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Are you someone who’s recently gotten into a new relationship? Well, as much as you’d like your bond to grow stronger, there are certain things you need to keep in mind while getting intimate. The most obvious of these is getting tested for STD (Sexually Transmitted Disease). As you may already know, it’s important to get tested for STD at least once a year. This is according to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Now, out of all the prevailing STDs, chlamydia can be one of the most alarming. This post will discuss why it’s important to get a chlamydia test, especially if you’re a woman. Keep reading to find out.
What Is Chlamydia?
Chlamydia is one of the most common STDs you can contract from a person when you have sexual intercourse. Even though this STD is very much curable, you could face repercussions if you leave it untreated. That being said, this infection is hard to catch as it doesn’t come with noticeable symptoms. This means that you might be infected with chlamydia without even knowing it. Usually, when a person is infected with this STD, the parts of the body that will be infected include the eyes, throat, anus, penis, or vagina.
What Are The Different Chlamydia Symptoms?
As mentioned earlier, chlamydia symptoms are hardly noticeable. In fact, there might be instances when a person mistakes this infection with some other bacterial infection. This is the reason why it’s important to get a chlamydia test at the right time.
Chlamydia symptoms may take weeks or even months to show up. However, when they do, you might be able to differentiate it. That being said, some of the most common chlamydia symptoms include rectal discharge or pain, yellow-colored penile or vaginal discharge, pain in testicles, pain while urinating, pain in the pelvis, bleeding during or after sexual intercourse, and pain in the abdomen, among others.
If you happen to have any of these symptoms, it’s vital that you immediately get tested for STD. You can rest easy if the result comes back negative. However, if it happens to be positive, you can immediately get all the assistance you need from your doctor. This includes proper medication, therapy, counseling, and more.
Importance Of Chlamydia Testing
Most of the STDs are known to be asymptomatic, including chlamydia. So, if you don’t get tested for STD regularly, you’ll never know whether you’re actually infected or not. That being said, there are multiple reasons why it’s important to get a chlamydia test. One of the most obvious reasons is that it can lead to inflammatory diseases, which can lead to life-threatening diseases like cancer.
Being a woman, you should understand why it’s important to get a chlamydia test. With this infection’s initial damages being non-severe, you might even pass it off as some other infection. However, on the off-chance that you leave it untreated, that’s when the problem arises. That being said, untreated chlamydia in a woman can go on to spread to the fallopian tubes and uterus. This will then lead to one of the most dreaded diseases in a woman, known as a pelvic inflammatory disease (PID).
If a woman is infected with PID, that’s when things can go haywire. For instance, it can lead to permanent damage in the reproductive system, thereby bringing about an inability in the woman to get pregnant. Not only that, but it can also cause long-term pain in the pelvis or even pregnancy that takes place outside the uterus.
Even though PID, like chlamydia, doesn’t often show symptoms, there are instances when women initially feel pain in the pelvis or abdomen. Unless you want to be in such a situation where you’re unable to get pregnant, don’t delay getting tested for chlamydia.
It’s true that men can contract chlamydia, too. However, the only difference is that it might not be as life-threatening for men compared to women. When a man is infected with chlamydia, some of the symptoms they undergo are fever or pain in the testicles. Note that chlamydia doesn’t necessarily stop a man’s ability to bear children.
How To Prevent Being Infected With Chlamydia
The most obvious way in which you can prevent yourself from being infected with chlamydia is to practice safe sex. This includes talking to your partner about your sexual history, especially if you’re just starting out the relationship. This way, it’ll lead to a healthy relationship, where you won’t get to infect or contract chlamydia without knowing it.
On the off-chance that you can’t get to talk with your partner, don’t forget to wear a condom! This includes practicing safe sex, whether it’s oral or anal. Only then will you be able to save yourself from this infection and continue to lead a happy and healthy life.
Also, make sure to avoid having multiple sexual partners. Whether it’s you or your partner, you should be in the kind of relationship where you’re both having sex only with each other. If not, you’d be risking yourself and your partner from being infected with chlamydia.
Where To Get Tested For Chlamydia?
There are multiple STD clinics in and around the US where you can get tested for chlamydia. All you have to do is look for one in your vicinity. You can rest assured that most STD clinics maintain confidentiality and privacy when you get tested for any kind of STD.
Now that you know why it’s important to get a chlamydia test, don’t delay. You shouldn’t be risking your life and your partner’s, too, because of a small mistake. Your decision to delay the testing process could lead to complications in the long run, which you’ll end up regretting from the core. Therefore, unless you want to be in such a scenario, don’t simply wonder why it’s important to get a chlamydia test and act upon it now! The sooner you get treated for chlamydia, the better it’ll be for you and your partner to live without stress and tension.