Causes of Infertility

Chlamydia and Infertility

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“Chlamydia (pronounced kluh-mid-ee-uh) is the most frequently reported sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by bacteria (Chlamydia trachomatis) in the U.S. An estimated 2.8 million Americans get chlamydia each year. Women are often reinfected, meaning they get the STD again, if their sex partners are not treated. Reinfections place women at higher risk for serious reproductive health complications, including infertility.”–4women.gov

Chlamydia is a common transmitted disease (STD). It caused by the bacterium, Chlamydia trachomatis, which can damage a woman’s reproductive organs. Name “chlamydia” is derived from the Greek word “chlamys,” which was a kind of cloak worn by men in ancient Greece. Chlamydia is one of the most widespread bacterial STDs in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates 2.8 million people are infected each year. Chlamydia bacteria live in fluid and in semen.

Even though symptoms of chlamydia are usually mild or absent, serious complications that cause irreversible damage, including infertility, can occur “silently” before a woman ever recognizes a problem. Chlamydia is known as a “silent” disease because about 75% of infected women and about 50% of infected men have no symptoms. Even if symptoms are present, they may be mild and last only a few days, and may not be noticed or considered significant.

Symptoms usually appear within 1 to 3 weeks after you are infected. Those who do have symptoms may have an abnormal discharge (mucus or pus) and may experience pain while urinating. These early symptoms may be very mild. In women, bacteria can infect the cervix and urinary tract. If the bacteria move into the fallopian tubes, they can cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) which can lead to infertility if untreated.

In men, chlamydia can infect the urinary tract and the epididymis, causing epididymitis (inflammation of the reproductive area near the testicles). Chlamydia also can cause discharge from the penis of an infected man.

“Officially, it [Chlamydia] is a bacterium, but it is more like a virus in being very small and unable to multiply outside living cells. Chlamydia is not life-threatening, but it can do serious damage to a woman’s Fallopian tubes. If this happens, the woman could become infertile.”… - EmbarrasingProblems.co.uk

Causes of Chlamydial Infections

• Chlamydia trachomatis.
• Chlamydia pneumonia.
• Chlamydia psittaci.
• Unprotected sex (oral, vaginal or anal)

Symptoms of Chlamydial Infections

• Irritation with discharge
• Cough and fever can occur in pneumonia (although the classic description is afebrile)
• Eye discharge and/or swelling develop in conjunctivitis
• Lower abdomen tender to palpation

Treatment & Prevention of Chlamydial Infections
1.Chlamydial infection is treated with oral antibiotics.

2.Persons with chlamydia should abstain from intercourse until they and their partners have completed treatment, otherwise re-infection is possible.

3.Having multiple infections increases a woman’s risk of serious reproductive health complications, including infertility. Retesting should be considered for women, especially adolescents, three to four months after treatment. Latex male condoms, when used consistently and correctly, can reduce the risk of transmission of chlamydia.

4.Use condoms correctly every time you have sex.

5.Limit the number of partners, and do not go back and forth between partners. Practice abstinence, or limit contact to one uninfected partner.

6.Common methods of birth control, like the oral contraceptive pill or the contraceptive shot or implant, do not give women protection from STDs. Women who use these methods should also use condoms every time they have sex to prevent STDs.

“Some of the young women have never even heard of the disease that threatens to sterilize them. They wonder, in their classic youthful way, how this possibly could be happening to them.” - Source: Chlamydia: the cruel fertility thief - Seattle Times.

Juliet Cohen writes articles on rare skin disorders and health disorders. She also writes articles on health care.

Article Source: http://www.uberarticles.com/articles

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