Having Chlamydia While On Your Period

Missed Or Late Menstrual Period No Menstrual Periods And Vaginal Discharge

• Medical Author: Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD

Reviewed on 8/31/2020

These symptoms can be present in perimenopause or with an ectopic pregnancy . Vaginal yeast infection or chlamydia can also be responsible for these symptoms. If you are experiencing concerning symptoms, seek the advice of your doctor.

While the list below can be considered as a guide to educate yourself about these conditions, this is not a substitute for a diagnosis from a health care provider. There are many other medical conditions that also can be associated with your symptoms and signs. Here are a number of those from MedicineNet:

How Do I Know If Im Spotting Or Its My Period

Your period isnât always regular, so it can sometimes be hard to differentiate between an early period and bleeding outside of your period. With spotting, unlike your period, you usually produce less blood than your period. And the color of your blood is usually lighter with spotting than with your period.

Can You Get Chlamydia If You Use A Condom

A condom lowers your chances of getting chlamydia if used correctly.

Correct use of a condom includes:

Read Also: Using Birth Control To Stop Period Once It Starts

How Long Do Sti Tests And Results Take

Tests may involve taking a urine sample, using a swab or taking a finger prick blood test. If visiting a clinic, for some tests you can get the results and treatment on the same day. For others you may have to wait a week or 2. If your results are positive you may be asked to go back to the clinic to discuss the treatment you need.

If you’ve opted for a LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor home test, your kit will contain full instructions on how to use it and send it off to the laboratory. You’ll usually receive your results within 3 working days of the lab receiving you samples. You’ll get a notification by email and/or text to let you know your results are ready to view in your Patient Record.

Chlamydia Test For Women

To diagnose the infection, your doctor can use a few different chlamydia tests. Your doctor will likely ask you about your symptoms and why you think you have the infection. When this happens, its important to be as honest as possible.

Your health care provider will probably use a swab to take a sample from the cervix and send it to a lab to be analyzed. If theres a possibility the bacteria is in your throat or anus, these areas may be swabbed as well. Other tests include a chlamydia urine test to check for the presence of the bacteria.

Although many physicians do it, a chlamydia test is not automatically done at the time that a Pap test is done.

For this reason, its important for women, especially sexually active women aged 25 and under, to ask their health care provider whether theyre getting tested for chlamydia every year.

If you think you may have been exposed to an STD, youll have to ask for a screening.

Fortunately, chlamydia is easy to treat. If you suspect that you have it, youll need to:

• See your health care provider immediately before the infection does damage to your reproductive organs.
• Listen to your doctor and take all of your medicine. Even if your symptoms go away, you should finish your pills.
• Tell your sexual partner. They should know about the infection so that they too can be tested and treated.
• Avoid having sexual intercourse until you and your partner have been cured.

Since chlamydia is a bacteria, your doctor will prescribe you antibiotics.

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How Do You Know When Chlamydia Is Gone

Improvement should occur right after receiving treatment. Some of the changes that you might notice include:

• Pain while urinating will improve within a week.
• Discharge will return to normal.
• There wont be bleeding between periods or heavier periods.
• Pelvic pain will fade away.
• Pain during sexual intercourse will decrease.

To prevent yourself from catching it again, get re-tested three months after treatment. This is essential if you engage in sexual intercourse with a partner who hasnt been tested for chlamydia.

Getting Tested For Stis

Because STIs are so common, its a safe bet to get tested once a year, even if youre practicing safe sex and using protection. Your doctor may not automatically test you at every appointment so make sure to ask about it if they dont offer it.

Here are some testing recommendations for prominent STIs:

Also Check: When Should Your Period Start On Birth Control

How Can Chlamydia Be Prevented

Latex male condoms, when used consistently and correctly, can reduce the risk of getting or giving chlamydia.53 The surest way to avoid chlamydia is to abstain from vaginal, anal, and oral sex, or to be in a long-term mutually monogamous relationship with a partner who has been tested and is known to be uninfected.

You Constantly Feel The Urge To Go To The Bathroom

If you constantly feel like you need to use the bathroom, it may be that a large ovarian cyst is pushing on your bladder and applying constant pressure to that organ. An easy way to detect if this is the case for you is to monitor how many times you are using the bathroom throughout the day and note what youre doing on each trip. If you often get to the bathroom and find you dont have the urge to urinate, you should schedule an appointment with your doctor.

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How To Tell Your Partner You Have Chlamydia

The first thing you need to do when your test comes back positive is to tell your partner. Your sexual partner should know about the infection so that they too can be tested and treated. If you dont tell them about your condition, youre risking getting reinfected.

Here are some tips for handling the conversation:

• Educate yourself about the STD youve contracted so you can thoroughly explain to your partner what exactly you have, the treatment, and how you plan on keeping them safe.
• Inform your current or most recent sexual partner about a positive STD test by telling them face-to-face, or by calling them. Sending them a message is not the most respectful way.
• When telling them the news, stay calm and collected. Sit them down and tell them youve been tested. Tell them that the results are positive and discuss the next steps.
• Make sure you keep your partner from getting infected. Use condoms at all times, take antibiotics, and abstain from intercourse during your treatment.

What Does Chlamydia Do To Your Body

Although chlamydia doesnt usually cause any symptoms, it can be serious if you dont get treatment early on.

The bacteria can spread to your fallopian tubes and uterus. If this happens, it might cause pelvic inflammatory disease which results in abdominal and pelvic pain. Even if PID does not cause abdominal and pelvic pain, it can still do permanent damage to your reproductive system. PID can lead to an inability to get pregnant, long-term pelvic pain, and ectopic pregnancy.

