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CHLAMYDIA |
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This is the most common STD today. It is caused by a bacterium called Chlamydia trachomatis.
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How You Catch It:
- Men and women catch it by having sexual intercourse, oral sex or anal sex.
Babies catch it from their mothers during birth. Highly contagious.
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When Symptoms Show:
- Most women have no early symptoms. Many men see signs of infection in 1 to 3 weeks.
Even if you don’t have symptoms you can still give your germs to a sex partner or a baby.
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Signs of Infection:
- A woman can have a discharge from her vagina. Men and women can have burning when they
urinate (pee). Their joints may ache, their eyes might itch or burn, or it can itch or burn
around their bowel openings. A women can have pain in her lower abdomen (below her navel), or
it may hurt when she has sex. A man’s scrotum (balls) might swell up or hurt.
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Problems:
- A woman can get a bad infection called PID. A man can have a bad infection in the tubes
that carry his sperm cells. This can keep him from being fertile. Both men and women can have
infections in their bladders, or in the tubes that carry their urine, or their eyes, joints or
bowel openings. Babies can get eye infections, pneumonia and other problems soon after they are
born.
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Tests:
- Tests can be done on samples from a person’s infected area, like a woman’s vagina or a
man’s penis. Results can be given in a few days. A doctor or clinic may go ahead and treat the
infection without waiting for test results.
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Treatment:
- Antibiotics (not penicillin).
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Other:
- Any sex partner you have had in the last month should be tested and treated. Don’t have sex
with anyone until you have taken all your pills.
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For more information:
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