Risks of Chlamydia
If you have Chlamydia and it’s not treated, the infection can spread in your body and can cause health problems.
Not everyone who has Chlamydia will develop these complications, but the risk increases the more times you get infected.
In Men and Women
If left untreated chlamydia can cause Reiter’s syndrome, a form of arthritis which causes swelling of the joints, inflammation of the
urethra (the tube which carries your wee from your bladder) and the eyes.
In Women
If left untreated, Chlamydia can lie dormant for several months before travelling through the cervix to infect the
fallopian tubes leading to Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID).
This can cause symptoms such as low abdominal pain, fever and painful sex. Many women have a less serious inflammation that produces few, if any symptoms.
If untreated, PID can lead to blockage of the fallopian tubes which can result in infertility or may cause an
ectopic pregnancy which can be very serious and even life-threatening.
Chlamydia is now the commonest cause of PID, which is thought to affect more than 165,000 women a year.
It is estimated that 25% of all cases of infertility are due to chlamydia infection.
Approximately 10% of all women who contract Chlamydia will become infertile as a result of PID.
This equates to around 30,000 women a year becoming infertile.
In Men
Chlamydia can cause painful inflammation in one or both testicles. It's thought that Chlamydia may also lead to reduced fertility
or infertility in men, however less is known about whether this happens.
A study in 2007 revealed that men carrying the infection produced sperm with 80% more physical abnormalities and 10% less mobility.
Following treatment it was found that the DNA damage in the men's sperm had typically fallen by over 35%.