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Hpv And Cervical Cancer

Intermenstrual bleeding can be a sign of more serious problems, such as cervical or endometrial cancer, and for this reason I would advise that if you are having intermenstrual bleeding, or any other new or worrying symptoms, see your doctor even if its only for a bit of reassurance.

Cervical cancer is very often caused by the human papilloma virus infection, which is a sexually transmitted virus. There are around 100 different types of the virus, some of which can cause genital warts, some of which can cause cervical cancer, and some of which dont do much at all. Lots of people, both men and women, have HPV at some point in their life and often the body gets rid of the virus, just like it fights off the common cold.

Having a high-risk strain of HPV for a period of time can increase the risk of the cells in the cervix becoming cancerous. The virus itself cant be treated, but its effects can genital warts can be treated in a number of ways, and pre-cancerous changes in the cervix can be picked up by a smear test and treated before they become cancer. Like all tests, its not fool-proof, and intermenstrual bleeding should still prompt a visit to the doctor, even if you have had regular, normal smear tests. 4

What Are The Symptoms Of Chlamydia In Women

“Chlamydia often remains symptomless. If you have had unprotected sex you need to get tested, even if you aren’t experiencing any symptoms.”

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What Are The Symptoms Of Endometriosis

Some women with endometriosis do not show symptoms, however, those who do show symptoms experience them right before their period. The most common symptom of endometriosis is chronic pain in the pelvic region. Endometriosis can also cause pain during sexual intercourse. Endometriosis can also affect the bowel and bladder causing pain during bowel movements or urination, respectively. Heavy menstrual bleeding is another common symptom of endometriosis. Symptoms can be severe enough that they disrupt daily life and can include

• Heavy periods

Written by Mid-Atlantic Women’s Care on June 22, 2020. Posted in Blog, Well-Women Care.

IUDs or intrauterine devices are one of the most popular methods of birth control among women, particularly in recent years. Many women like that it offers many benefits that the pill cannot: it is a set it and forget it method of birth control, involving a one-time payment, and the patient does not have to remember to take a pill at the same time on a daily basis. If you are considering getting an IUD, there are a few things you should know before having it inserted.

How Can I Prevent And Treat Ovarian Cysts

Unfortunately, there are no preventative measures a woman can take to keep ovarian cysts from forming. They occur naturally as part of the menstrual cycle or on their own. However, if you feel any of the aforementioned symptoms: vomiting, heavy bleeding, or excruciating pain, there may be complications and you should consult your OBGYN. He or she will conduct a pelvic ultrasound to diagnose enlarged ovarian cysts and then conduct a follow-up ultrasound three to four months later during a period. Enlarged cysts typically disappear within that time.

Some cysts will require surgical removal but in the majority of cases, cysts are nothing to worry about.

Written by Mid-Atlantic Women’s Care on February 25, 2020. Posted in Blog, Well-Women Care.

A period, also known as menstruation or a menstrual cycle, occurs when the lining of a females uterus breaks down and leaves the body, usually every month. The lining is made up of blood, tissue, and nutrients the development of which is the bodys preparation for pregnancy. If pregnancy does not occur, meaning the womans egg is not fertilized by a sperm, hormones tell the body to shed the lining thats been built over the last 28 days , resulting in a period that varies in length from one woman to the next.

Also Check: Can You Ovulate Without Having A Period

Insertion Of A Copper Iud Can Cause Cramps

An IUD is a T-shaped device that is inserted into the uterus by your doctor. This device is used to prevent pregnancy.

One of the types of these devices is the cooper IUD device that is plastic wrapped in coiled copper. Once inserted, this type of device needs to be replaced every 10 years. The cooper IUD is releasing copper into the uterus, creating an inflammatory response and less friendly environment for the sperms. Cooper IUDs are characterized by heavy bleeding that causes intense cramps in the first six months after insertion.

If you are experiencing symptoms like fever, vomiting, abdominal or pelvic pain, bloody stools – you should seek medical help.

When Do Periods Begin And End

Periods start during puberty, which is when a girls body begins to change, typically between the ages of 8 and 15 years old. Its important to remember that periods look different for everyone so the side effects, ages at which it starts and ends, and how long each menstrual cycle lasts vary from person to person. However, as a rule of thumb, if a girls period has not started by the age of 16, she should be evaluated by a physician to assess the cause of the delay.

Periods end when women enter menopause which generally falls between the ages of 45 and 55 years old.

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Whats Chlamydia And What Are The Symptoms

The bacterium, Chlamydia trachomatis, is the organism which causes chlamydia infection. It can affect the eyes , the joints, the mouth and the genitals of males and females. Chlamydia discharge with severe discomfort while urinating may be an early sign of illness.

It can also be contacted through the sharing of infected towels. Pregnant women with poorly treated infection may transmit chlamydia to their babies during delivery.

Chlamydia can be a silent disease because you can get infected without showing any signs. About 30 70 percent of infected men and women will not have common symptoms at all.

However, this does not rule out complication of chlamydia infection in the long-term. If left for a long time without treatment, chlamydia may cause pelvic inflammatory disease, tubal pregnancy, and difficulty conceiving.

Pelvic inflammatory disease is the upward spread of chlamydia affecting the womb, abdominal area, and Fallopian tubes. PID could potentially cause permanent damage to the Fallopian tubes ultimately causing infertility and ectopic pregnancy.

Short-term adverse effects of chlamydia in men include inflammation of the epididymis, with testes that are hurtful and swollen. This occurs very early after an infection and can contribute to infertility in men.

If youve had unprotected anal, oral, vaginal intercourse or got in real contact with someone genital fluid, you can have chlamydia.