How is chlamydia treated?

If you’ve got a chlamydia infection in the genitals, throat, or anus area and there aren’t any complications, you’ll usually be prescribed an antibiotic called doxycycline. It is considered to be effective and well-tolerated. Possible side effects are oversensitivity to the sun, rashes and digestion problems. Allergic reactions are also possible but rare. Typically, you take the medication in the morning and evening for one week.

You shouldn’t take the tablets with dairy products because they stop your body absorbing the antibiotic properly. A good level of sun protection is important while you’re on the antibiotics. They can also make birth control pills less effective. Having said that, you shouldn’t have sex during the treatment period anyway. To be on the safe side, after the treatment you can use non-hormonal birth control methods like condoms until the end of the menstrual cycle.

If doxycycline isn’t an option for you, you can take azithromycin instead. You take the azithromycin in a single dose.

Pregnant women who have a chlamydia infection are prescribed a single-dose azithromycin tablet because doxycycline can have a negative impact on how the unborn child’s teeth develop. Another alternative is the antibiotic erythromycin but you have to take it for one to two weeks. Azithromycin and erythromycin are equally effective at treating chlamydia. Azithromycin is considered to be slightly better tolerated.

Newborn babies infected with chlamydia during birth are also usually treated with azithromycin or erythromycin.

Doctors prescribe antibiotics for “ascending infections” too. This is when the chlamydia spread to the internal sex organs or across the entire pelvic area. Often, a combination of different antibiotics is given. Some of the medications are given in an injection or a drip (infusion). If there are complications, treatment also takes longer – typically two weeks.