The primary signs of chlamydia in men are different than what is seen in women. The main symptoms include a white- or possibly green-colored discharge coming from the penis, irritation while passing urine, and sometimes, a general irritation around the penis opening. Some men also find that they have to urinate more often than usual while suffering with chlamydia. In most cases, people dealing with chlamydia don’t have any symptoms at all, and they might pass it on to others without ever realizing it.
In terms of classification, chlamydia is considered a bacterial infection. In this sense, it is very similar to gonorrhea, another sexually-transmitted disease. Although the two are caused by different kinds of bacterium, the signs of chlamydia in men and women are generally considered to be fairly similar to the signs of gonorrhea. Chlamydia trachomatis is the actual name of the particular strain that causes the sexual disease, and there are other strains that can cause diseases in animals, or even cause a kind of pneumonia.
Like many bacterial diseases, chlamydia is generally treated using antibiotics. In most cases, a single round of antibiotics is enough to clear up the infection. Once signs of chlamydia in men or women appear, treatment should generally begin immediately in order to help the person avoid passing it on to others. Multiple rounds of antibiotics might be needed in rare cases.
There are some severe complications that can develop if signs of chlamydia in men are ignored. Many men develop issues with their testicles and urethras. Some of them may have trouble with chronic inflammation in those regions, which might even lead to infertility or permanent problems with urination. Another severe potential problem is the possibility for men to develop a condition called reactive arthritis. This is a temporary state of inflammation that may flare up after a chlamydia infection, and sometimes it can even linger or pop up repeatedly.
Chlamydia is generally passed on during virtually any kind of sexual contact, and experts suggest that condoms are the best way to avoid catching the disease. It is also generally recommended that once signs of chlamydia appear in men or women, people should usually abstain from any kind of sexual contact until the treatment is finished. This is partly because there is really no method of protection that is generally 100-percent effective, and re-infection with chlamydia is often very common, so doctors do not want patients to jeopardize their progress.
