Chlamydia is a common sexually transmitted disease caused by bacteria. You can get chlamydia during oral, vaginal, or anal sex with an infected partner. Both men and women can get it. Chlamydia affects people of all ages but is most common in young women.
Many who have chlamydia don't develop symptoms, but they can still infect others through sexual contact.
Listen in as Dr. Melody McKenzie joins the show to discuss Chlamydia and how you can reduce the risks of contracting an STI.
Chlamydia and HPV: What You Need To Know To Stay Protected
Featured Speaker:
Learn more about Melody McKenzie, MD
Melody McKenzie, MD-Family Medicine with Obstetrics
Melody McKenzie, MD, is a board-certified physician, specializing in family medicine. Her professional interests include preventive health, pediatrics and pregnancy.Learn more about Melody McKenzie, MD
Transcription:
Chlamydia and HPV: What You Need To Know To Stay Protected
Melanie Cole (Host): Chlamydia is a common sexually transmitted disease with nearly three million cases reported each year. My guest today is Dr. Melody McKenzie. She is a Board certified physician specializing in family medicine at Allina Health. Welcome to the show, Dr. McKenzie. Tell us what is Chlamydia?
Dr. Melody McKenzie (Guest): Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted infection that is very common and often doesn't have symptoms and that’s why we're here to talk about it today.
Melanie: If it doesn't have symptoms, how does somebody know if they have it?
Dr. McKenzie: Often women don't have any symptoms. They say up to 85% of women have no symptoms. If they do, it’s often mild symptoms. They might have some vaginal discharge, a little bit of bleeding after intercourse or between their periods but most of the time they have no symptoms at all. And even men, three-quarters of them have no symptoms and that’s the problem with trying to diagnose women with it.
Melanie: So, is this something that you should be screened for regularly if you’re a sexually active person?
Dr. McKenzie: The Center for Disease Control currently recommends that all women under 25 get screened yearly, even if they have no symptoms. That's because 65-70% of cases of chlamydia are in that age group. So, we really encourage women, once they become sexually active, either as young as 12 or 13, or as old at 24, if they're under 25, they should be checked every year. The nice thing is now it's not as onerous to women and not as scary. Before, teenagers were told that they had to have something similar to a pap smear and their cervix had to be tested. Now, we can just do a simple urine test and it has really helped us diagnose more of these women and treat them.
Melanie: Are there some complications from not being diagnosed?
Dr. McKenzie: Yes. That's a great question. A lot of women can have this bacteria for years and years and not know and then they have symptoms years later. They can have lower abdominal pain, what we call chronic pelvic pain; they can have problems getting pregnant; they can have pregnancies that are called “ectopic: pregnancies. That's where the embryo, instead of implanting in their uterus, ends up in their ovarian tube. So, it's really important that we try and diagnose these women young instead of when they have complications years later.
Melanie: If you do diagnose them and they come out positive, is there a treatment?
Dr. McKenzie: Yes. The treatment is very simple. For most people, it's a one-dose antibiotic and that will cure almost all of people that have chlamydia. We also recommend that any partners they’ve had in the last two months also get tested or even just treated. The nice thing is, if we can treat those people we don't even have to test them, we just treat their partners to try and prevent the spread. In Minnesota alone, last year there were over 21,000 reported cases of chlamydia. So, we’re not talking about something that’s uncommon. It's very common. It's just people don't know they have it.
Melanie: So, Dr. McKenzie, if they've been sexually active and had multiple partners, and they test positive for chlamydia, do you recommend, as with some other sexually transmitted infections, that they contact any of those even if they're not still together?
Dr. McKenzie: That’s right. That's the difficult thing. So, the Department of Health will contact people who test positive for chlamydia and they will ask, or we will ask, sometimes people don't want to give names and we will just, depending on the ability to, sometimes we will just give a prescription for them to treat their partners. But, it's very important. Then, sometimes we have to test them for other sexually transmitted diseases as well. So, the hardest thing is encouraging patients to be honest with their provider and come in and actually tell us what's going on.
Melanie: Can this be spread through oral sex and other means just besides normal sexual intercourse?
Dr. McKenzie: Yes. People can have it orally. They can have it rectally. So, any sexual activities or sexual contact can spread chlamydia. So, it is recommended that people use condoms. It is recommended that people get screened, especially if they have multiple partners. Even if they're over 25, if they have multiple partners, they probably should be screened every year.
Melanie: What do you tell people, Dr. McKenzie, every day about preventing sexual transmitted infections and the importance of knowing what's going on?
Dr. McKenzie: I think knowledge is power, so I always tell anyone that if they're sexually active, especially women, they’re always at risk for sexually transmitted disease and unplanned pregnancy. So, they have to be honest with their partner; they have to ask questions; they should consider maybe even testing for sexually transmitted diseases before they have new partner; they should limit how many partners they have; and they should always use condoms.
