STDs have traditionally been shrouded in stigma, mystery, and taboo. In most cases, these are completely curable infectious diseases, but ignoring them is the cause of the development of severe complications. The statistical fact speaks eloquently about how important it is to change our attitude to sexually transmitted diseases – the number of such diseases detected for the first time in recent years has been constantly growing, especially among men. Experts even indicate which sexually transmitted disease has the greatest increase in prevalence, and it turns out that this is one of the most neglected diseases of its kind. These are chlamydia.
In the United States alone, more than 1.5 million new cases of chlamydia were diagnosed last year, with men predominating among the newly infected. As the main reason for the wide spread of this infectious disease among the sexually active part of the world’s population, unprotected sexual contact are called.
Chlamydia infection is caused by an intracellular microorganism — Chlamydia trachomatis .
The main symptoms of the disease are atypical white discharge from the penis, pain, and severe burning when urinating and during sex. However, the symptoms may vary depending on which part of the body chlamydia got into and where the infection developed. In addition to the genital area, it can also spread around the throat, around the rectum, etc. In women, the situation is more special, since the infection often remains hidden and asymptomatic. This explains the interesting phenomenon that chlamydia is more often found in men – they just go to the doctor more often in connection with the symptoms that manifest themselves.
The most interesting thing, in this case, is that chlamydia infection is most often detected by accident during a preventive examination or during an examination for gonorrhea – a disease that until recently was diagnosed more often than chlamydia. However, in recent years, the rate of spread of both diseases has changed, and chlamydia infection is now the world leader in the number of newly detected cases per year.
In the absence of treatment, chlamydia infection can provoke serious complications and lead to serious inflammatory processes and even infertility in both sexes. Therefore, experts advise in conditions of increased morbidity to conduct a preventive examination for chlamydia at least once a year in sexually active people, regardless of their gender and sexual orientation. The recommendation is especially important for women due to the asymptomatic development of infection in the early stages.
With timely diagnosis and the appointment of antibiotic therapy, chlamydia infection is a completely curable disease in both sexes.
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