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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffDoctors treat chlamydia with prescription antibiotics such as azithromycin (Zithromax), doxycycline or erythromycin. Your doctor usually prescribes these antibiotics as pills to be swallowed. You may be asked to take your medication in a one-time dose, or you may receive a prescription medication to be taken daily or multiple times a day for five to 10 days.
In most cases, the infection resolves within one to two weeks. During that time you should abstain from sex.
Your sexual partner or partners also need treatment even though they may not have signs or symptoms. Otherwise, the infection can be passed back and forth. It's possible to be reinfected with chlamydia.
- Chlamydia fact sheet. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/std/chlamydia/STDFact-Chlamydia.htm. Accessed Feb. 27, 2009.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, et al. Sexually transmitted diseases treatment guidelines, 2006. MMWR Recommendations and Reports. 2006;55:1. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5511a1.htm. Accessed Feb. 2, 2009.
- Stamm WE. Chlamydial infections. In: Fauci AS, et al. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. 17th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Medical; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aid=2895329. Accessed March 2, 2009.
- Zenilman JM. Genital chlamydia trachomatis infections in women. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Feb. 27, 2009.
- Zenilman JM. Genital chlamydia trachomatis infections in men. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Feb. 27, 2009.
- Miller KE. Diagnosis and treatment of Chlamydia trachomatis infection. American Family Physician. 2006;73:1411.
- Miller WC, et al. Prevalence of chlamydial and gonococcal infections among young adults in the United States. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2004;291:2229.
