Chlamydia Symptoms in Women

A bacterial infection of the genital tract, chlamydia is a sexually transmitted disease (STD), caused by the bacteria chlamydia trachomatis. As stated earlier, this condition is asymptomatic in most cases and so it is also attributed as 'the Silent Disease'. It is estimated that about 4 million people in the United States are affected by chlamydia, every year. Although, this illness is the most common in teenagers, it can affect both the sexes and of all age groups. The condition does not pose many challenges in getting treated, once it has been diagnosed. However, if left untreated or unattended to, chlamydia has all possible chances of giving rise to severe health conditions. Here are the different symptoms which may indicate the occurrence of chlamydia in women.

What Indicates the Onset of Chlamydia?

As has been mentioned, chlamydia can affect people of all ages. When it affects girls who are yet to reach their puberty, vaginal discharge and odor are the common symptoms. During post-puberty, there would occur vaginal discharge, off-white in color from the infected cervix. This will also be accompanied by an odor. Coming to chlamydia infection in women, most of them may carry the bacteria for months and even years, without having the slightest of clue about it. This is the reason why, often treatments for the condition gets delayed, as there would be very few or no symptoms which cause the need to see the doctor in time. The incubation period of chlamydia 1 - 3 weeks; meaning after the person has been infected by the bacteria, it takes this much of time for the first symptoms to occur. The symptoms of chlamydia in women and men are mild by nature. So mild, they are easily overlooked and thus, they get unattended. So, owing to this nature of the disease, it becomes extremely important for people to have a close look on even the minute symptoms which may indicate the development of chlamydia.

A lower abdominal pain which does not seem to subside and is continuous by nature, accompanied by nausea and fever, are the early signs of chlamydia. Vaginal discharge which is milky or has mucus like appearance and pain during urination are some of the prominent signs of the illness. It is also common for women to experience pain during sexual intercourse and bleeding during menstrual periods. These chlamydia symptoms, when left unattended to, may progress to further severe complications such as cervicitis (inflammation of the uterine cervix), salpingitis [inflammation of a Fallopian tube (usually the result of infection spreading from the vagina or uterus) or of a Eustachian tube]. Expecting mothers who may be suffering from chlamydia, have higher chances of developing signs of ectopic pregnancy (pregnancy resulting from gestation elsewhere than in the uterus). Sore throat and throat infection may also occur in someone who might have had indulged in oral sex with an infected partner. Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) in women, is another condition which may arise due to chlamydia . This illness may lead to infertility, chronic pain and in some cases, even death.

Treatment

Administration of antibiotics prescribed by the doctor is generally the usual form of treating chlamydia. Azithromycin, doxycycline, erythromycin, tetracycline , etc., are some of the medications. 1 - 2 weeks is generally the time, within which the illness gets resolved. While the patient is recuperating from the illness, it is strictly advised to abstain from indulging in any kind of sexual activity. With chlamydia, there is always a lurking risk of the infection to reoccur. So, it is advisable that the sexual partner of the patient is also treated, even if he is not showing any such signs and symptoms, mentioned above.

To conclude, as we can infer from the above description, symptoms of chlamydia do not reveal themselves in about 90% of cases. The asymptomatic nature of the condition makes it more severe. This is because, by the time it is detected, it might get progressed to other fatal complications or conditions. So here, prevention is always better than cure. Following safety measure such as having protected sex, avoiding multiple sex partners and going for regular STD check ups, are some of the recommended ways by which you can reduce the risks of chlamydia.