Melanie: What about the treatment? Can they have sex during the treatment or what do you tell them about that?
Dr. McKenzie: The best thing to do is actually wait seven days after the start of treatment. If they use the one-day treatment, if they use one of the other treatments which can last up to seven days, again, they should wait till that’s done, so seven days they should actually not be sexually active.
Melanie: Dr. McKenzie, people hear that you can get it from oral sex, as you’ve said, but they don't typically think of using condoms during oral sex.
Dr. McKenzie: Right, they don’t. There are oral barriers that can be used. And, again, testing partners is another important way to try and prevent this because most women and most men have no symptoms.
Melanie: Tell us just a little bit about some of the other sexually transmitted infections that you see on a regular basis and what you would like people to know about them?
Dr. McKenzie: Obviously, chlamydia is the one that we diagnose the most. We don't see a lot of people with classic symptoms. Other things that we do see, we see some gonorrhea, not as prevalent, we see trichomonas, we see mycoplasma, we see a lot of herpes relative to some of those other ones. So, again, it’s knowledge and it’s protection. People always need to be thinking of protecting themselves and they always need to be thinking about what they're doing.
Melanie: Just to switch around topics just a little bit for a second, what do you tell parents that ask you about the HPV virus and this vaccine?
Dr. McKenzie: I love that question because I have young men, boys who are now young men, and one of my obstetricians that I used to work with, she asked me actually that same question. We were at a conference talking about HPV and I found it very interesting that a lot of doctors weren't promoting it then. And she looked at me and sent me this little note, “Would you vaccinate your boys?” And I said, “Absolutely. Why wouldn't I?” So my boys are vaccinated. We know that this is the first vaccine that actually can prevent cancer and I think that's wonderful when you think of it that way. This is a new thing in medicine where we are actually preventing cancer through a vaccine. Unfortunately, once the word ‘sex’ becomes involved, people get all upset about it and think that it promotes promiscuity and will encourage teenagers to be sexually active. We know that's not the case. We can actually prevent cervical cancers, rectal cancers, oral cancers, throat cancers with this vaccine. So, I’m one of the biggest proponents. My patients all know, the mothers when they come in, they all know that as soon as their child is 12-years-old, I'm promoting that vaccine.
Melanie: Dr. McKenzie, in just the last few minutes your best advice for the prevention of the spread of all sexually transmitted infections. What do you tell people every day?
Dr. McKenzie: The first thing I tell parents is that they need to talk to their children and doctors need to talk to their young adults and women about this. People need to ask questions. People need to be thinking; people need to think about protecting themselves and think about getting tested; and minimizing partners, if they can. If they do have multiple partners, they need to be honest with their doctor so that their doctor can help keep them healthy and keep them safe.
Melanie: What great information. Thank you so much for being with us today. You're listening to The WELLcast with Allina Health. For more information you can go to AllinaHealth.org. This is Melanie Cole.
Chlamydia and HPV: What You Need To Know To Stay Protected
Melanie Cole (Host): Chlamydia is a common sexually transmitted disease with nearly three million cases reported each year. My guest today is Dr. Melody McKenzie. She is a Board certified physician specializing in family medicine at Allina Health. Welcome to the show, Dr. McKenzie. Tell us what is Chlamydia?
Dr. Melody McKenzie (Guest): Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted infection that is very common and often doesn't have symptoms and that’s why we're here to talk about it today.
Melanie: If it doesn't have symptoms, how does somebody know if they have it?
Dr. McKenzie: Often women don't have any symptoms. They say up to 85% of women have no symptoms. If they do, it’s often mild symptoms. They might have some vaginal discharge, a little bit of bleeding after intercourse or between their periods but most of the time they have no symptoms at all. And even men, three-quarters of them have no symptoms and that’s the problem with trying to diagnose women with it.
Melanie: So, is this something that you should be screened for regularly if you’re a sexually active person?
Dr. McKenzie: The Center for Disease Control currently recommends that all women under 25 get screened yearly, even if they have no symptoms. That's because 65-70% of cases of chlamydia are in that age group. So, we really encourage women, once they become sexually active, either as young as 12 or 13, or as old at 24, if they're under 25, they should be checked every year. The nice thing is now it's not as onerous to women and not as scary. Before, teenagers were told that they had to have something similar to a pap smear and their cervix had to be tested. Now, we can just do a simple urine test and it has really helped us diagnose more of these women and treat them.
Melanie: Are there some complications from not being diagnosed?
Dr. McKenzie: Yes. That's a great question. A lot of women can have this bacteria for years and years and not know and then they have symptoms years later. They can have lower abdominal pain, what we call chronic pelvic pain; they can have problems getting pregnant; they can have pregnancies that are called “ectopic: pregnancies. That's where the embryo, instead of implanting in their uterus, ends up in their ovarian tube. So, it's really important that we try and diagnose these women young instead of when they have complications years later.
