Chlamydia in men
The content of the article:
- Causes and risk factors for chlamydia in men
- Forms of the disease
- Stages
- Chlamydia symptoms in men
- Diagnostics
- Chlamydia treatment in men
- Possible complications and consequences of chlamydia in men
- Forecast
- Prevention
Chlamydia, or urogenital chlamydia, is a sexually transmitted disease triggered by microorganisms Chlamidia trachomatis, chlamydia.
The causative agent of chlamydia Chlamidia trachomatis
According to the World Health Organization, more than 250 million new episodes of infection transmitted through sexual contact are registered every year in the world. The leading position in the structure of these diseases belongs to urogenital chlamydia - about 100 million cases.
Chlamydia in men is diagnosed most often at the age of 20-35, during the period of maximum sexual activity. Infection with Chlamidia trachomatis is the cause of urethritis (including non-gonococcal) in the vast majority of cases (more than 80%). According to some reports, every 15 out of 100 young people of reproductive age are infected with chlamydia.
Chlamydia in men can occur both in an overt form and in a latent, asymptomatic (approximately 50% of cases). Quite often, the infection becomes chronic, in this case, microorganisms can persist in the affected organs and tissues, retaining the pathogenic properties, for decades, sometimes for life.
Often, chlamydial infection is complicated by ascending damage to the urogenital organs, causing inflammation in the prostate gland, testes, spermatic cords, testicular membranes, and can also lead to infertility (due to inflammation, the number of sperm in the seminal fluid decreases, their mobility decreases). Chlamydia in men is often associated with syphilis, gonorrhea, trichomoniasis.
The possibility of Chlamidia trachomatis at the subcellular level to attach to the head, neck and proximal part of the waist of sperm has been proven. In this case, male germ cells act as direct carriers of pathogenic microorganisms during unprotected vaginal contact, ensuring the introduction of infection into the uterine cavity and fallopian tubes. In this case, the consequences of chlamydial infection for a woman can be infertility, tubal (ectopic) pregnancy, miscarriage and complications of pregnancy, postpartum endometritis.
Causes and risk factors for chlamydia in men
The main reason for the development of chlamydia in men is infection with the microorganism Chlamidia trachomatis during unprotected genital-genital, genital-anal and oral-genital sexual contacts. A contact-household mechanism of transmission of the pathogen is also possible, for example, when visiting a sauna (contact of the genitals with a surface contaminated with chlamydia).
Chlamydia is an intracellular gram-negative pathogenic agent characterized by a two-phase life cycle in the form of active intra- and inactive extracellular bodies (reticular and elementary bodies, respectively).
Infection occurs when inactive elementary bodies of Chlamidia trachomatis come into contact with the mucous membrane of the urogenital organs, after which they are introduced into the epithelial cells and within 8 hours are transformed into an active reticular form capable of reproduction. Newly formed microorganisms exist in the host cell in isolation inside a special vacuole - these are the so-called chlamydial inclusions. At the last stage of the reproduction cycle, active bodies go into an inactive state, are surrounded by a densified cell wall and, having violated the integrity of the membrane of the affected cell, again enter the external environment, where they are introduced into new healthy epithelial cells, repeating the reproduction cycle and thereby spreading the inflammatory process.
The main route of infection with chlamydia is unprotected sex.
The complexity of diagnosis and treatment of chlamydia in men is due to the intracellular location of the causative agent of the disease. When exposed to unfavorable factors, the microorganism is able to transform into a "dormant" form, staying for a long time inside the host's cells, without causing an immune response and without provoking the symptoms of the disease. In the process of division, chlamydiae are transmitted to daughter cells, where they continue to exist in an inactive form (this phenomenon is associated with a discrepancy between the volumes of tissue infection and the clinical picture). Activation of Chlamidia trachomatis occurs, as a rule, with a decrease in the body's resistance, immunosuppression.
Risk factors for chlamydia in men:
- young age;
- having two or more sexual partners at the same time;
- a large number (more than 6) sexual partners during sexual practice;
- single marital status;
- low social level of sexual partners;
- neglect of methods of barrier contraception;
- a tendency towards risky and deviant (deviant) behavior.
Forms of the disease
In accordance with the clinical classification adopted in Russia, there are two forms of chlamydia in men:
- fresh, in case of uncomplicated infection of the lower parts of the genitourinary zone;
- chronic, long-term persistent, characterized by recurrent lesions of the upper parts of the urogenital tract.
Stages
The staging of chlamydia in men implies the transformation of the disease from acute inflammation to a chronic process, only 3 stages:
- An active inflammatory process with obvious symptoms or asymptomatic course, well amenable to standard pharmacotherapy.
