Everything You Need To Know About Chlamydia

While a lot of things can change how your discharge smells and looks, a stronger scented, yellow or green discharge may be an infection like chlamydia, says Aksel. (But any change in discharge color or amount could be a symptom of a number of other infections, too, so it’s best to speak with your doc if something is up, adds Shepard.)

If the infection is in the urethra, it can cause slight discomfort, burning, or pain while peeing. Or you may feel like you need to go to the bathroom all the time, says Aksel. Unfortunately, these symptoms are classic for UTI’s, too, so next time before you reach for the cranberry juice, consider whether or not it’s possible you have chlamydia instead.

If something is up back there, like pain, yellow or gray discharge, or bleeding, it’s best to get checked out ASAP, because it could be a sign that you have chlamydia in the rectum, Aksel says.

Even if you haven’t had anal intercourse, it’s possible to get chlamydia of the rectum if an infected person’s fluid were accidentally spread there during foreplay, says Whelihan. And if you have had anal sex, remember that it’s important to wear a condom even through you can’t get pregnant because the transmission of chlamydia and other STI’s is still possible. (Here's how many women are actually having anal sex.)

If caught early enough, these symptoms are highly unlikely, but if the infection has been left untreated, chlamydia can spread to the uterus and fallopian tubes to cause something called pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which can lead to the scarring of fallopian tubes and even infertility, says Aksel.

Even though you may not have heard of PID, nearly 1 million American women get it every year, according to the National Institutes of Health. And the CDC reports that one in eight women who have experienced PID will have a hard time getting pregnant. In fact, untreated, undiagnosed STIs cause up to 24,000 women to become infertile each year, according to the CDC.

PID may cause pelvic or lower abdominal pain, he explains. “This might reveal itself as the type of pain you’re used to experiencing during your period, so don’t wave away these symptoms if they’re occurring out-of-sync with your cycle,” says Whelihan.

Things like a new birth control method may cause spotting, but spotting between periods may be a sign of infection, especially in women who are not currently sexually active, says Whelihan.

There are a few reasons that chlamydia may cause pain or bleeding during or after sex. For one, it can cause cervicitis, an inflammation of the cervix that may make it extra sensitive during penetrative intercourse, or cause bleeding after, says Whelihan. And if the infection has led to PID, sex may be less enjoyable.

Thankfully, chlamydia is extremely easy to test for and cure, which means if you catch it before anything serious like infertility occurs, it’s NBD.

Usually, gynos will test their patients for the infection by using the same urine sample they use to test for pregnancy, or by using a speculum and swabbing at the time of a pap smear and then sending it off to the lab, says Whelihan.

How often you should get tested depends on your risk factors such as if you’re sexually active, your number of sexual partners, if you have a partner who has been diagnosed, if you’ve had unprotected sex, and if you have any of the symptoms described above, says Ghodsi.

“I recommend that my patients start every relationship with an STI panel so that you both know where you stand," says Whelihan.

Okay, so you have chlamydia. Now what? First things, first: breathe. It’s not a reflection of your character, your morals or you cleanliness, says Whelihan.

That said, chlamydia can’t go away on it’s own, says Aksel. But it can be cured easily the right treatment.

Doctors treat chlamydia with oral antibiotics such as doxycycline (Vibramycin), azithromycin (Zithromax) and ofloxacin (Floxin), says Aksel. The treatment can consist of a single dose or a dose that you take for up to two weeks, depending on the type of chlamydia and your doctor's preferences. (BTW: PID can also be treated with antibiotics, says Whelihan.)

Super-important: You should not have sex again until you and your sex partner(s) have completed treatment. If your doctor prescribes a single dose of medication, you should wait seven days after taking the medicine before having sex.

If your doctor prescribes a medicine for you to take for seven days, you should wait until you have taken all of the doses before having sex, according to the CDC. That means that if you and bae start treatment the same day, the longest you’ll have to wait to get it on again is a week. (Bless up.)

But unfortunately, it’s not like the chicken pox, so if you’ve had chlamydia and were treated in the past, you can still get infected again, if you have unprotected sex with anyone who has chlamydia, says Whelihan.

That’s why eight weeks after diagnosis women need to come in for something called “test of cure”, to make sure that she does not still have it, says Aksel.

“The follow up appointment is to make sure that a woman hasn’t been re-infected by her partner, not to make sure that the antibiotics worked because the antibiotics are effective,” Whelihan explains.

Unsurprisingly, abstinence is the most foolproof way to prevent chlamydia, says Ghodsi. But if you’re sexually active, condoms and dental dams are the best way to prevent spread, says Aksel.

When used effectively, condoms offer excellent protection against STI’s. But FYI they’re not 100 percent perfect, says the CDC.

Women who claim to be condom users may still be at risk for chlamydia, says Whelihan. “If there is any penis-and-vagina contact before the penetration, it’s still possible for the infection to get spread. That means if you and your partner are rubbing, teasing, or exchanging fluids of any kind before the condom goes on there is still a risk,” she says.

The material of the condom also matters: Condoms should be made of latex or polyurethane not lambskin, and the condom packaging should say that it can prevent disease, according to the FDA. "I would not recommend natural condoms for prevention of chlamydia or any other sexually transmitted infection,” says Aksel.

So if you have a latex allergy, he recommends speaking with your health care provider about other options.

“I thought something was up when my discharge was a milky yellow for a few days in a row. But my boyfriend told me I was being paranoid, so I waited. A few weeks later I felt like my cervix was literally bubbling or passing gas, and got checked out. I should have gone to the doctor sooner because my instinct was right. My advice to any woman would be to take charge of her health (by getting tested), in a way I did not.” —Anonymous

“If I knew that there were STIs that could cause infertility I would have had more annual testing… My advice to every woman is to make sure she’s getting checked even if she’s 99.9 percent positive she doesn’t have an STI cause infertility is no joke." —Anonymous

“When you get the results, cry if you feel like you need to cry. But then breathe and realize it’s not a big deal. Don’t feel ashamed. Seek treatment, seek treatment for your partner or partners, and then continue enjoying your sex life.” —Anonymous

“I cried when I got the call from my gyno after my annual appointment. But thankfully it's cured with some pills and I found out in time before it had any lasting damage. I learned from it and moved on... more cautiously. It wasn’t a big deal, just a bit inconvenient. But I still make sure to get checked annually just in case. I recommend every does the same” —Anonymous

“I assumed that I couldn’t get an STI like chlamydia or gonorrhea because I only sleep with women, so I wasn’t consistent about getting tested. But after going to the gynecologist for my annual visit, I found out I had chlamydia. My partner and I both took the antibiotics and it went away. But I wish I hadn’t made the assumptions that I was in the clear. I’d like to tell everyone, and especially other women who sleep with women, not to make assumptions about who can and cannot get STI’s, because if you’re sexually active you’re at risk.” —Anonymous