STD Testing Near Me, Chlamydia Test, Top STD Clinic 2019

Monitoring your sexual health is one of the most responsible actions you can take, not only for yourself but for current and future sexual partners.

It is no less integral to overall wellness than general check-ups and dental visits.

People refrain from regular STD testing for many different reasons. They may feel frightened at the prospect of receiving disheartening results.

They may be dissuaded because they cannot afford it. Others still may avoid STD screening because they do not feel the process is discreet enough, feeling anxious that people in their personal and professional lives may learn of their STD status.

While these all represent valid and common reasons people express hesitancy towards STD screening, none of them negate the responsibility of every sexually active individual has of managing his or her sexual health.

Ignoring nagging suspicions of sexual illness or delaying testing after unprotected encounters can affect your long-term sexual health in life-altering ways, inducing infertility or more complex related conditions.

To address some of these common complaints medical consumers have, many companies offer safe, discreet, and budget-friendly options for gaining information on one’s sexual health.

With some offering access to over 4,000 lab testing locations throughout the country, these services simplify the often tedious and expensive process of scheduling multiple medical appointments and managing high co-pay costs.

Don’t let exorbitant medical fees or fear of STD status exposure be reasons you experience long-term complications due to easily treated sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

Chlamydia Overview

Chlamydia is one such condition that, while easily treatable, can become very serious if it is not diagnosed and treated in a timely manner. You can get this infection through vaginal, anal, and oral sex.

However, it most commonly affects the genitals because due to penetrative vaginal sex. Over 1 million people are diagnosed with chlamydia every year. This makes it the most widely diagnosed treatable STI in the United States.

Here are some risk factors for getting chlamydia:

Participating in unprotected sex
Participating in sex with new partners
Having multiple partners
Being a sexually active 18-25 year old
Participating in sex with a person who has chlamydia

How Common is Chlamydia?

Many STIs such as gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis have been declining over the past few decades in developed nations, but recent research suggests this positive trend is reversing in the United States–at least for chlamydia.

According to a recent announcement from the Center for Disease Control, 2017 presented over 1.8 million new diagnosed cases of chlamydia, a new record high.

This infection is most concentrated in southern states, with 560.4 new cases in 2017 for every 100,000 residents. The northeastern states experience the lowest frequency of chlamydia, with only 483.3 new cases diagnosed per 100,000 residents in 2017. Despite the variance in how concentrated the condition is in each region of the country, all regions saw an increase in infections from 2016 to 2017.

Top 5 States With The Highest Rates of Chlamydia (Per 100,00 Residents)	Top 5 States With The Lowest Rates of Chlamydia (Per 100,00 Residents)
1. Alaska – 799.8	1. West Virginia – 226.1
2. Louisiana – 742.4	2. Vermont – 297.5
3. Mississippi – 707.6	3. New Hampshire – 330.5
4. New Mexico – 651.6	4. Utah – 332.2
5. South Carolina – 649.8	5. Maine – 342.1

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What are the Symptoms of Chlamydia?

Chlamydia highlights the importance of regular STD testing because it usually does not present symptoms at first. Because of this, many infected people spread chlamydia through unprotected sex – completely unaware that they are giving it to their partners.

Recent research suggests that about half of men and about three-quarters of women never experience symptoms after getting chlamydia. However, people that do get symptoms may experience the following:

Painful, burning sensations when urinating
Unfamiliar discharge from the vagina, penis, or rectum
Vaginal bleeding unrelated to menstrual cycle
Itching around vaginal, penal, or rectal openings
Swollen testicles (males only)

If you get chlamydia in your throat, you may instead experience any of the following symptoms:

Sore throat (may be indistinguishable from common cold throat pain)
Swollen lymphatic glands
Mild to moderate fever
General tonsillitis-like symptoms
White of gray patches resembling those commonly seen in strep throat within the mouth

However, most cases of oral chlamydia present no symptoms.

It is extremely important to note that while these are potential symptoms, chlamydia may not visibly present itself, as mentioned, so anyone who thinks they have it should seek medical care even if they don’t feel pain or discomfort.

What are the Long-Term Effects of Chlamydia?

