WARTS AND CHLAMYDIA
Report #6474
Several recent studies show that the vast majority of people who are seen in venereal disease clinics are infected with mycoplasma or chlamydia which are highly contagious.
One or more days after having sexual relations with an infected person, you can develop chills, fever and a terrible burning on urination/ or you may have only a mild feeling that there is an irritation in your urinary tube/ or you may have no symptoms at all. Go to your doctor as soon as possible, because waiting too long before receiving treatment can cause permanent damage and you may continue to have symptoms for the rest of your life.
Your doctor will test you for chlamydia and gonorrhea and treat you with antibiotics to cover both venereal diseases, even if the tests fail to show an infection. Often the tests are not sensitive enough to diagnose some types of mycoplasma infections. If you are not treated with antibiotics, the mycoplasma can damage the inner lining of your bladder and urinary tube permanently so you continue to have burning on urination, terrible discomfort when your bladder is full and a feeling that you have to urinate all the time. Many men and women have these symptoms permanently and cannot by cured by any treatment available today.
Condoms can usually prevent infection with gonorrhea and mycoplasma such as chlamydia, but other venereal diseases, such as the venereal wart virus, can get around a condom. Some women who are infected with mycoplasma have no symptoms at all. See report #G144.
By Gabe Mirkin, M.D., for CBS Radio News
1) JM Zelin, AJ Robinson, GL Ridgway, E Allasonjones, P Williams. Chlamydial urethritis
in heterosexual men attending a genitourinary medicine clinic: Prevalence, symptoms,
condom usage and partner change. International Journal of STD & AIDS 6: 1:(JAN-FEB
1995):27-30. The prevalence of non-gonococcal urethritis (NGU-chlamydia positive and
negative urethritis) was 37% (131 of 356). C. trachomatis was shown to be the causative
organism in 24% (31 of 131) of patients with NGU.
2) J Richters, J Gerofi, B Donovan. Why do condoms break or slip off in use? An
exploratory study. International Journal of STD & AIDS 6: 1(JAN-FEB 1995):11-18. The
overall breakage rate was 4.9% (including condoms breaking during application), while 3.1%
of condoms reportedly slipped off. Almost half (49%) of the men reported having
deliberately removed a condom after the beginning of intercourse; 17% had done so 3 or
more times.
3) PJ Horner, PE May, BJ Thomas, AM Benton, D Taylorrobinson. The role of Chlamydia
trachomatis in urethritis and urethral symptoms in women. International Journal of STD
& AIDS 6: 1(JAN-FEB 1995):31-34. It seems likely that C. trachomatis infection of the
urethra in women probably causes urethritis which is usually asymptomatic. 4) LA Baken, LA
Koutsky, J Kuypers, MR Kosorok, SK Lee, NB Kiviat, KK Holmes. Genital human papillomavirus
infection among male and female sex partners: Prevalence and type-specific concordance.
Journal of Infectious Diseases 171: 2 (FEB 1995):429-432. Genital HPV infection in this
population is common in both men and women, and the HPV type-specific concordance in sex
partners is consistent with sexual transmission.
4) Bontis J et al. Detection of Chlamydia trachomatis in asymptomatic women:
Relationship to history, contraception, and cervicitis.Advan Contracept 1994
DEC;10(4):309-315. Most infected women have abnormal Pap smears.
Checked 8/9/05