Chlamydia: symptoms, treatment, photo, effects

Urogenital chlamydia refers to specific inflammatory diseases of the genital and urinary organs.

In this disease, a multiplicity of lesions is observed in the pathological process. In addition, a number of complications may develop.

Chlamydia is the most common sexually transmitted infection. Therefore, the maximum peak of its prevalence reaches the age of sexual activity.

A frequent companion of this infection is gonorrhea, which masks chlamydia and makes it worse. It should be remembered that if gonorrhea, despite ongoing treatment, does not go away, then it is necessary to exclude chlamydial infection of the urogenital organs.

Causes of chlamydia

The causative agent of urogenital chlamydia is the chlamidii trachomatis, which live intracellularly. This causes the complexity of the treatment of this disease.

The life cycle of chlamydia consists of two phases:

1. 1) Elementary body stage
   
2. 2) Stage of the reticular body.

These microorganisms can penetrate the human body in various ways. However, the sexually transmitted infection has the greatest epidemiological significance, while the sexual partner can be an asymptomatic carrier.

The use of mechanical contraception is not a sufficiently reliable way to protect against this infection. In addition to the sexual pathway, there may be such as:

1. 1) Iatrogenic. It is realized through an infected medical toolkit, with various manipulations characterized by a violation of the integrity of the skin and / or mucous membranes, when conditions are created for the direct penetration of microorganisms into the blood.
   
2. . 2) The vertical pathway that occurs when a newborn passes through infected birth canal. Therefore, it is important to examine women and men before pregnancy, in order to conduct early treatment, which will be safe for the fetus.

Symptoms of Chlamydia

Symptoms of chlamydia appear after the incubation period. The duration of the latter varies widely, ranging from 5 to 30 days.

Of the clinical forms in women most often develops cervicitis - inflammation of the cervical canal and urethritis( see urethritis in women) - inflammation of the urethra;In men, urethritis is most often diagnosed( see urethritis in men).In addition, clinical symptoms consist of manifestations of complications of chlamydia.

Therefore, in women, the doctor suggests the following symptoms of chlamydial infection:

• presence of mucopurulent vaginal discharge and cervical channel
  
• pain in the lower abdominal part
  
• bloody discharge between menstruations
  
• bloody discharge after sexual intercourse
  
• dysuric manifestations - feeling of incomplete emptyingbladder pain, pain during urination, etc.
  
• permanent pain in the lower abdomen, which persists for 6 months or more.

See also: symptoms and treatment of chlamydia in women. In men, chlamydial infection may be indicated by the following symptoms:

• mucopurulent discharge from the urethra
  
• dysuric manifestations
  
• pain during intercourse
  
• pain during urination
  
• decreased potency
  
• problems with ejaculation, etc.

See also: how to treat chlamydia in men. With the development of chlamydial conjunctivitis, the following symptoms appear:

• purulent discharge from the eyes
  
• increased lachrymation
  
• photophobia
  
• coalescence of the eyelids
  
• blurred vision in the presence of corneal edema.

If chlamydia of newborns has developed, then it is characterized by clinical forms such as:

• conjunctivitis
  
• stomatitis
  
• pneumonia
  
• urethritis
  
• proctitis.

Diagnosis of chlamydiosis

Given the meager severity of clinical manifestations, great importance in the timely diagnosis of chlamydia is given to additional methods of investigation( laboratory diagnostics).These include:

1. 1) Culture study. It is highly informative, financially expensive and time-consuming. The biological material is the cervical and urethral discharge, which is sown to special media. In case of suspicion of extragenital chlamydia, scraping is taken from the rectum, conjunctiva and other organs covered with prismatic epithelium. Most often this method of diagnosis is used in forensic medicine.
   
2. 2) A serological test that involves quantifying the qualitative and quantitative composition of immunoglobulins that are active against chlamydia. It is important to determine antibodies of different classes so that one can judge the severity of the inflammatory process. As a biological material can act as a discharge from the cervical canal, urethra, blood samples, urine.
   
3. 3) PCR diagnostics is a method based on a multiple increase in copies of nucleic acids characteristic of chlamydiae. The reagent contains DNA probes, which can detect these nucleic acid sequences. This technique has a high diagnostic informativeness, so it is now recommended as a "gold" diagnostic standard for suspected chlamydia.

When is the carrying out of laboratory diagnostics aimed at detecting infection with chlamydia? The main indications are:

• presence of clinical symptoms of urogenital chlamydiosis
  
• presence of complications typical of urogenital chlamydiosis
  
• identification of possible contacts
  
• a mass examination of women aged 25 years and younger
  
• at the time of sexual intercourse or when changing a sexual partner, especially if the use of barriercontraception
  
• mass screening before pregnancy planning and all pregnant women
  
• planning for various invasive interventionsatelstv reproductive system organs( abortion, in vitro fertilization, introduction of the intrauterine device).

Treatment of chlamydia

Treatment of chlamydia is carried out in the presence of certain indications, since in their absence it will not promote cure, but lead to the development of serious complications associated with antibiotic resistance, toxicity of the drugs used.

The main indications for initiating antibacterial therapy are:

• clinical and laboratory confirmation of urogenital and ocular chlamydiosis
  
• the presence of chlamydial infection in the sexual partner
  
• confirmed by laboratory methods of gonorrhea, if there is no possibility to confirm or exclude chlamydia in the presence of clinical signs similar to this disease.

Treatment of chlamydia should be carried out by those antibacterial drugs that are able to accumulate inside cells. This will eliminate the causative microorganisms. Such drugs are Azithromycin, Josamycin, Erythromycin, Clarithromycin and others.

Most antibiotics are prescribed for a period of 1 to 3 weeks to cover the entire reproduction cycle of chlamydia. The only exception is Azithromycin, which is taken only once due to the fact that it has a long half-life, so it has a long therapeutic effect.

Complications of Chlamydia

If the diagnosis and treatment of chlamydia is delayed, then a number of complications may develop. The main of them, characteristic of the urogenital form of the disease, are:

• inflammatory processes of the pelvic organs( adnexitis, metritis, tubo-ovarian abscess)
  
• infertility associated with obstruction of the fallopian tubes, direct toxic effects of chlamydia, autoimmune processes
  
• Reiter syndrome - autoimmune joint damage( reactive arthritis developing in response to antigenic stimulation by chlamydia)
  
• conjunctivitis - conjunctival inflammation
  
• orchitis - testicular inflammation in men
  
• orcoepididymitis - inflammation of both testicles and their appendages.

Prevention of chlamydiosis

Preventive measures for urogenital chlamydial infection are:

• exclusion of casual sexual relations
  
• use of barrier methods of contraception
  
• use of personal hygiene products( basts, towels, etc.)
  
• regular examination of women and men at risk
  
• examination of pregnant womenwomen and couples who are planning a pregnancy in the near future.

In conclusion, it should be noted that chlamydia is an inflammatory disease of the genitourinary system, in which a long time may be absent clinical symptoms. This leads to a belated diagnosis, which contributes to the development of serious complications, which are difficult to treat.

Therefore, patients at risk should visit the gynecologist( women) and the urologist( men) regularly to diagnose urogenital infections on a timely basis.

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