What happens if you keep getting chlamydia

Instead it looks at data in animal models about reinfection, and the failure of certain drugs to treat chlamydia when it lives in the gut. Jason Koebler at Motherboad says that earlier studies suggest that women are more likely to see these spontaneously reoccurring infections.

Two things would explain that—treatment failures that could occur because of antibiotic resistance, or reinfection. In men, in rare cases, chlamydia can spread to the testicles and epididymis tubes that carry sperm from the testicles , causing them to become painful and swollen.

This is known as epididymitis or epididymo-orchitis inflammation of the testicles. It can also sometimes cause reactive arthritis in men and women. This is why it's important to get tested and treated as soon as possible if you think you might have chlamydia. Find out more about the complications of chlamydia. Anyone can get a free and confidential chlamydia test at a sexual health clinic, a genitourinary medicine GUM clinic or a GP surgery.

In England, if you're a woman under 25 years old, you may be offered a chlamydia test when you visit some health services, for example a pharmacy or GP. Find out more about chlamydia diagnosis.

Chlamydia can usually be treated easily with antibiotics. You should abstain from sexual intercourse while you are being treated for the infection, and for up to seven days after a single dose of antibiotics, or after completing a seven-day course of antibiotics. This will prevent you from infecting your partner. You should tell your sexual partners that you have chlamydia so they can be tested.

If you are a woman and aren't sure your partner has been treated for chlamydia, you should get retested for the infection three to four months after your treatment. Retesting after several months is a good idea even if you are sure that your partner has been treated.

The CDC recommends that all sexually active women 25 and younger be screened at least every year for chlamydia. Women older than 25 who have multiple sex partners or a new sex partner should also be screened every year. Pregnant women should be screened, as well.

Practicing safer sex can reduce your risk of getting chlamydia in the first place. The best way for sexually active people to avoid chlamydia is to use a condom and maintain mutually monogamous sexual partners. This is sometimes done in STD clinics when there is concern over the cost of tests or that a person might not come back for the results. It means that you're being treated for symptoms more generally, but you do not have a diagnosis for a specific STD.

This may be a problem because not all STDs even cause symptoms, nor are they caused by the same infection. You also could be taking the wrong drug if you're doing it on your own. You may be treating your STD with a medication you've used in the past, or one prescribed for your partner or for a friend. Not all STDs are caused by the same pathogens infectious organisms. Different illnesses require different treatments. It's important for your healthcare provider to correctly identify what's causing your infection.

This way, you'll be sure to get the right treatment instead of just taking an antibiotic and hoping it works. You may be prescribed a specific antibiotic by your healthcare provider. If so, it's important that you complete the treatment as directed.

That's true even if you feel better before you're done. Failing to finish a course of antibiotics might keep your STD from being cured. It might also make it far more difficult to treat your STD in the future due to antibiotic resistance. If you have a consistent sexual partner, it's important to tell them about your infection. They may need to get treatment too. Once you've both gotten treated, you have to wait until the treatment has had time to work before you start having sex again.

This is especially true of unprotected sex. You want to avoid passing the STD back and forth between you. Without taking these important steps, it is possible for that to happen. Such a cycle would prolong the STD and its symptoms. Treatment for chlamydia , gonorrhea, or another STD may be successful. That's good, but it does not protect you from other STDs moving forward. In fact, many people become infected with STDs over and over again.

This is because they have unprotected sex with partners who have untreated STDs. If you think you have an STD, it's important to seek treatment. Many common STDs are treated successfully with antibiotics, but they can return. This may be because of an entirely new infection. In many cases, though, it's because you are either not taking the right drug or you are doing so incorrectly. Be sure to tell a sexual partner about an STD so that they can get treated too.

Certain STDs come with specific problems that can make them more likely to return. If you've been diagnosed with any of these, it's important to keep the following in mind. A significant number of people who have been diagnosed with and treated for chlamydia will get the infection again after treatment.