Chlamydia

What is chlamydia?

Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted bacterial infection - in fact, it's the most common STI amongst young people in Australia.

It can affect the penis, cervix, fallopian tubes, anus, throat and - in rare cases - the eyes.

Chlamydia can cause serious health problems such as pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility if it is not treated.

How do you get it?

Chlamydia can be passed on through unprotected oral, vaginal or anal sex with an infected person. This means sex without a condom or dam. A pregnant woman can also pass it on to her baby during childbirth.

How can you prevent it?

Using condoms will protect you from chlamydia. For information on how to use them correctly, check out the condoms factsheet.

What are the symptoms?

Chlamydia can be a sneaky infection. 75% of women infected with chlamydia show no symptoms at all, so you can pass it on without even knowing you have it. For women, symptoms can include:

• vaginal discharge
• needing to urinate a lot
• burning when you urinate
• itchiness
• bleeding and/or deep pain during sex
• bleeding between periods
• painful periods
• high temperature
• stomach pain

Men with chlamydia might notice:

• needing to urinate a lot
• burning when you urinate
• watery discharge from your penis
• burning and itching around the hole of your penis
• pain in your balls
• swelling of your balls

What if you don't have any symptoms?

That's why chlamydia is a tricky infection! You could be one of the 75% who have the infection and show no signs of it. It's a good idea to get tested if:

• You have been diagnosed with having another STI, like gonorreah, herpes or the wart virus.
• Your partner has been diagnosed with chlamydia or another STI.
• You (or your partner) have had more than one sexual partner, or you've recently changed partners.
• You've had unprotected sex (without a condom) with a casual partner.

Will it go away if you ignore it?

No, this infection won't get better on its own. When chlamydia isn't treated, women can end up with PID (Pelvic Inflammatory Disease) and also run the risk of having an ectopic pregnancy (where an egg grows outside the uterus in the wrong place). 

Both men and women can become infertile, which means they are not able to have kids. Having chlamydia can also increase the risk of becoming infected with HIV. 

What happens in a chlamydia test?

A clinician will check for infection by doing a urine test or taking a swab. For women, this means they take some tissue from the inside of the vagina with a long cotton bud, and send it away to a lab to be examined under a microscope.

For men, the doctor will take a urine sample.  It's a good idea for both men and women not to urinate for two hours prior to the test in case you need to give a urine sample. 

To find out where you can go for a sexual health check, call FP NSW Healthline on 1300 65 88 86 (or 1300 SAFE SEX) to talk to a reproductive and sexual health nurse. Talking to the nurse is confidential and anonymous.

Is it curable?

Yes! Chlamydia can be easily treated with a course of antibiotic pills. After you've had the antibiotics you will need to do a follow-up test to check that the infection is really gone.

A high number of people infected with chlamydia also have gonorrhea, so you may be tested and treated for that as well.

If you go to a clinic will they tell your parents?

According to the law you can ask for and agree to medical care for yourself once you are 16 years old. Information the health staff receive from or discuss with you at a sexual health clinic is completely private and confidential and cannot be shared with your parents or people you know.

The only exceptions to this, and this applies to any medical service, is when staff are required to break confidentiality by law. An example of this would be if health staff thought you were at risk of serious harm. In this case the clinic is required to report this to DOCS (Department of Community Services). Another example might be if your files were required in a Court case. 

If you are between 14 and 16 you may still be able to agree to your own medical care, but this can vary in individual cases.

Doctors are also required to report cases of chlamydia to the Government so they can monitor the disease in Australia. Your identifying details are not used here, though - just a number. They don't need to know who you are, but want to keep track of how many people are getting the infection.

More information

For more information on STIs and having a sexual health check-up, call FPA Healthline 1300 65 88 86, or visit http://www.fpnsw.org.au/.