What Are the Long-Term Effects of Chlamydia?

Chlamydia is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the United States, according to the CDC. No one wants to think they’ll contract an STI, but with millions of chlamydia cases in recent years, it’s more likely than most think.

Getting regular STD tests is the best way to know whether you have a chlamydia infection. A rapid STD test simplifies and expedites this process. While chlamydia is easily treatable when you catch it early, it becomes a much larger issue when it goes untreated. The long-term effects of chlamydia involve serious health problems.

All About Chlamydia: Chlamydia in the Throat, Cervix, and Penis

Chlamydia trachomatis, usually referred to as just chlamydia, is a bacterium that transmits between sexual partners. 

Chlamydia exchanges through sexual fluids such as:

• Semen
• Vaginal fluids
• Pre-cum

You can contract chlamydia through vaginal, oral, or anal sex. Chlamydia can infect your throat, vagina, cervix, anus, and urethra.  

Having chlamydia over the long term begins to have lasting, damaging effects on your body.

Who Is at Risk for Chlamydia?

The only way to avoid chlamydia is by not being sexually active. However, there are other ways to take care of your sexual health. 

Wearing protection, communicating with your partner, and getting regular STI tests are good practices. With Rapid STD Testing, you can even participate in same-day testing.

Some factors increase the risk of contracting chlamydia. You should get tested if these risk factors for chlamydia apply to you: 

• You’re 25 or younger
• You have multiple sex partners
• You’re a gay or bisexual man
• You have unprotected sex

If these apply to you, you’re at a higher risk of catching chlamydia. 

Testing for Chlamydia 

Medical professionals can easily diagnose and treat chlamydia when they catch it early. Since it’s one of the most common sexually transmitted infections, it’s smart to test for it regularly if you’re sexually active. 

Testing requires either a urine or a swab test. If you opt for a swab test, you must swab from your cervix, anus, penis, or vagina for the sample. 

While you’re at it, you can use a 10-panel STD test to test for other possible STIs. Unfortunately, you cannot build immunity to chlamydia. There is always a risk of reinfection. This is why testing is so important — you want to avoid the longer-term effects of chlamydia. 

How Chlamydia Affects the Body: What Are the Symptoms of Chlamydia, and How Long Does It Last? 

Chlamydia is often a silent disease. You can have chlamydia for months or longer and not notice. That’s why it spreads so quickly — people who don’t realize they have it have unprotected sex with someone else who catches it but doesn’t realize they have it, and the cycle continues.

Knowing facts about chlamydia is vital, so if you contract it, you can treat it early.

When symptoms do develop, they can take the form of:

• A burning sensation when urinating
• Thin vaginal discharge
• Unusual sores in the genital area
• Pain in the genital area
• Bleeding between periods
• Painful sexual intercourse

Alternatively, symptoms of chlamydia in the throat are:

• Pain in the mouth and throat
• White spots toward the back of the mouth
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Fever

If symptoms develop, it usually takes seven to 14 days of being infected for them to progress. This makes it difficult to catch chlamydia in its early stages. If you start to experience these symptoms, test right away.

Chlamydia affects men’s and women’s bodies differently. They will also experience different long-term effects of untreated chlamydia. 

Chlamydia can infect a woman’s cervix, which then spreads to the uterus and fallopian tubes. Over time, this can cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), infertility, and chronic pelvic pain. These risks increase in pregnant women.

Pregnant women risk passing the infection on to their children during childbirth. If you pass chlamydia on to your baby, they are at higher risk of early birth, eye infections, and pneumonia.

Ectopic pregnancy is another risk in this demographic. An ectopic pregnancy occurs when a fertilized egg implants outside of the uterus. This condition can be fatal to the mother if not treated. 

Men are more likely to have chlamydia without symptoms. When they do experience symptoms, they include: 

• Discharge from penis
• Uncomfortable urination
• Swollen or sore testes 

Men may develop epididymitis. Symptoms of epididymitis include a swollen scrotum, blood in semen, painful and frequent urination, and tender testicles.

Men and women may experience reactive arthritis from untreated chlamydia. Reactive arthritis inflames the joints, especially in ankles, knees, and feet. With reactive arthritis, you’ll experience pain and stiffness in these areas.

This inflammation could then spread to your skin, eyes, and urethra. Reactive arthritis can also cause swollen fingers and toes, lower back pain, urinary problems, mouth sores, rashes on your feet and palms, and other skin issues.

Left untreated, chlamydia will only develop into more severe medical issues. Frequent testing and immediate treatment are the best ways to prevent the long-term effects of chlamydia. You can do this easily with Rapid STD Testing’s same-day tests.

Get Treated for Chlamydia: Types of Chlamydia Treatment

If you catch chlamydia early, treatment is fairly simple. A dose of antibiotics is typically enough to fight off the bacteria. 

The two commonly prescribed antibiotics for chlamydia are:

• Doxycycline 
• Azithromycin

If your doctor prescribes doxycycline, you’ll take it daily for a week. For azithromycin, you’ll need to take a 1g dose for the first day, then a 500mg dose daily for two days. There are other options for antibiotics doctors use if you have an allergy, are pregnant, or are breastfeeding.

However, be aware that you shouldn’t have sex — protected or otherwise — within seven days of your chlamydia treatment. 

Having sex too early after your dose of antibiotics will likely cause reinfection. Rather than having to go through treatment again, it’s best to abstain from sexual intercourse for that week as you recover. This also prevents chlamydia from passing from you to your partner.

Unfortunately, if you’re suffering from the long-term effects of chlamydia, treatment won’t be as straightforward. For example, if you contracted PID from untreated chlamydia, you’ll require a longer course of antibiotics.

Antibiotics cannot undo any permanent damage resulting from untreated chlamydia. Medications can reduce symptoms, but the longer chlamydia goes without treatment, the more likely your body will suffer permanent damage.

Consequences of Refusing Chlamydia Treatment

Refusing chlamydia treatment for any reason is a huge health risk. Chlamydia will cause irreversible damage to your body if left to its devices. The longer it goes untreated, the more you’re at risk for PID, ectopic pregnancies, reactive arthritis, and other conditions.

While there is no exact timeline for the damage chlamydia can cause, some reports find that women can develop PID after just a few weeks of having chlamydia. Typically, you’ll begin to experience the consequences of untreated chlamydia within the year. Having chlamydia for multiple years only damages your health further. 

If you test positive for chlamydia, seek treatment as quickly as possible to avoid long-term effects. 

Seeking Solutions Now Prevents Problems Later

If you’re sexually active, regular STD testing is the best way to safeguard your sexual health. While this task may seem tedious, it can save you from the long-term effects of chlamydia and other STDs. Testing is easier than ever with the options available at Rapid STD Testing.

Doctors can treat most STDs easily by catching them in the earlier stages. Don’t wait any longer — visit an STD center near you today.