What is Chlamydia and what do I have? Groom

Chlamydia is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the UK, especially for people under 25 years of age, so we need to know what it is and how to keep ourselves safe

Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted infection (STI). This is a bacterial infection and is also the most common sexually transmitted infection in the UK, especially for people under the age of 25.

How do people get chlamydia?

Chlamydia is caused by a bacteria found in semen or vaginal fluid. It can infect various parts of the body, such as cells in the cervix, cells in the urethra (we urinate from the throat, eyes, and rectum). People pass this bacteria to others through unprotected sexual activities:

Unprotected sexual activity means no obstructive contraception methods, such as condoms or dental dams. Chlamydia is spread through sexual bodily fluids, so through a toilet seat or a swimming pool, people don’t face risks by kissing, hugging, sharing bathtubs, sharing towels, bathrooms or cups.

What are the signs and symptoms of Chlamydia?

Due to the lack of symptoms, Chlamydia is called a “silence” infection. 75% of women and 50% of infected men showed no obvious signs of their infection. Some people do experience symptoms. It may take several weeks for them to display and include:

• Feelings of pain or burning when peeing
• Abnormal or different color emissions from the vagina (green or yellow)
• Abnormal or different color emission from penis tip (green, yellow or white)
• Bleeding during/after sexual activity
• Abdominal pain during vagina
• Pelvic/lower abdominal pain
• Heavy or bleeding between periods
• Testicles pain and swelling
• Burning/Itching around the penis

The symptoms are somewhat different for the rectum, throat and eyes.

• Rectum: Pain, discomfort or discharge from the hospital
• Throat: no symptoms
• Eyes: Conjunctivitis (also known as “pink eye”)

If untreated chlamydia, women and vaginal patients may develop pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and damage FAllopian tube. Men and people with penis can develop infections in their testicles. Chlamydia can cause infertility to anyone infected, regardless of the genitals. This makes checking out after unprotected sexual activities very important.

How do I check if I have chlamydia?

Take a sexually transmitted disease test! It’s free and there are plenty of places to buy: gum or sexual health clinics, Brooke services and some GP surgeries. Find your nearest service here. Free home testing kits are also available in certain parts of the UK. It is important to note that chlamydia will not be detected by cervical smears and blood tests.

The test can be a urine test or a swab test. The clinic will recommend which test is better for you. Urine test is a urine sample. The swab test looks like cotton buds and collects a range of bacteria inside the vagina or at the tip of the penis. People usually do a vaginal swab themselves. This may be a bit uncomfortable, but it is not painful. If someone’s mouth or anal sex is not protected, the swab can also be taken from the throat or rectum.

You should find the result in two weeks – usually text, if the result is negative, you should go over the phone, and if the result is positive and you need treatment, you should go over the phone. If it is very likely that the outcome is positive (for example, your partner is positive), you may be treated immediately regardless of the outcome.

What if I had chlamydia?

If your results are positive, treatment is required. For chlamydia, this means a single dose of antibiotic tablets. Avoid any sexual activity until you know you are no longer infected, as this will prevent you from spreading the infection.

You also need to tell you about your previous sexual partner (starting from the past 6 months). This may be uneasy, but they can also be infected and require treatment. If talking to a former sexual partner feels too difficult, some clinics offer “partner notification” services that warn them of potential exposure to sexually transmitted infections without mentioning any name.

How do I keep myself safe from chlamydia?

Use condoms and dental dams! Condoms are a barrier to contraceptive methods, which means they can prevent sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy. If you share sex toys, we should also use condoms on sex toys. Dental dams are another way to get stuck on flat skin surfaces, such as vulva or anus.

If you are in a relationship, do a STI test with your partner! Once you have negative results or any necessary treatments, if you are exclusive and/or monogamous, you don’t need to worry about protecting yourself from sexually transmitted infections.

There are a lot of stigma around STIs, but they are very common and Chlamydia is easy to treat. Just like having an ear or throat infection, antibiotics need to be diagnosed and treated. There is nothing dirty or wrong with having a sexually transmitted infection. They are part of sexual activity. But we do need to test regularly and keep ourselves safe.

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