How to use Amoxicillin to Treat Chlamydia

No thanks to unprotected sexual intercourse, sexually transmitted disease or STD is the most common infectious disease in the US today. It affects 13 million men and women annually. Among the more than 20 STDs that have now been identified, this disease is the most frequently reported, with an estimated 4 million new cases each year.

In Illinois, there were more than fifty thousand cases reported in 2005. In most of these cases, 71 percent occurred among persons 15 to 24 years old. In the UK, many people who are at risk of this infection don't really know what the disease is. They do not understand it and are not even aware of the name.

Chlamydial infections are caused by a bacterium called Chlamydia trachomatis. It is transmitted during vaginal, oral, or anal sexual contact with an infected partner. Serious complications can happen unknowingly before a person knows about this disease because the symptoms are mild or sometimes absent. That is why it is called a dangerous “silent disease”. Asymptomatic individuals who do not seek treatment can pass the infection on to others. Untreated individuals can also develop complications from the infection.

However, if symptoms appear at all, it is usually one to three weeks after exposure to an infected person. Women report of vaginal discharge, vaginal bleeding between periods, abdominal pain that is sometimes accompanied by fever and nausea. Burning or pain during urination are also experienced. Men with infection has also burning or pain during urination and a duscharge from the penis.

However, Chlamydia can be treated with a seven-day course of antibiotics, usually, doxyycline, erythromycin, or amoxicillin. Among the three, amoxicillin is commonly used to treat Chlamydia effectively. Amoxicillin is in a class of medications called penicillin-like antibiotics. It works by stopping the growth of bacteria. It provides higher and more sustained blood antibiotic levels. It is readily available on internet pharmacy sites even without prescription.

The usual dosage of amoxicillin should be every twelve hours if taken twice a day, and every eight hours if the patient was prescribed to take them three times a day. It can be taken with or without food. A person with chlamydial infection should contact a health care provider first and ask for possible side effects of amoxicillin as well as drug interactions before taking them.