Chlamydia is a bacterial infection, transmitted from one person to another during vaginal, anal, or oral sex. Any sexually active person can become infected with chlamydia.
Chlamydia can also be passed from a pregnant woman to her baby during childbirth.
What are the symptoms of chlamydia?
Chlamydia is known as a "silent disease" because about 75% of infected women and 50% of infected men have no symptoms.
In women, symptoms can include an abnormal vaginal discharge, a burning sensation when urinating, lower abdominal pain, low back pain, nausea, fever, pain during intercourse, or bleeding between menstrual periods.
In men, symptoms can include a discharge from the penis, a burning sensation when urinating, burning or itching around the opening of the penis. In rare cases, swelling of the testicles may occur.
If chlamydia is not treated it can spread into the uterus, the fallopian tubes, and lower abdomen causing a sever infection (called Pelvic Inflammatory Disease), scar tissue, and infertility.
How does chlamydia affect a pregnant woman or her baby?
Untreated chlamydia has been shown to increase the risk of premature birth. Babies born prematurely have a high risk of severe complications.
Babies who are born to infected mothers can get chlamydia infections in their eyes and respiratory tracts, leading to pneumonia and conjunctivitis in newborns.
How is chlamydia treated?
Chlamydia is easily treated and cured with antibiotics. All sex partners should be evaluated and treated. You will need to notify anyone you've had sexual contact with during the past 60 days to seek treatment. Treatment is available through Women's Health Center, their health care provider, or the Josephine County Health Department.
To make sure that you do not get re-infected, both you and your current sexual partner(s) should be treated. It is important that you not have any sexual contact with your partner(s) until at least 7 days after you and your partner(s) have finished the prescribed medication.
Women with a positive chlamydia test should be tested about 8-12 weeks after treatment to ensure that the infection is gone.
For more information on chlamydia, or other sexually transmitted infections, visit the CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov/std/
