Baptist Hospital East : Health Information

Printer Friendly Send this page to a friend via e-mail

Chlamydia: Most Common of All

Chlamydia (pronounced "klah-MID-e-ah") is the most prevalent STD in the U.S. It is the most common infectious disease in the U.S., after the common cold:

Chlamydia strikes 3-10 million Americans every year.
Sexually active teens have the highest chlamydia infection rates of any age group.
Chlamydia is three times more common than gonorrhea and 30 times more common than syphilis.
Chlamydia is the leading cause of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and the leading cause of female infertility and ectopic pregnancies (where the fertilized egg attaches itself outside the uterus).
35-50 percent of women with gonorrhea also have chlamydia.

Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) of women refers to infections of the uterus and fallopian tubes, with resulting formation of scar tissue over organs in the pelvis. These scars twist, distort and compress the pelvic organs, causing painful periods, lower abdominal distress, infertility and ectopic pregnancies.

Symptoms

The majority of women have no early symptoms with chlamydia infections. Some may experience burning around the vagina, painful urination or discharge. If left untreated, chlamydia can spread internally causing pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility and ectopic pregnancy.

About 10 percent of men with chlamydia infections have no symptoms. Others suffer from varying degrees of burning from urination and discharge from the penis. A clear drop of discharge at the urethra is a classic sign, but the drop may be white and thick, making it indistinguishable from gonorrhea.

Diagnosis and Treatment

One of the most difficult things about diagnosis and treatment of chlamydia is that it so often coexists with gonorrhea, and different tests and treatments are used for the two diseases, since they are caused by different organisms. A physical examination and culture are usually required for diagnosis. Tetracycline for at least seven days is the usual treatment.

Protecting Yourself Against Chlamydia

The best protection, except, of course, for avoiding infected partners, is to use a latex condom with a spermicide. Washing and urination after sex are helpful.
Back to Sexually Transmitted Diseases