SPECIAL TO THE POST-DISPATCH

Dear Dr. Donohue — I just had my second pelvic exam. I am 21. The doctor told me he was going to check for infections as well as cancer, and I told him to go ahead. I have no symptoms of infection, like a discharge or any pain. It turns out I have a chlamydia infection. The doctor said it could make having children impossible. I am crushed by all this. I have had two sex partners. I asked if I should tell them, and he just shrugged his shoulders. What do I do? I am being treated.

Chlamydia  is the most common sexually transmitted, bacterial infection in the United States and Canada. More than 4 million adults, mostly between the ages of 16 and 25, come down with it yearly in the U.S. One reason why it’s so rampant is that the infection often causes no symptoms in the woman or the man.

When symptoms do occur, they consist of pelvic pain, pain on urination, vaginal discharge and painful sexual relations in women. In men, the symptoms are a discharge from the penis and painful urination. Sometimes a testicle swells and hurts.

If the infection isn’t treated with antibiotics, it can spread upward in the female genital tract and leave the ovarian ducts scarred and closed. That makes a woman infertile. It also can infect the pelvic organs to produce pelvic inflammatory disease, a painful condition often requiring hospitalization.

For the complete article, please refer to http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/lifestyle/columnists.nsf/drpauldonohue/story/4CA0F5DF43091ABD862575BE0056E907?OpenDocument