Chlamydia

Chlamydia is an extremely common disease that occurs with equal frequency in men and women. It occurs most often in those who lead a rich sex life, but ignore barrier methods of contraception.

Chlamydia is asymptomatic, therefore, with irregular visits to the gynecologist and urologist, a person may not even be aware of his disease. Despite the latent course of chlamydia, the patient remains potentially dangerous and can easily infect his sexual partner.

Prolonged asymptomatic development of the disease can lead to misconceptions about its harmlessness, but in the absence of adequate treatment, serious problems can develop. Two weeks after infection, the first clinical manifestations will be noted in the form of foul-smelling discharge from the genitals, itching, burning and pain during sex. If the symptoms are ignored, they may be followed by cystitis, pyelonephritis, various gynecological diseases and even infertility.

The causative agents of chlamydia are microorganisms, in medicine called chlamydia, which are transmitted sexually and in everyday life.

Chlamydia - what is it?

Chlamydia - one of the types of pathogenic bacteria, have a more complex structure than viruses. They affect the internal and external genital organs, urinary tract, as well as blood vessels, joints, eyes, ears, throat and lungs.

For a long time, scientists did not attach much importance to chlamydia, because. the infections they cause do not have pronounced symptoms. Interestingly, after infection with chlamydia, they may not show their presence in the human body in any way and not conflict with the immune system. They are in a state of hibernation, while living inside the cell and multiply by division.

In the event of a weakened immune system caused by another disease, hypothermia or overheating, chlamydia immediately reproduces actively, as a result of which symptoms characteristic of chlamydia begin to appear. According to statistics, at least 100 million people become infected per year, so modern medicine is actively developing diagnostic tools and methods of treating the disease.

How it is rendered

Chlamydia is transmitted through sexual intercourse, the cause is sexual contact with an infected person. You can become infected through vaginal, anal and oral sexual intercourse. At the same time, women are more susceptible to this infection, and the male body is more resistant.

It is believed that it is impossible to get infected with this disease in everyday life, but this is a mistake. Today, theoretical and practical medicine has established that chlamydia can live in the bed of a sick person at a temperature of about 20 C for at least two days. Therefore, the causes of infection by contact are not excluded.

Views

As many as 15 species of chlamydia are able to exist and parasitize only in the human body. About diseases caused by chlamydia in the organisms of other animals, science is not known. The following types of chlamydia have been identified in humans:

• Urogenital chlamydia,
• Venereal lymphogranulomatosis,
• Trachoma, etc.

One of the types of chlamydia can cause respiratory diseases:

• Inflammation of the lungs,
• Pharyngitis,
• Acute respiratory disease, etc.

A type of chlamydia transmitted to humans through contact with birds and animals, which provokes the development of an extremely dangerous disease - ornithosis. As a result of this disease, according to medical statistics, death often occurs.

Urogenital

Urogenital chlamydia - the most famous and common type of disease caused by chlamydia, can occur in both acute and chronic forms. If you skip the acute phase and allow the disease to become asymptomatic, chlamydia easily becomes chronic, which can be very difficult to completely cure.

The chronic form of urogenital chlamydia is characterized by unexpressed symptoms or does not appear at all, although the course of the disease will continue. Chlamydia have a destructive effect on the human body at the cellular level, from time to time giving serious complications.

Thus, urogenital chlamydia in men with improper therapy or self-medication can be complicated by prostatitis and subsequent impotence, and in women: inflammation of the bladder and even infertility.

Lymphogranulomatosis

Venereal lymphogranulomatosis is characterized by lesions of the lymph nodes in the genital area. The infection is caused by the most aggressive type of chlamydia. Bacteria spread exclusively through sexual contact, enter, live and multiply in the patient's genitourinary system, in other organs and tissues.

First, sores appear on the genitals, in the inguinal region, on the lips, tongue, and anus.Then the inguinal lymph nodes increase, harden, hurt and fester. In the absence of proper treatment, over the years, the disease becomes the cause of the destruction of the lymph nodes, liver, spleen.

