Majority of people who get infected with chlamydia just like with any other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) will not notice any symptoms immediately. Symptoms usually appear between the first or third week of getting exposed to chances of infection. Like an unprotected sex with an infected person. And on some people symptoms don't develop until many months later.
However, there are those whose symptoms dissapear, after only a few days of having them. Like you don’t feel or show any sign you had the chlamydia symptoms just recently. Don’t get caught with your pants down, however. For even if the symptoms are totally absent chances are you may still be able to pass the infection. The infection is still in your system and this just went into latency.
How much are women’s chances to get chlamydia?
As the most frequently reported sexually transmitted bacterial infection to CDC, chlamydia cases in the United States went as high as 1.4million cases in 2011 alone. CDC broke down the statistics as 1 out of 15 (ages 14-19) sexually active teenage girls has a chlamydia infection. Chlamydia is that easy to spread because of its trait to show very mild or no symptoms, chances of unknowingly passing it on to others are high.
Therefore recommendations from CDC, for the yearly mandatory testing for STD on sexually active women are careful study based on probable statistics. Regular testing is more than ever significant with this type of bacterial infection since chlamydia infection almost always increases the risk of contracting HIV, and other STDs.
How do women get the chlamydia infection?
The passageway which joins the vagina and the uterus (cervix) is where chlamydia infection first occurs, during unprotected sex with an infected person generally referred to as cervicitis. Early symptoms of chlamydia infection may include painful urination, stomach pain, vaginal discharge, and bleeding between periods. From the cervix, the infection may spread upward to the urine canal (urethra), fallopian tubes (tubes where fertilized eggs pass from the ovaries to the uterus) and to the uterus (womb), which could lead to PID (pelvic inflammatory disease), if the infection is left untreated. Other serious consequences with chlamydia infections are ectopic pregnancy (an embryo develops outside of the womb during a pregnancy) and infertility.
Most common chlamydia symptoms in women
- No symptoms - silent chlamydia (this occurs in 75% of women with chlamydia)
- Inflamed eye
- Sore throat
- Abnormal vaginal discharge (with an odor)
- Pain during urination
- Rectal pain with discharge or bleeding
- Pain during sex
- Lower belly pain
- Bleeding between menstrual cycles
- Lower back pain
Men and their chlamydia symptoms (do men get them)?
Men like women can also get infected with Chlamydia, and similarly do not experience any symptoms at the early stages of the infection (silent chlamydia). Early stages symptoms in men usually include a burning sensation during urination, a thick, milky, yellow-white or watery penile discharge, pain and swelling in the testes (less common symptoms).
When untreated, chlamydia infection in men can result in NGU (a nongonococcal urethritis) which is an infection of the urethra, as well as epididymitis, which is an infection of the epididymis (the passage tube of the sperm from the testes). Regular yearly Chlamydia testing is strongly advised to sexually active men, for these reasons.
Most common symptoms of chlamydia infection in men
- Silent or no symptoms (occur in 50% of men with chlamydia)
- Inflamed eye
- Sore throat
- Abnormal thick, yellow-white, milky or watery penile discharge
- Itching and burning around the opening of the penis
- Pain during urination
- Rectal pain, discharge or bleeding
- Testicular pain and swelling
Serious health complications from untreated late stage chlamydia
In both men and women the occurrence of rectal, eye and throat symptoms due to Chlamydia are mutual. Contracting a chlamydia infection during anal sex leads to symptoms such as rectal pain, discharge or bleeding. This could progress to inflammation of the rectum when left untreated, for both men and women. Infection of the eyelids can lead to conjunctivitis (eyelid discharge and inflammation), oral sex can lead to a chlamydia infection induced sore throat. Permanent or irreversible damage to the reproductive tract are serious threat of chlamydia infection in women, the most common manifestation is cervicitis, which is an infection of the cervix with inflammation. Doctors strongly warn against inattention to these symptoms and highly recommend seeking medical attention immediately to avoid any serious or deadly complications.
Causes of chlamydia
Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria cause chlamydia infection. When present, a chlamydia infection is usually characterized by the proliferation of this species of bacteria in the urethra, rectum, cervix and vagina of an infected person. These bacteria can also establish a habitat in the throat. Infection can be spread by any type of sexual contact (oral, vaginal or anal) with an infected person. High risks for chlamydia are young people who are sexually active.
Babies can also get chlamydia infection from an infected mother at the time of birth as the baby passes through the infected vaginal canal. Damage in the eyes and neonatal pneumonia are the most common complications of chlamydia acquired through the birth canal.
Repeat infection is common, even after a person has been treated for Chlamydia. It is possible to get the infection again and again. Therefore Doctors repeatedly and strongly advice regular testing for chlamydia be done by sexually active persons.