Chlamydia Sexually transmitted diseases affect millions of people every year. Some of the commonly known sexually transmitted diseases are herpes, syphilis, HIV, AIDS, genital warts, and gonorrhea. Some of these diseases are fatal, others can be treated with antibiotics. All of these are dangerous, but the most common STD is a disease that isn't as well known. This disease is called chlamydia. Chlamydia is a disease that affects young adults across the country. This disease is of great concern to people in high schools and colleges. This disease is the main cause of infertility. Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted infection caused by a bacterium called Chlamydia trachomatis. It mainly infects the cells of the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the outside of the body and also the cervix. Chlamydia also infects cells in the rectum and eyes. Chlamydia is the number one sexually transmitted disease in the United States, rates are highest in the West and Midwest. Missouri has a much higher rate of chlamydia than the national average. Health economists estimate that chlamydia infections and the other problems they cause cost Americans more than two billion dollars a year. Every year over four million people are infected with chlamydia. New cases of chlamydia are about four times more common than new cases of genital herpes and genital warts combined. Chlamydia is often nicknamed “the silent epidemic” because it is so widespread, yet so unheard of. Chlamydia is not as well known as other sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea or syphilis. Chlamydia infection is greatest among young adults and adolescents, especially sexually active women under the age of twenty. One of the reasons chlamydia is so widespread is because more than 70% of infected women don't know they are infected because they have no signs or symptoms. About 50% of men have no signs or symptoms. Chlamydia is transmitted in various ways. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Chlamydia is transmitted primarily through sexual intercourse. It is transmitted during oral, vaginal or anal sexual contact with an infected partner. Chlamydia can also be acquired in the pharynx through orogenital contact. Chlamydia can also be transmitted from an infected mother to her child during birth. Children often have eye inflammation or, in rarer cases, pneumonia at birth. There are several risk factors for chlamydia. Having unprotected sex is a huge risk factor for chlamydia. Having sex with more than one partner also increases the risk of contracting chlamydia. Having a sexual relationship with someone who has multiple sexual partners is also a risk factor for getting chlamydia infection. If symptoms appear, they usually appear a week to a month after infection. There are many symptoms that occur in men. Some include inflammation of the urethra, a burning sensation when urinating, a mild, sticky, milky, mucus-like discharge from the penis, and possible itching around the opening. Others include pain or tenderness in the testicles. These symptoms may seem to come and go. About half of men with chlamydia will never experience these symptoms. Symptoms in women include mild, milky or mucus-like discharge, painful urination, painful sexual intercourse, bleeding between periods, and abdominal pain. Others include burning during urination and pain caused by inflammationpelvic. Symptoms can also appear in the rectum and can cause discharge, pain and diarrhea. Chlamydia can also cause eye infections, such as conjunctivitis. Women are less likely to show symptoms, and more than 70% of infected women show no symptoms. Newborns who have been infected since birth show different symptoms. These symptoms include breathing problems, eye inflammation, premature birth and even pneumonia. Chlamydia is easily treated if it is detected soon after contraction. The most common way to test for chlamydia is for your doctor to collect a sample of cells from the infected area, usually the cervix or penis, with a cotton swab. This sample is then sent to a laboratory for evaluation and results. The most reliable way to find out if the infection is chlamydia is through laboratory tests. Usually, a doctor or nurse sends a sample of pus from the vagina or penis to a laboratory that will look for bacteria. A referral may also be made to a specialized genitourinary clinic so that further tests can be performed so that a definitive diagnosis can be made. Chlamydia can also be tested for by taking a urine sample. This way it is less invasive and less painful. The urinalysis does not require a pelvic exam or penile swab. Urine test results are available within twenty-four hours. Chlamydia is often misdiagnosed as gonorrhea because the symptoms of both diseases are very similar. Chlamydia and gonorrhea are often contracted at the same time. All sexually active women under the age of twenty and those who have inflammation of the cervix should be tested. Women under the age of twenty-four, who do not use barrier contraceptives consistently, or who have new or multiple sexual partners should be tested. Doctors recommend that because you can be infected and have no symptoms, it is important to get tested if you have had more than one sexual partner, especially if you are under the age of twenty-five. It is possible to pass the disease on to someone without even knowing they have it. That is why until the diagnosis is made and treatment is administered, it is best to avoid any sexual contact. Chlamydia can be easily treated with antibiotics such as erythromycin or tetracycline tablets. Common side effects of these treatments include diarrhea, nausea, abdominal pain, and vomiting. If chlamydia is left untreated it can cause many long-term side effects. The long-term side effects of untreated chlamydia vary in men and women. Long-term side effects that occur in men include epididymitis, an inflammation of the testicles that can cause infertility. Prostatitis is another side effect caused by untreated chlamydia. Prostatitis is an infection of the prostate gland. Reiter syndrome is an autoimmune condition similar to arthritis, also caused by untreated chlamydia. Infertility is another side effect that affects both men and women. In women, the most serious side effect is pelvic inflammatory disease. This is an ascending infection that spreads from the vagina and cervix to the uterus and fallopian tubes. This disease leads to infertility. PID has symptoms such as abdominal pain, low back pain, pain during intercourse, bleeding between periods, and fever. Up to one million women in the United States develop PID each year, and about half of these are due to untreated chlamydial infections. PID can cause scarring on the fallopian tubes that can block them and prevent fertilization. It is estimated that over one hundred thousand women every year.