Treatment of Chlamydia

The good news is that Chlamydia infection can be easily treated and cured with antibiotics. The sooner the Chlamydia infection is diagnosed, the better. What is the most commonly used treatment?

Doctors usually treat Chlamydia with prescription antibiotics such as:

• Azithromycin,
• Erythromycin,
• Tetracycline,
• Doxycycline

A single dose of Azithromycin or a week of Doxycycline are the most commonly used treatments. HIV-positive persons with chlamydia should receive the same treatment as those who are HIV negative. Early antibiotic treatment is extremely successful and may prevent the development of long-term complications.

Some important treatment principles

The main principle is that all sex partners should be evaluated, tested, and treated. All the persons with chlamydia should abstain from sexual intercourse until they and their sex partners have completed the treatment.
Women whose sex partners have not been appropriately treated are at the high risk for re-infection. It is proven that it will increase her risk of serious reproductive health complications, including infertility.

Prevention of chlamydia infections

The surest way to avoid the transmission of chlamydia as well as all the others STDs is not to have sexual contact or to be in a long-term mutually monogamous relationship with a partner who has been tested and is not infected. There are also some other possibilities:

Use of condoms
A person can significantly reduce the chances of getting chlamydia or giving it to a partner by using male latex condoms correctly every time they have a sexual intercourse. It should definitely reduce but not eliminate the risk of infection.

Regular screening
Health experts recommend chlamydia screening annually for all sexually active women 25 years of age and younger. It is also important that all pregnant women also have a screening test for chlamydia.

Reduce the number of sex partners
A very good way to prevent chlamydia infections is to limit the number of sex partners. Having multiple sex partners puts a person at a high risk of contracting chlamydia or other sexually transmitted diseases.

Stop with frequent douching
It is proven that women shouldn't use douche very often because it decreases the number of good bacteria present in the vagina, which may increase the risk of infection.

Chlamydia and newborn babies

Chlamydia can cause a lot of damage to the newborn baby. It is proven that a newborn baby who is exposed to Chlamydia trachomatis in the birth canal during the delivery may develop an eye infection or pneumonia.

Conjunctivitis
Symptoms of conjunctivitis, which include discharge and swollen eyelids, usually develop within the first 10 days of life.

Pneumonia
Symptoms of pneumonia, including a cough that gets steadily worse and congestion, usually develop within 3 to 6 weeks of birth.