Female and male condoms protect against chlamydia; diaphragms, spermicides and other methods of contraception do not. There is evidence that women taking oral contraceptives have an increased risk of contracting chlamydia; however, they have a lower risk of developing pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) as a complication.
Diagnosis in women is done with a routine pelvic exam. The doctor will take a sample of vaginal fluid and analyze it for the presence of chlamydia. In ten percent of cases, a person with the infection will test negative.
Treatment with antibiotics is highly successful. It is important that your partner is treated at the same time, and that you abstain from sex during the treatment. If the infection recurs after treatment, it is likely that one partner did not complete the treatment, or that one partner is also having intercourse with a third infected person.