Melanie: If you do diagnose them and they come out positive, is there a treatment?
Dr. McKenzie: Yes. The treatment is very simple. For most people, it's a one-dose antibiotic and that will cure almost all of people that have chlamydia. We also recommend that any partners they’ve had in the last two months also get tested or even just treated. The nice thing is, if we can treat those people we don't even have to test them, we just treat their partners to try and prevent the spread. In Minnesota alone, last year there were over 21,000 reported cases of chlamydia. So, we’re not talking about something that’s uncommon. It's very common. It's just people don't know they have it.
Melanie: So, Dr. McKenzie, if they've been sexually active and had multiple partners, and they test positive for chlamydia, do you recommend, as with some other sexually transmitted infections, that they contact any of those even if they're not still together?
Dr. McKenzie: That’s right. That's the difficult thing. So, the Department of Health will contact people who test positive for chlamydia and they will ask, or we will ask, sometimes people don't want to give names and we will just, depending on the ability to, sometimes we will just give a prescription for them to treat their partners. But, it's very important. Then, sometimes we have to test them for other sexually transmitted diseases as well. So, the hardest thing is encouraging patients to be honest with their provider and come in and actually tell us what's going on.
Melanie: Can this be spread through oral sex and other means just besides normal sexual intercourse?
Dr. McKenzie: Yes. People can have it orally. They can have it rectally. So, any sexual activities or sexual contact can spread chlamydia. So, it is recommended that people use condoms. It is recommended that people get screened, especially if they have multiple partners. Even if they're over 25, if they have multiple partners, they probably should be screened every year.
Melanie: What do you tell people, Dr. McKenzie, every day about preventing sexual transmitted infections and the importance of knowing what's going on?
Dr. McKenzie: I think knowledge is power, so I always tell anyone that if they're sexually active, especially women, they’re always at risk for sexually transmitted disease and unplanned pregnancy. So, they have to be honest with their partner; they have to ask questions; they should consider maybe even testing for sexually transmitted diseases before they have new partner; they should limit how many partners they have; and they should always use condoms.
Melanie: What about the treatment? Can they have sex during the treatment or what do you tell them about that?
Dr. McKenzie: The best thing to do is actually wait seven days after the start of treatment. If they use the one-day treatment, if they use one of the other treatments which can last up to seven days, again, they should wait till that’s done, so seven days they should actually not be sexually active.
Melanie: Dr. McKenzie, people hear that you can get it from oral sex, as you’ve said, but they don't typically think of using condoms during oral sex.
Dr. McKenzie: Right, they don’t. There are oral barriers that can be used. And, again, testing partners is another important way to try and prevent this because most women and most men have no symptoms.
Melanie: Tell us just a little bit about some of the other sexually transmitted infections that you see on a regular basis and what you would like people to know about them?
Dr. McKenzie: Obviously, chlamydia is the one that we diagnose the most. We don't see a lot of people with classic symptoms. Other things that we do see, we see some gonorrhea, not as prevalent, we see trichomonas, we see mycoplasma, we see a lot of herpes relative to some of those other ones. So, again, it’s knowledge and it’s protection. People always need to be thinking of protecting themselves and they always need to be thinking about what they're doing.
Melanie: Just to switch around topics just a little bit for a second, what do you tell parents that ask you about the HPV virus and this vaccine?
Dr. McKenzie: I love that question because I have young men, boys who are now young men, and one of my obstetricians that I used to work with, she asked me actually that same question. We were at a conference talking about HPV and I found it very interesting that a lot of doctors weren't promoting it then. And she looked at me and sent me this little note, “Would you vaccinate your boys?” And I said, “Absolutely. Why wouldn't I?” So my boys are vaccinated. We know that this is the first vaccine that actually can prevent cancer and I think that's wonderful when you think of it that way. This is a new thing in medicine where we are actually preventing cancer through a vaccine. Unfortunately, once the word ‘sex’ becomes involved, people get all upset about it and think that it promotes promiscuity and will encourage teenagers to be sexually active. We know that's not the case. We can actually prevent cervical cancers, rectal cancers, oral cancers, throat cancers with this vaccine. So, I’m one of the biggest proponents. My patients all know, the mothers when they come in, they all know that as soon as their child is 12-years-old, I'm promoting that vaccine.
Melanie: Dr. McKenzie, in just the last few minutes your best advice for the prevention of the spread of all sexually transmitted infections. What do you tell people every day?
Dr. McKenzie: The first thing I tell parents is that they need to talk to their children and doctors need to talk to their young adults and women about this. People need to ask questions. People need to be thinking; people need to think about protecting themselves and think about getting tested; and minimizing partners, if they can. If they do have multiple partners, they need to be honest with their doctor so that their doctor can help keep them healthy and keep them safe.
Melanie: What great information. Thank you so much for being with us today. You're listening to The WELLcast with Allina Health. For more information you can go to AllinaHealth.org. This is Melanie Cole.