Chlamydia Testing Center - North Dallas, TX

Chlamydia Facts

• Chlamydia, aka Chlamydia trachomatis, is a sexually transmitted disease (STD)
• Chlamydia is the most common STD reported in North Dallas & the Dallas area
• Symptoms or signs of chlamydia may be mild or absent.
• Chlamydia can cause infertility and other serious complications.
• Chlamydia of the throat, mouth chlamydia, can occur by having oral sex with an infected partner.

What is the prevalence of chlamydia in Dallas?

Chlamydia is the most frequently reported bacterial sexually transmitted disease in North Dallas and the Dallas area. Even so, cases are under-reported because most people with chlamydia do not have any symptoms. The CDC estimates there are 2,291,000 silent carriers of chlamydia in the United States.

Can you get chlamydia without sexual contact?

Medical research has shown chlamydia is not transmitted without sexual contact. Chlamydia of the mouth is not common but can occur. Statistically, chlamydia is highly transmittable, and re-infection from untreated sexual partners is very common. It is also possible for chlamydial infection of the cervix to spread to the rectum.

What does chlamydia look like on a woman?

Chlamydia is known as a silent disease because about three quarters of infected women have no symptoms. If symptoms do occur, they usually appear within 1 to 3 weeks after exposure.

Symptoms include:

• Abnormal vaginal/anal discharge or bleeding
• Burning sensation when urinating
• Lower abdominal pain
• Low back pain
• Nausea
• Fever
• Pain during intercourse
• Bleeding between menstrual periods

What does chlamydia look like on a man?

About half of infected men have no symptoms of chlamydia. If symptoms do occur, they usually appear within 1 to 3 weeks after exposure.

Symptoms include:

• Discharge from penis
• Burning sensation when urinating
• Burning and itching around the opening of the penis
• Rectal pain, discharge, or bleeding.

Is it true that previous chlamydia can cause problems with pregnancy?

If untreated, chlamydial infections can progress to serious reproductive and other health problems with both short-term and long-term consequences. Like the disease itself, the damage that chlamydia causes is often silent.

In women, untreated infection can spread into the uterus or fallopian tubes and cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). This happens in up to 40 percent of women with untreated chlamydia. PID can cause permanent damage to the fallopian tubes, uterus, and surrounding tissues. The damage can lead to chronic pelvic pain, infertility, and potentially fatal ectopic pregnancy (pregnancy outside the uterus). All pregnant women should have a screening test for chlamydia.

How is chlamydia diagnosed?

There are laboratory tests to diagnose chlamydia. Some can be performed on urine, other tests require that a specimen be collected from a site such as the penis or cervix.

Is there a cure for chlamydia?

Chlamydia can be easily treated and cured with antibiotics. Persons with chlamydia should abstain from sexual intercourse until they and their sex partners have completed treatment, otherwise re-infection is possible.

Re-infection increases a woman's risk of infertility and other serious reproductive health complications. Retesting should be encouraged for women three to four months after treatment.