- Latent infection, periodically activated under the influence of provoking factors.
- A chronic process that is practically not amenable to therapy.
Chlamydia symptoms in men
The main symptom of chlamydia in men in most cases is discomfort in the urethra, urethra (itching, burning, pain when urinating) of varying severity.
Other symptoms that occur with chlamydia in men:
- scanty transparent vitreous discharge;
- hyperemia of the outlet of the urethra, the adjacent area of the glans penis;
- dysuric phenomena (urination disorders);
- subfebrile body temperature;
- possible severity and discomfort in the lumbar region, soreness and swelling of the soft tissues of the scrotum;
- deterioration in general health, unmotivated fatigue, weakness.
The main symptom of chlamydia in men is discomfort in the urethra and urethra
The incubation period for chlamydia in men lasts from 1 to 3 weeks from the moment of infection. In about half of the patients, the disease is asymptomatic, unpleasant sensations in the urethra occur sporadically, are mild or completely absent.
In some cases, chlamydia in men occurs in the form of a carrier, when pathogenic microorganisms persist in the mucous membrane of the urogenital tract in an inactive form. This feature is associated with the high activity of the immune system.
Diagnostics
Diagnosis of chlamydia in men is carried out in a comprehensive manner, it implies a comprehensive assessment of the history data, the objective picture of the disease and the results of laboratory tests:
- episodes of unprotected intercourse, sexual relations with unfamiliar partners up to 3-4 weeks from the onset of symptoms of the disease;
- the presence of typical complaints and objective data;
- the results of the polymerase chain reaction (identification of DNA fragments of Chlamidia trachomatis);
- bacterial inoculation of urethral smear materials on a nutrient medium;
- direct immunofluorescence (detection of Chlamidia trachomatis antigens in the test material).
Urethral culture and other tests detect fragments of Chlamidia trachomatis in the body
To obtain the most objective picture when diagnosing chlamydia in men, a number of mandatory requirements must be met:
- refrain from sexual intercourse during the day before taking the diagnostic material;
- refrain from urinating at least 2 hours before testing;
- do not take antibacterial and antimicrobial drugs (7-8 days) before the examination.
Chlamydia treatment in men
The mainstay of treatment for chlamydia in men is antibiotic therapy. Currently, the most widespread are drugs of the following groups:
- macrolides / azalides;
- quinolones / fluoroquinolones;
- tetracyclines.
In addition to drugs, the action of which is aimed at eliminating the pathogen, the following means are used in the treatment of infection:
- immune-oriented drugs;
- hepatoprotectors;
- antioxidants and their synergists;
- adaptogens;
- proteolytic drugs;
- pre- and probiotics.
Monitoring of clinical and microbiological criteria for the effectiveness of pharmacotherapy for chlamydia in men is carried out no earlier than 6-8 weeks after completion of treatment.
The mainstay of treatment for chlamydia in men is antibiotic therapy.
At the time of therapy, it is necessary to abandon unprotected sexual intercourse, a prerequisite for a speedy recovery is examination of a permanent sexual partner and, if necessary, his parallel treatment.
Possible complications and consequences of chlamydia in men
The most common complications of chlamydia in men:
- orchitis (inflammation of the testes);
- epididymitis (inflammation of the testes);
- infertility;
- the addition of other sexually transmitted diseases, against the background of a decrease in local immunity;
- connective tissue changes in the lumen of the urethra, leading to its narrowing;
- inflammation of the prostate gland.
The long-term and most significant consequence of chlamydia in men is the development of Reiter's disease (complex lesions of the joints, urogenital organs and conjunctiva of the eyes) - a severe autoimmune disease that is the most common cause of arthritis in men of sexually active age.
Forecast
The prognosis for recovery is favorable with timely diagnosis and immediate initiation of therapy. In the case of starting treatment at a late stage of the disease, with the chronicity of the infectious process, the prognosis for recovery is significantly worse.
Prevention
- Refusal of unprotected sex.
- Refusal of sexual relations with unfamiliar partners.
- Regular preventive examinations with laboratory diagnostics in men at risk.
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Olesya Smolnyakova Therapy, clinical pharmacology and pharmacotherapy About the author
Education: higher, 2004 (GOU VPO "Kursk State Medical University"), specialty "General Medicine", qualification "Doctor". 2008-2012 - Postgraduate student of the Department of Clinical Pharmacology, KSMU, Candidate of Medical Sciences (2013, specialty "Pharmacology, Clinical Pharmacology"). 2014-2015 - professional retraining, specialty "Management in education", FSBEI HPE "KSU".
The information is generalized and provided for informational purposes only. At the first sign of illness, see your doctor. Self-medication is hazardous to health!
