MEN'S HEALTH Sexually Transmitted Diseases • Genital warts • Chlamydia • Genital herpes • Gonorrhea • Syphilis WOMEN'S HEALTH Sexually Transmitted Diseases • Genital warts • Chlamydia • Genital herpes • Gonorrhea • Syphilis

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Chlamydia is a bacterial infection of your genital tract that spreads easily through sexual contact. You may not know you have chlamydia at first because the signs and symptoms of pain and fluid discharge don't show up right away, if they show up at all. Many people experience no signs and symptoms.

Chlamydia is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases in the United States. Each year, as many as 3 million people in the United States are infected with chlamydia. The disease affects both men and women and occurs in all age groups, though it's most prevalent among U.S. teenagers.

The disease isn't difficult to treat once you know you have it. If it's left untreated, however, chlamydia can lead to more-serious health problems.

Chlamydia may be difficult to detect because early-stage infections often cause few or no signs and symptoms that might alert you to see your doctor. When signs or symptoms do occur, they usually start one to three weeks after you've been exposed to chlamydia. Even when signs and symptoms do occur, they're often mild and transient, making them easy to overlook.

Signs and symptoms of chlamydia infection may include:

• Painful urination
• Lower abdominal pain
• Vaginal discharge in women
• Discharge from the penis in men
• Painful sexual intercourse in women
• Testicular pain in men

The bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis causes chlamydia. The condition most commonly spreads through sexual intercourse and other intimate contact among genitals, the rectal area and the mouth. It's also possible for a mother to spread chlamydia to her child during delivery, causing pneumonia or a serious eye infection.

A variety of the Chlamydia trachomatis bacterium causes another sexually transmitted disease called lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV). Initial signs include genital sores, followed later by fever and swollen lymph nodes in the groin area. The greatest prevalence of LGV is in Africa, Southeast Asia, Central and South America and Caribbean nations. The disease has increased recently among gay and bisexual men in Europe. American health officials have expressed some concern about LGV's emergence in the United States.

See your doctor if you have a discharge from your vagina or penis, have pain during urination, or encounter other signs and symptoms of chlamydia. It's important to treat chlamydia before it leads to other health problems. Also, see your doctor if your sexual partner reveals that he or she has chlamydia, even if you have no symptoms. Symptoms may not occur until several weeks after infection, or may not occur at all.

Because of the chance of other health problems if you contract chlamydia, ask your doctor how often you should have chlamydia screening tests if you're at risk. You're in a high-risk group if you:

• Have multiple sexual partners
• Don't use a condom during sex
• Have other sexually transmitted diseases
• Have a sexual partner who has had a sexually transmitted disease

Screening and diagnosis of chlamydia is relatively simple. Tests include:

• A culture swab. For women, your doctor may take a culture swab of the discharge from your cervix. This can be done at the same time your doctor does a routine Pap test. For men, your doctor may insert a slim swab into the end of your penis to get a sample from the urethra. In some cases, your doctor may swab the anus to test for the presence of chlamydia.
• A urine test. A sample of your urine analyzed in the laboratory may indicate the presence of this infection.

Chlamydia can lead to or be associated with other health problems, such as:

• Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Women infected with chlamydia are at greater risk of acquiring HIV than are women not infected with chlamydia.
• Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). PID is an infection of your uterus and fallopian tubes. Although it may cause no signs or symptoms, PID can damage the fallopian tubes, ovaries and uterus, including the cervix. Untreated PID can lead to abscesses in the fallopian tubes and ovaries. The infection can cause scarring that may lead to infertility. Other possible long-term consequences include chronic pelvic pain and lingering infection. Each year, about 1 million U.S. women develop PID, with chlamydia responsible for about half those cases. Researchers estimate that 100,000 women each year become infertile due to PID. Some women experience chronic pelvic pain and may have a pregnancy in one of their fallopian tubes (ectopic pregnancy).
• Epididymitis. A chlamydia infection can inflame the epididymis, a coiled tube located beside each testicle. Epididymitis may result in fever, scrotal pain and swelling.
• Prostatitis. The chlamydia organism can spread to your prostate gland. Prostatitis may result in pain during or after sex, fever and chills, painful urination, and lower back pain.
• Rectal inflammation. If you engage in anal sex, the chlamydia organism can cause rectal inflammation. This can result in rectal pain and mucus discharge.
• Eye infections. Touching your eye with a hand moistened with infectious secretions can cause an eye infection, such as pinkeye (conjunctivitis). Left untreated, the eye infection can result in blindness.
• Infections in newborns. The chlamydia infection can pass from your vaginal canal to your child during delivery, causing pneumonia or an eye infection that can lead to blindness.

Doctors treat chlamydia with prescription antibiotics such as azithromycin (Zithromax), erythromycin, tetracycline or doxycycline. The infection should resolve within one to two weeks. Your sexual partner or partners also need treatment even though they may not have signs or symptoms. Otherwise, the infection will pass back and forth. Failure to treat chlamydia can cause complications in both women and men.

The surest way to prevent a chlamydia infection is to abstain from sexual activities. Short of that, you can:

• Use condoms. Use a male latex condom or a female polyurethane condom during each sexual contact. Condoms, used properly during every sexual encounter, reduce but don't eliminate the risk of infection.
• Limit your number of sex partners. Having multiple sex partners puts you at a high risk of contracting chlamydia or other sexually transmitted diseases.
• Get regular screenings for sexually transmitted diseases. If you're sexually active, particularly if you have multiple partners, talk with your doctor about how often you should be screened for chlamydia and other sexually transmitted diseases.
• Stop douching. Women shouldn't use douche because it decreases the number of good bacteria present in the vagina, which may increase the risk of infection.