If you're a woman and you have chlamydia that isn't treated, it can spread to your ovaries, womb or the tubes that lead from your ovaries to your womb (fallopian tubes). When this happens it's called pelvic inflammatory disease (also called PID). Between 1 in 10 and 4 in 10 women who have chlamydia that hasn't been treated get pelvic inflammatory disease.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Horner P, Boag F.
2006 UK National Guideline for the Management of Genital Tract Infection with Chlamydia trachomatis.
British Association of Sexual Health and HIV. 2006; 24: 1-24.

 

 

 

 

 

¹

If you have pelvic inflammatory disease, you can have other problems such as:

Ectopic pregnancy is a dangerous condition. It happens when a fertilized egg can't move to your womb because of a blocked tube. And so your pregnancy starts growing in your fallopian tube.

About 1 in 10 women who've had just one attack of pelvic inflammatory disease get fertility problems because of their blocked tubes.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Westrom L, Bengtsson LPH, Mardh PA.
Incidents, trends, and risks of ectopic pregnancy in a population of women.
BMJ. 1981; 282: 15-18.

 

 

 

 

 

² And the risk of ectopic pregnancy goes up six or seven times.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Westrom L, Bengtsson LPH, Mardh PA.
Incidents, trends, and risks of ectopic pregnancy in a population of women.
BMJ. 1981; 282: 15-18.

 

 

 

 

 

²

If your tubes are damaged, they can sometimes be unblocked by having an operation.

If you're pregnant and have chlamydia that hasn't been treated, you can pass the infection on to your baby during the birth. About one-third of babies of women with untreated chlamydia are born with infection of the eyes or lungs.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Holmes KK, Sparling PF, Mardh PA, et al.
Sexually transmitted diseases.
McGraw-Hill, New York, U.S.A.; 1999.

 

 

 

 

 

³ These problems can be cured with antibiotics.

If you're a man and you have chlamydia that isn't treated you're less likely to get serious health problems than a woman who has the infection. But sometimes chlamydia causes an

 

 

 

 

 

inflammation
If your skin or some other part of your body becomes red, swollen, hot or sore, we say it is inflamed. It means that your body is trying to protect you from germs, from something in your body tissues that can hurt you (like a thorn or sliver), or from things that cause allergies (allergens). Inflammation is part of the way the body heals an infection or injury.

 

 

 

 

 

inflammation either in the tubes that lead to your testicles or in your testicles. This inflammation may make you less fertile (you may have problems getting a woman pregnant), although researchers aren't sure about this.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Ness RB, Markovic N, Carlson CL et al.
Do men become infertile after having sexually transmitted urethritis? An epidemiologic examination.
Fertility and Sterility. 1997; 68: 205-213.

 

 

 

 

 

⁴

Men can also get a form of

 

 

 

 

 

arthritis
Arthritis is when your joints become inflamed, making them stiff and painful. There are different kinds of arthritis. Osteoarthritis is the most common type. It happens when the cartilage at the end of your bones becomes damaged and then starts to grow abnormally. Rheumatoid arthritis happens because your immune system attacks the lining of your joints.

 

 

 

 

 

arthritis known as Reiter's syndrome if they have chlamydia that isn't treated.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Horner P, Boag F.
2006 UK National Guideline for the Management of Genital Tract Infection with Chlamydia trachomatis.
British Association of Sexual Health and HIV. 2006; 24: 1-24.

 

 

 

 

 

¹

Getting treatment with

 

 

 

 

 

antibiotics
These medications are used to help your immune system fight infection. There are a number of different types of antibiotics that work in different ways to get rid of bacteria, parasites and other infectious agents. Antibiotics do not work against viruses.

 

 

 

 

 

antibiotics (medicines that kill bacteria) cures chlamydia. But it doesn't stop you from getting infected again.

If you're a woman your risk of getting pelvic inflammatory disease goes up with each attack of chlamydia.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Hillis SD, Owen LM, Marchbanks PA, et al.
Recurrent chlamydial infections increase the risk of hospitalisation for ectopic pregnancy and pelvic inflammatory disease.
American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 1997; 176: 102-107.

 

 

 

 

 

⁵ If you get pelvic inflammatory disease more than once, you're more likely to have fertility problems.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Westrom L.
Sexually transmitted diseases and infertility.
Sexually Transmitted Diseases. 1993; 21 (supplement 1): S32-S37.

 

 

 

 

 

⁶

In the long term, the best way to protect yourself against chlamydia is to prevent the infection being passed between sex partners. Here's what doctors advise for men and women at risk of the illness:

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
National Chlamydia Screening Programme.
What is the chlamydia screen?
Available at http://www.chlamydiascreening.nhs.uk/ys/screen.html (accessed on 27 October 2008).

 

 

 

 

 

⁷

Some people choose to be tested when starting a new relationship. They may also ask their partner to be tested. (To read more about testing, see What are the symptoms of chlamydia?)

It's important that your last sexual partner or anyone you've had sex with in the past 60 days is also tested and treated for chlamydia.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Diseases characterized by urethritis and cervicitis. Sexually transmitted diseases treatment guidelines 2006.
Available at http://www.cdc.gov (accessed on 28 October 2008).

 

 

 

 

 

⁸ Because many people don't get symptoms, they may not know they're infected without being told. And if they don't get treatment, it could cause health problems for them in the long term. They might also carry on infecting other people.

You might find it difficult or embarrassing to tell partners or former partners that you've got chlamydia. Your doctor or nurse can advise you about how to do it. If you're being treated at a sexual health clinic, the staff there can contact people, without using your name, to let them know that they should get checked.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Diseases characterized by urethritis and cervicitis. Sexually transmitted diseases treatment guidelines 2006.
Available at http://www.cdc.gov (accessed on 28 October 2008).

 

 

 

 

 

⁸

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