How severely does Chlamydia affect fertility in both men and women?

Answer 1

Infertility in women:

Cervix is the most important organ of the reproductive system keeping the infections at bay through cervical mucus. But when undiagnosed, the cervix is the first organ to get infected, later proliferating towards the uterus and fallopian tubes, condition leading to Pelvic Inflammatory Disorder.

1. Scarred/ blocked organs: In this condition, the wall of fallopian tube and uterus get scarred leading to unsuccessful implantation of the embryo. Sometimes the fallopian tubes get blocked, thus obstructing the movement of the egg down the uterus for fertilization.
2. Ectopic pregnancy: where the fetus grows in the fallopian tube instead of uterus. The result of this however is miscarriage or still birth.
Statistics also show that, if the first pregnancy in a woman was ectopic, one out of five women have the chance of having similar one in second one as well. Results from the third pregnancy are most likely to be normal.
3. Effect on the baby: When a woman has Chlamydia during pregnancy, the baby is at high risk of contracting it having infection in its eyes or lungs. Sometimes premature delivery can also happen

Infertility in men:

The bacteria affect the Epididymis part of the male reproductive organ, which is the tube carrying sperm from testis. Characterized by the swollen testicles, white/yellowish discharge from the penis or itching at the tip of the penis, this can severely affect the ability of childbearing.

Answer 2

Chlamydia is something that affects both women and men, unlike misconceptions of it just having an impact on women. The severity of the problem depends on how you deal with the disease. For instance, early symptoms in women include discharge from vagina, odour and even painful periods. Rather than delaying the disease an early check up would be more viable. Likewise, men too would have trouble urinating and have some minor discharge along with some swelling around the testicles. The earlier the problem is treated, the less it effects your body.

Considering that the disease is focussed around the genital area, it spreads from there and also causes more damage to these areas. For instance, in women it can lead to acute diseases like Pelvic Inflammatory Disorder. On the whole, it poses to be a high risk disease, which may result in infertility too. The disease spreads from the vagina to the fallopian tubes and may also cause scarring. In some women, blockage can be expected too, which again is a hurdle for fertility.

For women who are already pregnant, there is a high risk that the infection could also get to the child.

For men, it not only means painful sex, but also takes a toll on your sexual health. Chlamydia leads to swelling in the testicles along with related symptoms. As a result of this, the sperm health eventually goes down. Swelling also means more of heat, which is known to reduce sperm count and motility. It can also lead to nongonococcal urethritis (NGU), which is an infection that happens in the urethra or the tube though which you pass urine or even epididymitis, which is an infection in the epididymis.

On the whole, this is a problem that is treatable with a single dose antibiotic if it is diagnosed early, thus saving all of these hassles.