chylamidya

What causes Chlamydia?

Dr.Joe's Data Base

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* The sexually transmitted disease chlamydia is caused by a bacterium
called Chlamydia trachomatis.

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How do you get it?

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* Chlamydia is a venereal disease which is usually transmitted by sexual
activity.
* Semen from the penis, vaginal fluid, and blood can carry the bacteria
that causes the infection.
* The bacteria can enter the body of a person through contact with these
fluids.

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Who gets it?

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* Chlamydia is the most widespread of sexually transmitted diseases.
* There are an estimated 4 million chlamydia patients in the United
States.
* BUT, this is only an estimate because chlamydia is difficult to detect
and often goes without notice.
* All sexually active people, regardless of their sexual preference, can
get the disease.
* Chlamydia is very common in the sexually active teenage population.
About 45% of sexually active teenagers are exposed to the disease.

What happens to me if I get this?

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In the beginning, Chlamydia may not make you feel anything and so you may
not even know you have it. But, as it gets worse, you will begin to feel
somethings but different people feel different things:

* What happens in men?
o Chlamydia causes something called NON-SPECIFIC URETHRITIS (if you
really want to impress someone, call it NSU for short).
o If you get this, you will see or feel:
+ discharge from the penis
+ the testes swelling up (which if not treated can lead to
infertility-can't have kids anymore)
+ pain when you urinate
* What happens in women?
o 75% of the women can't even tell or feel that they have the
infection.
o If they do feel something, it happens within 3 weeks after
getting the infection.
o If women do feel something, it is usually:
+ a yellow vaginal discharge
+ pain during urination
+ may have lower abdominal pain that doesn't go away
+ pain during sexual intercourse
+ spotting between periods
+ may also have nausea and fever
o It can also lead to cervicitis (inflammation of the cervix)
+ about 5-13% of the women in the U.S. who get Chlamydia get
cervicitis
o It can also cause salpingitis (inflammation of the fallopian
tubes)
* What happens to a pregnant mother and her baby?
o If the mother has this bacteria (Chlaymdia trachomatis), the risk
of getting an ectopic pregnancy is much higher. Ectopic pregnancy
means that the pregnancy didn't happen in the uterus where it
should but happened somewhere else.
o This bacteria can be easily passed to the developing child within
the uterus.
o When the baby is born, the disease can cause blindness in the
child and even a severe case of pneumonia.
o The child may have respiratory diseases for a long time if not
treated immediately.

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How long do you get it for?

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* You may not even feel anything if you have chlamydia and so you can't
tell if you have this and get treatment.
* It can just come and go.
* Those who do notice that they have this infection will feel something
for weeks to months, depending on how severe the infection is and
whether or not anything was done to treat it as early as possible.

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How can I prevent it?

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* Practice safe sex.
o Use condoms or diaphragms when engaging in sexual intercourse.
* The use of birth control pills is effective in controlling
pregnancies, but NOT effective in preventing the spread of bacterial
diseases such as chlamydia.

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How does the doctor test for this?

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* Recently, a new chlamydia test was made called the Amplicor Chlamydia
Trachomatis Test.
o It can be done with a sample of a man's urine or a swab from a
woman's cervix or urethra.
o Also the result can be determined within 4 hours and NOT 3-7 days
which is how long it used to take with the old method of
culturing cells.
* The fact that you have certain symptoms or that you feel differently
with some activities should make you think of this infection and go to
the doctor who may be able to tell by just the symptoms and then do
the test to confirm.

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How is it treated?

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* Chlamydia can be in your body for very long unless you treat it with
ANTIBIOTICS.
* A seven to ten day treatment with antibiotics is required.
* Tetracycline is one of the most common antibiotics used to treat
chlamydia but not everyone can take this antibiotic.
* Erythromycin is another drug that is used. The drug doctor prescribes
depends on your medical history and if you are allergic to any of the
antibiotics.

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What happens to me in the long run?

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* If the infections is left untreated, it can get worse and cause other
problems.
o In men, the worst result of an untreated disease would be
sterility.
o For women, the disease may result in infertility-the inability to
have children.
* If an infected woman were to become pregnant while the bacterium is
still untreated, her risk of an ectopic pregnancy (planting of the
fertilized egg on the walls of the fallopian tubes) is much greater
than normal.
* Pelvic inflammatory disease (commonly referred to as PID) may be
another result of untreated chlamydia, causing severe inflammation and
scarring of the fallopian tubes and the lining of the uterus.
o Research shows that 50% of all cases of PID are a result of a
chlamydial infection.

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