infections
Chlamydia and Other Nongonococcal Infections
Symptoms of Chlamydia
 symptoms of chlamydial urethritis start 7 to 28 days after the infection is acquired during intercourse. Typically, men feel a mild burning sensation in their urethra during urination and may have a clear or cloudy discharge from the penis. The discharge is usually less thick than the discharge in Gonorrhea . There may be only a small amount of discharge and mild symptoms. However, early in the morning, the opening of the penis is often red and stuck together with dried secretions. Occasionally, symptoms are more noticeable with a frequent urge to urinate, painful urination, and a discharge of pus from the urethra. Manywomenwith chlamydial infection of the cervix have few or no symptoms. But some have frequent urges to urinate, painful urination, and a discharge of yellow pus from the vagina. Sexual intercourse may be painful. If the rectum is infected, people may have rectal pain or tenderness and a yellow discharge of pus and mucus from the rectum. Chlamydia can also be spread during oral sex, causing infection of the throat. Chlamydial throat infection usually causes no symptoms. Without treatment, symptoms lessen within 4 weeks in about two thirds of people. However, chlamydia can have serious long-term consequences for women, even when their symptoms are mild or absent. Thus, detecting and treating the infection are important, even if symptoms are absent. Chlamydia is the most commonly reported sexually transmitted infection in the United States. In women,complications from chlamydia include Scarring of the fallopian tubes Infection of the fallopian tubes (salpingitis) Infection of the membrane that lines the pelvis and abdominal cavity (peritonitis) Infection in the area around the liver The infection may spread up the reproductive tract and infect the uterus, the tubes that connect the ovaries to the uterus (fallopian tubes), and sometimes the area around the ovaries. In some women, the infection spreads to the lining of the pelvis and abdominal cavity (peritoneum), causing peritonitis. These infections are called Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) (PID) and cause severe lower abdominal pain and sometimes fever. Sometimes infection concentrates in the area around the liver, in the upper right part of the abdomen, causing pain, fever, and vomiting—called the Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome. Potential complications of pelvic inflammatory disease include severe infection throughout the body (sepsis), chronic abdominal pain, and scarring of the fallopian tubes. The scarring can cause infertility and Ectopic Pregnancy . In men,complications from chlamydia include Infection of the epididymis Narrowing (stricture) of the urethra Chlamydial infections may cause infection of the epididymis ( Epididymitis and Epididymo-orchitis ). The epididymis is the coiled tube on top of each testis (see figure Occasionally in men, organisms spread up the urethra and travel through the tube that carries sperm from the testis (vas deferens) to infect the epididymis at the top of a testis. In all people,complications from chlamydia may include Infection of the membrane that covers the white of the eye (conjunctivitis) Reactive arthritis Chlamydial genital infections occasionally cause a joint inflammation called Reactive Arthritis . Reactive arthritis typically affects only one or a few joints at once. The knees and other leg joints are affected most often. The inflammation seems to be an immune reaction to the genital infection rather than spread of the infection to the joints. Symptoms typically begin 1 to 3 weeks after the initial chlamydial infection. Reactive arthritis sometimes is accompanied by other problems, such as changes in the skin of the feet, problems with the eyes, and inflammation of the urethra. In newborns,complications from chlamydial infection include Conjunctivitis Pneumonia during delivery if their mother has a chlamydial infection of the cervix. In newborns, the infection may result in pneumonia ( Pneumonia in Newborns ) or conjunctivitis ( 