Chlamydia incubation period

The incubation period of chlamydia is characterized by an asymptomatic course, which leads to its rapid development. In such a situation, the patient does not even suspect that he is a carrier of the bacterium. At the same time, in men, the infection may not manifest itself at all, gradually turning into a chronic form.

Chlamydia is a bacterial infection. It penetrates the urinary tract, rectum, eyes and pharyngeal membrane. According to statistical studies, chlamydia is diagnosed in people aged 16 to 30 in about 5-10% of cases. The causative agent is considered to be bacteria - chlamydia.

Methods of infection

In most cases, infection occurs during vaginal or anal sexual intercourse. Oral intercourse does not usually result in chlamydia infection. Also, infection of the baby at birth from the mother is not excluded. As a result, the baby suffers from chlamydial pneumonia or from chlamydial conjunctivitis.

Remarkably, bacteria cannot live on their own in the external environment, they die quickly. That is why human infection (a certain amount of chlamydia is needed to spread the infection) does not occur when sharing hygiene products (towel, sponge, etc.), as well as when visiting a bath, shower or from the toilet lid. The risk of transmission of infection in everyday situations is almost non-existent.

The risk of infection is markedly increased by unprotected intercourse with an infected partner (without a condom). According to statistics, the likelihood of developing chlamydia after sexual contact is 50%.

Incubation period

The incubation period of chlamydia lasts from 10 days to 3 weeks. At this time, bacteria not only multiply, infecting more and more cells, but can also be transmitted to another person.

The incubation period of chlamydia in men and women is dangerous precisely because the disease is asymptomatic. This is the main problem, because of which chlamydia is considered one of the most common sexual infections. According to doctors, today more than 100 million new people suffer from this disease every year.

It is almost impossible to detect chlamydia in the early stages, which is why it is so important to avoid unprotected sex with unfamiliar partners.

Symptomatics

In male patients, there are practically no symptoms. Only a small number of infected people can detect signs of the disease:

• Pain in the urethra during bowel movements;
• Colorless fluid from the urethra.

Chlamydia in a woman appears only in 1/3 of cases. The symptoms of the disease include:

• Colorless vaginal discharge;
• Pain when defecating the bladder;
• Bleeding between periods;
• Pain in the lower abdomen.

Unfortunately, in most cases, bacteria infect tissues without making themselves known. As a result, it is possible to detect the bacterium only in the later stages, which often causes complications.

If a patient has a mixed form (for example, a combination of chlamydia and mycoplasma), it is possible to identify urethritis, cystitis or cervicitis.

Urethritis can occur in acute and mild symptomatic form. In men with this disease, discharge (colorless or yellow) flows from the urethra, and in women from the vagina. One of the broad signs is dysuric problems, which manifest as pain or burning during Sexual intercourse or bladder defecation. Also, the nature of inflammation of the mucous membrane in the outer part of the opening of the ureter and itching channels.

In infected women, one of the most common infectious complications is cervicitis. It is characterized by an unpleasant discharge from the vagina, described as purulent mucus. They are odorless. At the same time, the cervix is hyperemic, slightly flowing.

In a female, chlamydia can manifest itself in the form of vulvovestibulovaginitis. Symptoms: frequent urination, itching and discharge in the organs of the reproductive system.

A complicated form of chlamydia is characterized by severe, sharp pains in the genital area (crotch in women, scrotum in men), rectum. Also, women may suffer from pain in the abdomen, in the lower back, or from pain during sexual intercourse. Chronic chlamydia can lead to structural deformities of the urethra.

People who practice anal sex (women and homosexual men) may suffer from pain in the rectum (the infection enters through the anus). Itching is also noted in this area.

Estragenital signs of the presence of chlamydia are chronic lesions of the respiratory system: frequent inflammatory colds with a prolonged cough, complete with proctitis, discharge from the anus and pain symptoms.

Among male patients, doctors single out inflammatory processes in the epididymis as a complication, and in women - uterine pathology. All this can eventually lead to infertility.

Also, chlamydia in male patients is often accompanied by Reiter's syndrome - urethritis (inflammation of the urethra), and in women, inflammation of the cervix, and sometimes damage to the joints and conjunctiva of the eye. In the later stages, the risk of complications is higher than in the early ones.

Diagnosis of chlamydia

Without medical research, it is impossible to accurately determine whether there are bacteria in the body. In practice, the following types of diagnostics are used:

• Half-imase chain reaction - almost accurately detects the presence of chlamydia;
• Fluorescence - performed by microscopy. The procedure is 50% accurate. The disadvantage of such diagnostics is a large amount of research materials. It is possible to determine chlamydia only in the active stage, sometimes the infection is confused with staphylococcus.
• Enzyme immunoassay - for analysis, scrapings and blood are taken from the patient to determine the presence of infection and the stage of its development. The accuracy of the procedure is about 60%. Sometimes signs can be found in healthy people, which is associated with other diseases.
• Crop - shows susceptibility to antibiotics and allows you to get a result with a certainty of about 75-95%.

It is recommended to combine several diagnostic methods at once in order to obtain the most accurate and correct clinical picture. It is also possible to retake tests (refutes or confirms the presence of microorganisms).

Treatment

Treatment of chlamydia in women and men lasts about 1 month. Therapy is required immediately for 2 sexual partners (it does not matter if they were found in the second chlamydia) to exclude the possibility of re-infection. Sexual intercourse during treatment is excluded. It is also forbidden to drink alcohol or smoke. Patients must follow a diet.

Therapy consists in the use of antibiotics, sometimes various procedures or antifungal agents are additionally prescribed.

For men, a doctor may prescribe prostate massage, vitamins, and strengthening drugs. When drawing up a treatment plan, the doctor must take into account the stage of development and the focus of the infection. Therapy can be considered successful only if the patient has not been found to have chlamydia within a crescent after treatment.

As a preventive measure, it is recommended to always use protective equipment and avoid promiscuity. Do not forget to visit the doctor regularly for examination.