Treatment for Chlamydia
Treatment for chlamydia may involve the following:
For chlamydial STD, it is important that you and your partner both be treated before you have sex again. All of the medicine must be taken as directed; this is critical to curing your infection.
If you still have symptoms after the medication is finished, you may need to be tested again. Even if your symptoms disappear, you are encouraged to return after treatment to be retested. It is possible for you to develop drug resistance or reactions, have re-infection, or for the infection to spread to other organs.
As it is standard practice to test for multiple STDs when identifying one, it is also standard practice to treat for chlamydia when gonorrhea is identified. The likelihood of both being present is high.
The scarring from pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) may require surgery to restore fertility or remove chronically infected tissue. The scarring caused by trachoma may require eyelid surgery or corneal transplant.
Reiter’s syndrome does not respond completely to antibiotics because the disease is an immune reaction to the infection. Treatment resembles that for rheumatoid arthritis.
References
British Association for Sexual Health and HIV guideline: 2006 UK national guideline for the management of genital tract infection with chlamydia trachomatis. London, England: British Association for Sexual health and HIV(BASHH); 2006.
Chlamydia. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health website. Available at: http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/chlamydia/. Accessed September 18, 2008.
Chlamydia. The National Women's Health Organization website. Available at: http://www.4women.gov/faq/stdchlam.htm. Updated May 2005. Accessed July 28, 2005.
Chlamydia infections in women. Medline Plus. US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health website. Available at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000660.htm. Accessed July 28, 2005.
International Trachoma Initiative website. Available at: http://www.trachoma.org/. Accessed September 18, 2008.
Miller KE: Diagnosis and treatment of chlamydia trachomatis infection. Am Fam Physician. 2006;73:1411-1416.
Psittacosis. Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety website. Available at: http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/diseases/psittacosis.html. Accessed September 18, 2008.
Recommendations for the prevention of neonatal ophthalmia. Canadian Paediatric Society website. Available at: http://www.cps.ca/english/statements/ID/ID02-03.htm. Updated March 2008. Accessed September 18, 2008.
Sexually transmitted diseases: chlamydia. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/std/chlamydia/default.htm. Accessed September 18, 2008.
Last reviewed October 2009 by David L. Horn, MD, FACP
Please be aware that this information is provided to supplement the care provided by your physician. It is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.