A patient who has recovered from lymphogranulomatosis develops strong immunity, re-infection is impossible.

Trachoma

Trachoma is a chronic infection caused by chlamydia that affects the conjunctiva and cornea of the eye

The infection is transmitted by contact, through hands, clothes, hygiene items contaminated with pus, mucus from infected eyes and can develop into a real epidemic. Flies and other insects can also be carriers of the infection. After treatment of the disease, immunity is not produced, re-infection is possible.

Symptoms

Chlamydia disease in women can be almost asymptomatic. And in some cases, symptoms such as yellowish vaginal discharge with an unpleasant odor, containing mucus and pus, may appear.

The discharge is accompanied by mild pain in the lower abdomen, itching and burning when urinating, and slight bleeding between periods. Other diseases of the genitourinary system may have similar symptoms.

Chlamydia in men can also be asymptomatic, i. run hidden. In some cases, there is a slight inflammation in the urethra, accompanied by itching, burning during urination, cloudy morning discharge.

In severe cases, chlamydia in men is manifested by pain in the scrotum, lower back and testicles. At the time of an exacerbation of the disease, the urine becomes cloudy, with bloody discharge, and the body temperature rises to 37 C.

Infection of a child occurs during birth from a mother with chlamydia. Also in medicine, cases of contact infection of a baby with chlamydia have been recorded, as a result of which diseases such as conjunctivitis, pneumonia, acute respiratory infections, etc. develop.

Diagnosis

Diagnosing chlamydia is quite difficult. symptoms are similar to many other diseases of the genitourinary system. Most often, to detect chlamydia in the patient's body, a scraping is done and a bacterial analysis of blood, urine and semen is performed.

Smears from the vagina, urethra are examined under a special microscope. If there is chlamydia in the sample, then they glow

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay allows you to detect antibodies in the patient's blood that are produced by his body in the presence of certain infections. During the polymerase chain reaction, the patient's DNA is examined, such a study gives a 100% result on the presence or absence of chlamydia in his body.

Treatment

Chlamydia disease is treated in a complex way, during therapy, the doctor prescribes antibacterial drugs, they can penetrate the membrane into the cell and destroy pathogenic bacteria.

Antiparasitic drugs are also often used, because. scientists classify chlamydia as one of the types of human parasites. It is common to prescribe immunomodulators to support the patient's immune system.

The following are prescribed intramuscularly or intravenously as antibacterial drugs:

• Azithromycin;
• Doxycycline;
• Metacycline;
• Pefloxacin;
• Ciprofloxacin.

Chlamydia quickly get used to the action of antibiotics and become resistant to them. It is important to remember that you cannot self-medicate, so you can drive the disease into an asymptomatic form, and not cure it. If you find the first signs of chlamydia, you should immediately contact a venereologist.

In addition to medications, the doctor must prescribe to the patient:

• Baths,
• Vaginal tampons,
• Douching,
• Physical therapy, etc.

In the vast majority of cases, treatment is carried out on an outpatient basis, the doctor can refer the patient to the hospital only if there are serious complications of chlamydia.

At the end of the course of treatment, the patient must pass control blood and urine tests.

In order to ascertain a complete cure, all diagnostic studies should be repeated within a month after the completion of the therapeutic course. If all the test results are negative, then there are no chlamydia in the body.

Prevention

Chlamydia in men and women can be prevented in the same way as any other sexually transmitted infection. This means that women and men should not be promiscuous, it is important to be careful about the safety of sex, use condoms, and observe genital hygiene.

If you suspect that you have contracted chlamydia, you should immediately go to see a venereologist with your sexual partner.

You will have to undergo laboratory tests, and if the diagnosis is confirmed, a full course of treatment. The same should be done if you are planning a child.It is not recommended to have sex during the treatment of chlamydia.

Read about all the ways of infection, manifestation, diagnosis and treatment in our section and be healthy: aware is armed!