Chlamydia

Chlamydia is a bacterium, a microorganism that invades human cells. Like other sexual infections it can enter your body through sexual contact and the exchange of body fluids like semen or vaginal secretions. It is a concern because if undiagnosed and untreated it can cause serious long term problems that it may not be possible to put right. In many cases chlamydia spreads without giving you any symptoms. This characteristic is what gave chlamydia its name: it’s derived from the Greek work for cloak, hinting at its covert, hidden nature of spreading. In fact, three-quarters of all infected females and half of infected males have no idea they've got it as they can’t feel anything wrong. This doesn’t mean that it can’t still be spread or can’t cause damage to your body. It most certainly can and a lot of my time in clinic is spent trying to treat women who have been damaged by chlamydia.

If we are going to look at all the options then the most successful way to avoid catching chlamydia is to not have sex at all – known as abstinence. This is because unless they have been tested at the right times then you can’t know if your partners are infected or not. I appreciate that this is not necessarily the most desirable way to go about things and so the next most important thing you can do is to always use a condom when having sex. Use condoms for all types of sexual contact, even if penetration does not take place. Condoms work by stopping blood, semen and vaginal fluid, which can all contain chlamydia or other STIs, from passing from one person to another. Don’t rely on your partner to have condoms – there is no shame in carrying your own and shows you care about your own health.