Sexual Health - Women Forum - How long can Chlamydia be dormant? Symptoms of Chlamydia

Chlamydia is a typical sexually transmitted disease. A chlamydia infection can stay dormant or without noticeable symptoms for a long time. Chlamydia primarily affect the canal of the cervix and the urethra. The period during which the disease remains dormant in the cervix can vary. From the cervix, Chlamydia can the spread upward toward the endometrium, tubes and ovaries. An upward spreading is usually provoked by menstruation or sexual intercourse.

Chlamydia affects each area of a woman's reproductive system differently. Cervical affection, or "cervicitis", can be experienced with or without symptoms or with symptoms that are difficult to diagnose (vaginal discharge, painful sex, contact bleeding…). Affection of the endometrium, or "endometritis", can manifest with vaginal discharge, pain and irregular bleeding/spotting. Salpingitis, or affection of the Fallopian tubes, also shows poor symptoms (vaginal discharge, pain) but the consequences are terrible: sterility due to occlusion. Ovarian affection, or oophoritis, can manifest with pain and irregular periods due to disturbed ovulation. Chlamydia often affects all these structures, and is therefore one of the so called pelvic inflammatory diseases (PID). Typically, Chlamydia-infections manifest poorly expressed symptoms. In fact, a Chlamydia infection can go without symptoms in 50% of all cases. Chlamydia-infections are often accidentally discovered when a woman asks for medical help for sterility. Poor symptoms and severe consequences such as sterility make this infection very dangerous.
Lucky for you that you have already given birth to 2 children. Nonetheless, your husband should be also checked for a possible Chlamydia infection.

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