Chlamydia Urethritis, Treated (Male)                                  

You have an infection in the channel in the penis that carries urine (the urethra). The infection is caused by the bacteria chlamydia. This infection is a sexually transmitted disease (STD). It is highly contagious. It is spread by sexual contact with an infected partner.

 Symptoms most often begin within 1 week after you come in contact with the bacteria. However, it may take 3 weeks for symptoms to show up. You may have white, watery or cloudy discharge from the penis with burning during urination. 

This infection can be treated and cured. Treatment is with antibiotic medicine.

Home care

Follow these guidelines when caring for yourself at home:

• Your sexual partner needs to be treated even if he or she has no symptoms. Your partner should contact his or her own healthcare provider. Or your partner can go to an urgent care clinic or your local health department to be examined and treated.
• Avoid sexual activity until both you and your partner have finished all antibiotic medicine. You should wait until your provider tells you that you are no longer contagious.
• Take all antibiotic medicine as directed until it is finished. If you stop the medicine before you have finished it, symptoms may come back.
• Learn about safe sex practices and use these in the future. The safest sex is with a partner who has tested negative and has sex only with you. Condoms can help stop spreading some STDs. These include gonorrhea, chlamydia, and HIV. However, condoms are not a guarantee.

Follow-up care

STI testing

• Follow up with your healthcare provider on any test results, or as advised. Talk with your provider or your local health department to be sure you are having complete STI (including HIV) screening. Also make sure you are lowering your risk for STIs, including HIV, as much as possible. This includes HIV testing. Call the CDC National STI Hotline at 800-232-4636 for more information about STIs.
• Get tested for HIV now. If negative, get tested again in 3 months. Also talk with your healthcare provider about whether taking anti-HIV medicines would be a good idea. Your provider may advise you take such medicine now for 28 days or on an ongoing basis to prevent you from getting HIV.

Tell your partner

Make sure you talk with your partner about STIs and testing. If you don't feel safe talking face-to-face with your partner about testing, send a text or email. Or make a phone call instead. Ask for help if you’re not safe. Encourage your partner(s) to get treatment. Otherwise, they can pass the disease back to you or others.

If you have an STD, talk with your provider about expedited partner therapy (EPT). With EPT, you may be given a prescription or medicines to give to your partner without your partner needing to be seen by a healthcare provider. EPT is available in many states for some STIs (mainly chlamydia and gonorrhea). So check with your provider.

© 2000-2021 The StayWell Company, LLC. All rights reserved. This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical care. Always follow your healthcare professional's instructions. This information has been modified by your health care provider with permission from the publisher.