A – Z of Illnesses & Conditions

Chlamydia:  Chlamydia is a bacterial infection transmitted when people have unprotected sexual relations. It is the most common Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD).

Chlamydia can be transmitted during oral, vaginal and anal sex and can be passed from an infected mother to her baby during vaginal childbirth. Between half and three-quarters of all women who have a chlamydia infection of the cervix have no symptoms and do not know that they are infected.

If you do develop symptoms, you may experience:

•     pain when urinating
•     unusual discharge from the vagina, penis or rectum (back passage)
•     in women, pain in the tummy, bleeding during or after sex, bleeding between periods
•     in men, pain and swelling in the testicles

If untreated; chlamydial infections can cause serious reproductive and other health problems with both short-term and long-term consequences. Chlamydia conjunctivitis can cause blindness.

Testing for Chlamydia is done with a urine test or a swab test. You don't always have to have a physical examination by a nurse or doctor.

Anyone can get a free and confidential chlamydia test at a sexual health clinic, a GUM (genitourinary medicine) clinic or a doctor's surgery. If chlamydia isn’t treated, the infection can sometimes spread to other parts of your body and lead to serious long-term health problems such as pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility (not being able to have children).