD agent), an injury, hernia, or a testicular swelling/mass.Infectious causes of testicular pain include epididymitis (inflammation of the tube that carries sperm from the testicle to the penis) caused by the sexually transmitted diseases chlamydia or gonorrhea, caused by several types of bacteria and some viruses.

5. Painful urination

Chlamydia microbes can infect the urethra and cause a urinary tract infection (UTI), which can manifest itself in pain during urination (most commonly a ‘burning’ sensation), as well as sudden, desperate urges to urinate.

6. Fever

It’s also possible to get a chlamydia infection in the anus. In this case, the main symptoms are often discharge, pain, and bleeding from this area. If you have oral sex with someone who has the infection, you may get it in your throat. You may notice a sore throat, cough, or fever.

7. Joint pain

Chlamydia may also cause reactive arthritis-the triad of arthritis, conjunctivitis and urethral inflammation—especially in young men. It can occur in both sexes, though is more common in men.

8. Red eyes/conjunctiva

The symptoms and signs of Chlamydia Conjunctivitis include a unilateral (only one eye) red eye, irritation, mucous discharge, swollen eyelids and crusting of the eyelids. Symptoms can start anywhere from few weeks after getting infected.

9. Prostatitis

Prostatitis is usually caused by the same bacteria that cause urinary tract infections (UTIs) or sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Bacteria can travel to your prostate from your blood. It can enter your prostate during or after a medical procedure, such as a biopsy. It can also be caused by infections in other parts of your genitourinary tract.

10. Rectal infection

Sexually Transmitted diseases cause rectal pain. Rectal infections are common with unprotected oral anal sex with an affected partner.

11. Infertility

The degree of DNA fragmentation in these men’s sperm is three times higher than in healthy men’s. As well as they have a low sperm count and they had a higher number of sperms with defective shapes. They also found that infected men’s sperm had poor motility (they did not swim well).

Preventive measures

Prevention methods include:

• condoms
• using a dental dam during oral sex
• regular screening

To avoid spreading chlamydia, individuals should avoid sexual activity until treatment is complete. If a one-time dose of antibiotics is prescribed, it is recommended that people avoid sex until 7 to 10 days after treatment.