California Family Health Council, Inc.

Transmission

• Chlamydia can be transmitted through vaginal, anal, and oral sex.
• Chlamydia is easily transmitted between sex partners. If a women's sex partner is not treated, she can become infected again. Most of these "repeat infections" are thought to occur during the six months after a women is first treated for her infection.
• U.S. teenagers have higher STD rates than teenagers in other developed countries because they have more sexual partners and lower levels of condom use.
• Men and women are less likely to use condoms as they get older. Only 16% of men and women age 35 to 39 used condoms in the past month, either alone or with another method.

Infection

• Age is the biggest risk factor for chlamydia. Over 80% of women with chlamydia were under the age of 25.
• A teenage girl’s immature cervix may make her more susceptible to chlamydia infection than older women.
• Most of the time, chlamydia does not have symptoms. Nearly 77% of women and 50% of men with chlamydia do not have symptoms.
• If a person does have symptoms, they usually develop within one to three weeks after exposure to chlamydia.
• Some symptoms are: thick, yellow, or bloody discharge from the penis or vagina; pain or burning with urination; bleeding or pain during sex; or vaginal bleeding when not having a period (for women).

Testing

• Sexually active women aged 25 years and younger should be screened for chlamydia each year.
• Women 26 and older should be tested for chlamydia if they have multiple sex partners, a new partner in the last two months, sex without a condom, or contact with or symptoms of an STD.

Treatment

• Chlamydia can be cured. It is the result of an infection caused by the bacteria Chlamydia trachomatis.
• Left untreated chlamydia can cause pelvic inflammatory disease, chronic pain, internal scarring, and infertility.
• In women, an untreated chlamydia infection can spread into the uterus or fallopian tubes and cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). PID can cause permanent damage and can lead to chronic pelvic pain and even infertility.
• In men, untreated chlamydia typically causes urethral infection. The infection sometimes spreads to the epididymus, causing pain, fever, and potentially, infertility.