Symptoms Of Chlamydia

What Are The Symptoms Of Chlamydia?

The trouble with chlamydia is that people who have the disease often show no symptoms at all. Therefore, it is important to consider getting yourself tested whether or not you believe that you need to. This cannot be stressed enough. Up to 50% of men with chlamydia and 75% of women do not show any signs of having this disease. This is why some people in the medical community have called it "the silent infection."

Symptoms will be different in men than they are in women. This article will first discuss male symptoms and then explain what women should be looking for.

Symptoms In Men

As mentioned earlier, a lot of men with chlamydia do not experience symptoms. For those that do, however, the symptoms can be intermittent. When the symptoms seemingly go away on their own, many men believe that they no longer have any kind of infection that they need to worry about.

The most common symptoms include an abnormal discharge from the penis. This discharge can be watery, white or cloudy. Another common symptom is a burning sensation during urination. In fact, any sort of pain during urination is a sign of chlamydia. The third most common symptom of chlamydia is pain in the testicles, especially tenderness.

These symptoms will typically show up within three weeks of exposure to chlamydia. Chlamydia symptoms in men are not strictly in the genital area, though, because chlamydia also occurs in the throat, rectum and eyes, depending on how it was transmitted.

Other chlamydia symptoms include rectal discharge, rectal pain and even bleeding. Conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye, is also a symptom. Throat infections are also a sign that you may have chlamydia.

Symptoms In Women

Symptoms of chlamydia are sometimes difficult to notice. Only around a quarter of Chlamydia symptoms in men are able to recognize any of the signs. If you are one of the women that does notice signs of the disease, they will begin to show around 21 days after you have become infected.

The four main symptoms of chlamydia in women are: lower back or abdominal pain, nausea or fever, bleeding and/or pain during sex, and blood flow (otherwise known as "spotting") when you are not on your period.

Chlamydia can also affect your vaginal discharge. You may notice either a milky white or yellow discharge that you have not seen before. You may also have a burning sensation when you urinate. This is because chlamydia microbes infect the urethra and can cause urinary tract infections. You may also get sudden urges to urinate that you are unaccustomed to.

Of course, the biggest worry with chlamydia is infertility. A chlamydia infection attacks the cervix. If the condition remains untreated, the infection will move into the ovaries and fallopian tubes. Chlamydia damages the hairs lining the fallopian tubes. Those hairs help eggs get from the ovaries to the womb. This damage results in scarring that forever blocks the tubes. This in turn results in infertility.

Conclusion Of Symptoms

Due to the fact that chlamydia is often difficult to detect, even if you are carrying the disease, testing early and often is suggested. You can get tested through our website or you can contact your healthcare provider to discuss what options are available to you.