Persons who get chlamydia often don’t understand how serious it is, mistakenly believing that since it does not cause pain or disrupt function in any immediately perceptible way, it must not be that dangerous.

However, even though chlamydia does not manifest symptomatically as it spreads throughout the urethra and pelvic regions, its effects can show up later in life, most commonly when women try having children.

10-15% of women who get chlamydia will develop pelvic inflammatory disorder (PID), which may result in fertility complications. Approximately 50% of PID cases result from undiagnosed and/or untreated chlamydia. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that untreated sexual infections are responsible for approximately twenty thousand infertility cases annually, with chlamydia recognized as the leading preventable cause of infertility in women.

When the bacteria responsible for this infection – Chlamydia trachomatis – enters the vagina, it activates special proteins called heat shock proteins (HSPs). These proteins are responsible for reducing cellular stress levels in the body when the body is fighting off bacteria.

They are the body’s protection from its own defensive attacks. However, these proteins are not meant to be active for extended periods of time. When they are, they can eventually damage the tissues they were meant to protect.

If chlamydia is left untreated for prolonged time, HSPs in the reproductive tract can damage tissues in the reproductive tract, causing tubal infertility through PID over time.

Infertility is not the only consequence of PID. This condition can also result in painful sex, pain in the abdominal region, nausea, vomiting, and an elevated fever.

Though the more severe and long-term complications of chlamydia are concentrated in females, it is not any less important for men to monitor their chlamydia status through STD screening.

This serves not only to control and reduce the incidence frequency of chlamydia in females and men who have sex with other men (MSM) but also to protect male reproductive health.

Untreated chlamydia can cause epididymitis, (inflammation of the tube that brings sperm through the penis), and prostatitis, (inflammation of the prostate gland). Though chlamydia produces such complications in only approximately 4% of males, men are not entirely immune from advanced health issues.

Like other STIs, untreated chlamydia also increases the probability of contracting HIV/AIDS.

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How is Chlamydia Treated?

Fortunately, treating chlamydia after receiving a diagnosis is simple. It can be easily cured with a complete round of antibiotics, which will be prescribed by a healthcare provider.

As is good practice when taking any antibiotic, persons prescribed antibiotics for chlamydia should complete the entire prescription, even if he or she stops experiencing discomfort and believes the chlamydia has resolved itself.

Failing to do so can result in a more difficult-to-treat manifestation of chlamydia that is resistant to common antibiotics.

People with chlamydia shouldn’t have sex regardless of their symptoms, or lack thereof, until at least seven 7 days after the full round of antibiotics is completed. To prevent reinfection, an infected person’s sexual partner(s) should also seek testing and undergo treatment to ensure all parties are cleared of chlamydia.

Chlamydia is known for relatively high recurrence rates. Though studies have not indicated an exact recurrence rate, some trials suggest that it may be as high as 30%. A recurrent infection may not present itself until months after antibiotics have been completed, even after an infected person has already tested negative for chlamydia after full treatment.

It is uncertain whether high recurrence rates are due to partner reinfection or inadequate initial treatment. (Inadequate initial treatment allows trace amounts of Chlamydia trachomatis to linger in the body, completely undetected by standard tests, until it develops into a full-blown infection.)

Regardless, many authoritative healthcare organizations recommend that infected persons receive additional screening for chlamydia 3 months after treatment to make sure the issue is entirely resolved–independent of whether testing immediately after antibiotic completion showed the infection had resolved.

Pregnant women should seek additional screening every 3-4 weeks after concluding antibiotic treatment rather than wait 3 months. This is because chlamydia can be passed to unborn infants during pregnancy and cause premature birth, eye infections, and low birth weight.

Chlamydia Prevention

The only way to completely avoid infection is to abstain from all forms of sexual activity.

When engaging in sexual activity, particularly with a new partner, always use a condom. Ensure your condom choice is compatible with any sexual products, such as lubricants, you intend on using.

Practicing monogamy also reduces chances of contracting chlamydia. Having a single partner you love is always better than casual sexual encounters. Being faithful to your beloved will protect you from any kind of problems. Good luck to you!

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