Consequences of chlamydia in men

The consequences of chlamydia in men can be different. Already due to the fact that the disease is latent, especially in the early stages, people do not even know about its existence. The duration of the incubation period can vary from a week to a month. All this time, pathological metamorphoses are taking place in the body, growing day by day.

A visit to the doctor is already a necessary measure against the background of the manifestation of obvious external signs of secondary destructive changes that have begun in various organs.

The most common among them are:

• Prostatitis with impaired urination, pain in the groin, sacrum, anus;
• Inflammation of the testicles - orchitis, usually accompanied by inflammation of their appendages (epididymitis) with some soreness in the scrotum and testicles ;
• Inflammation of the seminal vesicles - vesiculitis, which often leads to the complete loss of the function of the testicles to reproduce seminal fluid.

As a result:

• Potency failures;
• Male loss of reproductive ability.

The penetration of the causative agent of the disease into the blood and lymphatic channels generalizes the pathological process. This leads to damage to the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, arthritis and arthrosis of the limbs, as well as the spine.

The danger of chlamydial infections lies precisely in the fact that they lead to complications that are multiple and destructive.

Etiology of disease

Chlamydia in men belongs to the group of pathologies of an infectious nature. Their causative agent is Chlamydia trachomatis. Chlamydia, a type of microbes that are close to bacteria and viruses in their damaging ability, but have their own morphology, structure and functional characteristics. They are transmitted mainly through unprotected sexual contact with a carrier of chlamydia, regardless of whether it is vaginal, anal or oral.

Less common is chlamydia with household etiology, which is transmitted to people who are in close, for example, family contact, through hands contaminated with the pathogen or objects that everyone touches: towels, dishes, clothes, bedding.

The symptoms of the disease at the initial stage are imperceptible due to the fact that the microorganism develops only inside the epithelial cells. Outside, chlamydia cells die quickly.

Complications arise when the pathogen from the destroyed cellular tissue of the male genitourinary system penetrates into the intercellular space, blood and bodice and spreads with them to other organs, multiplying exponentially. At the same time, trachomatis actively uses the nutritional and energy capabilities of its owner, reducing its own potential.

Regardless of whether the symptoms of chlamydia are expressed or not, contact with a carrier of the disease, even during the incubation period, becomes dangerous for his sexual partners. The piquancy of the situation lies in the fact that the suffering party may not know about his illness and infect another simply by accident. There is only one conclusion from this - avoid questionable sexual relationships, especially if they are not protected.

Circumstances conducive to the occurrence of chlamydia in men, in addition to the neglect of condoms during intercourse, are:

• Irrational nutrition;
• Stressful situations;
• Physical fatigue.

All this reduces immunity and increases the likelihood of developing secondary chlamydial pathologies affecting the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, the musculoskeletal system, and visual organs.

But the infection inflicts the main blow on the genitourinary system, which most often becomes the starting point for the penetration and development of the disease. Symptoms of urogenital chlamydia may be similar to the usual manifestations of prostatitis, inflammation of the urethra and bladder.

Diagnosis of chlamydia and its consequences

It will be possible to detect chlamydia in men with a sufficient degree of certainty only through instrumental analyzes, including molecular biological, serological and enzyme immunoassay methods.

External symptoms of the acute form of the disease usually manifest as follows:

• After a short burst of temperature to a high level, a subfebrile range is set within 37-37.5 degrees Celsius, indicating the latent nature of inflammation;
• Against this background, fatigue increases, general weakness occurs;
• Possible watery discharge from the urethra, over time, taking on a mucous or even purulent consistency, especially in the morning;
• When passing urine, itching and burning appear in the urethra. The urine itself becomes cloudy in the first portions, bloody in the last;
• Veins of blood are visible in the ejaculate during the eruption of the seed;
• The outer part of the urethra turns red, swells;
• Pain is felt in the groin and lower back.

If you do not treat chlamydia at the stage of the initial exacerbation, it will go into the chronic phase. The symptoms will become subdued. The patient will have the illusion of a gradual recovery. In fact, the pathological picture is only getting worse and may well lead to inflammation and destruction of the epithelium of all other organs, including articular periosteum, mucous membranes of the heart, lungs, eyes, oral and nasal cavities, as well as hard skin.

The consequences of chronic chlamydia can be devastating. Infection of the genital area inevitably leads to both impotence and infertility. The reasons for the latter are erosive damage to the cell membrane in spermatozoa, their gluing by chlamydia, leading to the loss of the necessary mobility. Sometimes even destructive changes in DNA occur. In the best case, then a fetus is born with Down syndrome or another genetic pathology.

With chlamydial inflammation of the prostate gland, Reiter's syndrome can develop, forming a kind of symptomatic and pathological conglomerate of prostatitis, conjunctivitis and reactive arthritis, which affects one or more joints, large and small.

The joint pains that occur in this case often radiate to the lower back, sacrum, heels, tendons and are perceived by the patient as rheumatic. Only microbiological analysis and X-ray examination clarify the nature of the phenomenon.

For a man, even the slightest discomfort in the functioning of the genitourinary system should be the reason for a visit to a doctor: a urologist, an infectious disease specialist or a venereologist. Its main purpose is to verify the presence or absence of chlamydia.

Therapeutic measures

The treatment of chlamydia is based primarily on microbiological analysis data. Isolation of a pure culture of the pathogen and inoculation on agar-agar in a petri dish to test the effectiveness of certain pharmacological preparations allows you to choose the most effective remedy against chlamydia trachomatis.

Experience shows that such drugs include tetracycline antibiotics of the fluoroquinolone and macrolide series. Penicillins, sulfonamides, cephalosporides, which actively destroy almost all gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, have little effect on trachomatis.

The attending physician, before introducing into the course of the main therapy and auxiliary drugs intended to eliminate chlamydia and its complications, should carefully examine the patient's tolerance to all these substances and exclude the possibility of allergic reactions.

To do this, the following factors should be investigated and constantly taken into account throughout the therapeutic course:

• The presence of specific chronic diseases;
• The level of immunity;
• The functional adequacy of the hepatobiliary complex, which includes the liver, gallbladder and pancreas;
• The state of the intestinal microflora and the urogenital sphere.

There is no single scheme of antichlamydia therapy, it must be individualized. In each case, one has to focus on the physiological characteristics of a man, his age, history, sensitivity to drugs. Only in this case is a positive effect real.

Conclusion

Chlamydia is an infectious disease. According to WHO statistics, it is the most common pathology transmitted through sexual contact. The total number of victims, including older generations, sometimes reaches 15%. This is facilitated primarily by the asymptomatic course of the disease, which makes diagnosis difficult.

In the absence of timely treatment that completely eradicates the disease, it will turn into a chronic form. Severe consequences are then inevitable. They can affect physiologically important structures, including the cardiovascular, respiratory and lymphatic systems, the musculoskeletal system and the organs of vision.

In order not to be a victim of chlamydial infection, it is enough to follow the usual rules of general and sexual hygiene. If there is any suspicion that these measures were insufficient, it is better not to self-medicate, but immediately contact a specialist in a venereological or urological profile. Only in this case it is possible to get rid of the disease radically.