Did you know that...? - Chlamydia is the most common STI in the Netherlands.
- 60 000 cases of new infections are discovered each year.
What will a woman notice if she has it?
Many women do not notice that they have Chlamydia. 70% of them have no symptoms at all. The other 30% start to have symptoms 1 to 3 weeks after having had unsafe sex.
The symptoms are: - Pain or a burning sensation when passing urine.
- More or a different kind of vaginal discharge.
- Vaginal bleeding when you haven't got your period.
- Pain or bleeding during or after sex.
- Lower abdominal pain.
- Higher abdominal pain on the right-hand side.
What could the complications be for a woman? - If you haven't been treated for Chlamydia you could develop an inflammation in your uterus or a fallopian tube. That could make it more difficult to get pregnant or lead to infertility.
- There is also a higher risk of something going wrong during pregnancy. You could have an ectopic pregnancy (pregnancy outside the uterus).
What will a man notice if he has it? - Many men also do not notice that they have Chlamydia.
- Sometimes they may have pain when passing urine or some discharge from the penis.
What could the complications be for a man? - Sometimes men develop an inflammation in the epididymis (in the testicle). But mostly they won't notice much at all.
- Even if men have no symptoms, they can still pass on Chlamydia. So it is important that you go and see your doctor.
Treatment: - Chlamydia can be very easily treated and cured with antibiotics if detected it in time. That is why it is important to go to your doctor as soon as possible.
- It is important that all sex partners one has had be tested and if necessary, treated.
- Once someone has Chlamydia they should abstain from sexual intercourse until both themselves and their sex partners have completed treatment, otherwise re-infection is possible.
- Multiple infections increases a woman's risk of serious reproductive health complications, including infertility.
- It is therefore advisable for women to be retested three to four months after treatment, especially in the case where the woman does not know for sure whether her sex partner received treatment.
Do you have any symptoms? Or do you think you might have been exposed to unsafe sex? It is important to have yourself tested as soon as possible. For assistance, you can go to: your general practitioner (GP, huisarts in Dutch), the GGD or the AIDS STI Help Line (0900 20420440 (10 ct/min); Monday 10:00-22:00. Tuesday-Friday 14:00-22:00. Mail: infolijn@soaaids.nl) |
