How is chlamydia spread?

Men and women can get chlamydia by having vaginal sex, anal sex, or (less commonly) oral sex. The bacteria that causes chlamydia attacks the moist, mucous membranes it comes in contact with including inside the penis, vagina, rectum (anus), throat and eyelids. It's also possible for a mother to spread chlamydia to her baby during delivery, causing pneumonia or a serious eye infection.

How can I prevent getting or spreading chlamydia?

While unpopular, not having sex at all is the only way to be 100% safe from getting or spreading chlamydia. If you are sexually active, a latex condom is the best way to protect yourself and your partner. And the best way for women to decrease their chance of infection when having sex with other women is to properly use a latex dental dam.

What are the complications from untreated chlamydia?

If untreated, chlamydia infections can evolve into reproductive problems and other health complications for both men and women. According to the CDC, 4 out of 10 women with untreated chlamydia get pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). PID is an infection that attacks the uterus and fallopian tubes, leading to the possibility of infertility or life-threatening ectopic pregnancies. It’s estimated that 100,000 women become infertile each year due to PID. You might wonder -- is this because women ignore chlamydia don't get it treated? Not exactly. It's estimated that 75% of women with chlamydia don’t know they have it. This is why getting a chlamydia test is so important. In more rare cases, untreated chlamydia can lead to chronic pelvic pain or cystitis (inflammation of the urinary bladder).

Men with untreated chlamydia can also result in complications.

While rare, untreated chlamydia can lead to the infection spreading to other parts of the penis, prostate, and testicles causing pain and inflammation. And in even more rare cases the infection can spread to the epididymis (tube that caries sperm from the testes), causing pain, fever, and sterility.

If you have chlamydia, tell your partner(s).

Chlamydia is contagious. If you have chlamydia, then chances are your sexual partner may as well. You should both be treated at the same time so that you don’t re-infect each other, or anyone else. And since tests can’t tell you how long you’ve been infected, you should tell anyone you’ve recently had sexual contact with that you have been diagnosed so they can get tested too. The CDC recommends that men and women with chlamydia inform anyone they've had sex with 60 days prior to their diagnosis. Other health agencies suggest you tell partners going back as many as 6 months since chlamydia can to undetected for a long time.

All pregnant women should be tested for chlamydia.

Chlamydia is the leading cause of prenatal (before baby’s birth) pneumonia and conjunctivitis (pink eye) in newborns according to the CDC. These problem can lead to infant mortality (death) or blindness. Chlamydia can also be passed from mother to baby at birth. While at 100,000 annual cases of pregnant women with chlamydia in the U.S. only places it 4th on the list of expecting moms with STDs, the serious effects on babies makes it one of the most important to screen for and cure.

HIV and chlamydia

Women with chlamydia have a greater chance of getting HIV than women without the infection. Some studies have shown that women with chlamydia are 5 times more likely to get HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, if exposed. In general, someone who has one STD is at risk for infection with other STDs, including HIV infection. Why? One main reason is that chlamydia and other STDs that inflame mucosal tissue make one's more vulnerable to HIV infection, if they have sexual contact with an infected person.