Which antibiotic for chlamydia treatment

You can visit your doctor to get tested and start treatment right away, if necessary. Another option is to take an at-home chlamydia test. There are a number of at-home tests that test for a range of STIs, including chlamydia. Once you receive your test in the mail and send back your collected sample, you can speak with a virtual healthcare professional. If your results are positive, they may help you start treatment. Left untreated, it can lead to more serious health conditions.

Sam Lauron is a freelance lifestyle writer based in Austin, TX. Connect with her on Instagram or Twitter , or by visiting her website. If you need a chlamydia test, your doctor's office can collect samples and perform the testing. A chlamydia test is easy and quick, and in some cases…. STIs can pose unique problems for people who are pregnant which is why it's important to prevent or properly treat them when they occur.

Learn which…. While the infection is more common in the genital area, it's also possible to contract chlamydia in your eye. The symptoms are similar to pink eye.

Chlamydia and gonorrhea are two common sexually transmitted diseases. They're both caused by bacteria and treatable using antibiotics. We compare the…. Find out what can cause chlamydia to come back, how to treat a reinfection, ways to prevent future recurrence, and more. Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted infection that can be tested through blood, urine, and a swab. How quickly it shows up depends on a few things.

The initial episode usually lasts for three to four months, but in rare cases the synovitis may last about one year. The treatment of C. Treatment also differs during pregnancy. For uncomplicated genitourinary chlamydial infection, the CDC recommends 1 g azithromycin Zithromax orally in a single dose, or mg doxycycline Vibramycin orally twice per day for seven days Table 1. If patients vomit the dose of azithromycin within one to two hours of taking the medication, an alternative treatment should be considered Table 1.

Information from reference 2. Follow-up of patients with urethritis is necessary only if symptoms persist or recur after completion of the antibiotic course. If symptoms suggest recurrent or persistent urethritis, the CDC recommends treatment with 2 g metronidazole Flagyl orally in a single dose plus mg erythromycin base orally four times per day for seven days, or mg erythromycin ethylsuccinate orally four times per day for seven days.

Patients should be advised to abstain from sexual intercourse for seven days after treatment initiation. In addition, physicians should obtain exposure information for the preceding 60 days and consider screening for other STDs such as human immunodeficiency virus HIV. The CDC does not recommend repeat testing for chlamydia after completion of the antibiotic course unless the patient has persistent symptoms or is pregnant.

Women who present within 12 months after the initial infection and have not been screened should be reassessed for infection regardless of whether the patient believes her sex partner was treated or not. PID usually can be treated on an outpatient basis. Hospitalization is required if a patient is pregnant; has severe illness, nausea and vomiting, or high fever; has tuboovarian abscess; is unable to follow or tolerate the outpatient oral regimen; or has disease that has been unresponsive to oral therapy.

Hospitalization also is indicated if surgical emergencies cannot be excluded. Ofloxacin Floxin mg orally twice daily for 14 days or levofloxacin Levaquin mg orally once daily for 14 days; with or without metronidazole Flagyl mg orally twice daily for 14 days. Ceftriaxone Rocephin mg IM in a single dose or cefoxitin Mefoxin 2 g IM in a single dose with concurrent probenecid Benemid 1 g orally in single dose or other parenteral third-generation cephalosporin; plus doxycycline Vibramycin mg orally twice daily for 14 days with or without metronidazole mg orally twice daily for 14 days.

Ofloxacin mg IV every 12 hours or levofloxacin mg IV once daily; with or without metronidazole mg IV every eight hours. Doxycycline and ofloxacin Floxin are contraindicated during pregnancy; therefore, the CDC recommends erythromycin base or amoxicillin for the treatment of chlamydial infection in pregnant women Table 3.

Testing for cure is indicated in patients who are pregnant and should be performed three weeks after completion of treatment. Exposure to C. Ophthalmia neonatorum usually occurs within five to 12 days of birth but can develop at any time up to one month of age. Prophylaxis with silver nitrate or antimicrobial ointment, which reduces the risk of gonococcal infection in neonates, does not reduce the risk of chlamydial infection.

Testing for chlamydial infection in neonates can be by culture or nonculture techniques. The eyelid should be everted and the sample obtained from the inner aspect of the eyelid. Sampling the exudates is not adequate because this technique increases the risk of a false-negative test.

Ophthalmia neonatorum can be treated with erythromycin base or ethylsuccinate at a dosage of 50 mg per kg per day orally, divided into four doses per day for 14 days.

Topical treatment is ineffective for ophthalmia neonatorum and should not be used even in conjunction with systemic treatment. Symptoms of chlamydial pneumonia typically have a protracted onset and include a staccato cough, usually without wheezing or temperature elevation. Testing can be performed on a sample obtained from the nasopharynx. Nonculture techniques may be used, but they are less sensitive and specific for nasopharyngeal specimens than for ocular specimens.

If tracheal aspirates or lung biopsies are being collected for pneumonia in infants one to three months of age, the samples should be tested for C. Like ophthalmia neonatorium, pneumonia secondary to C. Identification of asymptomatic infected persons and of symptomatic persons unlikely to seek diagnostic and treatment services.

Evaluation, treatment, and counseling of sex partners of persons infected with an STD. STD prevention messages should be individually tailored and based on stages of patient development and understanding of sexual issues; these messages should be delivered nonjudgmentally. Performing counseling and discussing behavioral interventions have been shown to reduce the likelihood of STDs and reduce risky sexual behavior.

The CDC recommends annual screening for chlamydial infection in all sexually active women 24 years and younger and in women older than 24 years who are at risk of STDs e. Already a member or subscriber? Log in. Interested in AAFP membership? Learn more. Miller is an assistant medical editor of American Family Physician. Address correspondence to Karl E.

Miller, M. Reprints are not available from the author. Sexually transmitted disease surveillance supplement. Atlanta: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Sexually transmitted diseases treatment guidelines Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Predictive value of the clinical diagnosis of lower genital tract infection in women. Am J Obstet Gynecol. Screening tests to detect Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections— Chlamydia trachomatis among patients infected with and treated for Neisseria gonorrhoeae in sexually transmitted disease clinics in the United States.

Ann Intern Med. Azithromycin versus doxycycline for genital chlamydial infections: a meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials. Chlamydia is easily cured but can make pregnancy difficult if left untreated. STDs Home Page. See Also Pregnancy Reproductive Health. Find an STD testing site near you. ZIP Code:. Links with this icon indicate that you are leaving the CDC website.

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