Can chlamydia and gonorrhea be treated with the same medicine

HIV/AIDS

Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors

abacavir, didanosine (ddl), lamivudine (3TC), stavudine (d4T), zalcitabine (ddC), zidovudine (ZDV)

Protease Inhibitors

indinavir, nelfinavir, ritonavir, saquinavir, lopinavir plus ritonavir

Nonnucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors

delavirdine, efavirenz, nevirapine

Chlamydia

Antibiotics

azithromycin,erythromycin,doxycycline

Gonorrhea

Antibiotics

ceftriaxone, cefixime, ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin

Gonorrhea and chlamydia can occur in tandem, in which event the doctor might prescribe a regimen of ceftriaxone plus doxycycline or azithromycin.

Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID)

Antibiotics

cefotetan or cefoxitin plus doxycycline, clindamycin plus gentamicin, ofloxacin plus metronidazole

Typically, two antibiotics are prescribed.

Human Papillomavirus (HPV)

Topical Preparations (creams and solutions that the  patient applies directly to the affected area)

imiquimod, podophyllin, podofilox, fluorouracil (5-FU), trichloroacetic acid (TCA), interferon

Genital Herpes

Antivirals

acyclovir, famciclovir, valacyclovir

Syphilis

Antibiotics

penicillin—doxycycline or tetracycline only if allergic to penicillin

The information contained on this Web site should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your pediatrician. There may be variations in treatment that your pediatrician may recommend based on individual facts and circumstances.

Can amoxicillin cure STD infections such as chlamydia and gonorrhea? This is a question we hear a lot from concerned customers. Very often these days, consumers are understandably curious about how specific drugs and treatments work. As a widely used antibiotic, amoxicillin is high on this list.

Amoxicillin for STD Treatment: Does It Work?

Amoxicillin is one of the first drugs people think of when they learn that they have contracted a sexually transmitted infection or disease. Many common web searches show that people searching for chlamydia treatments or information on how to treat gonorrhea at home are curious about this as a potential treatment.
At myLAB Box™, we understand and appreciate our customers’ concerns. So we want to address the question: will amoxicillin cure gonorrhea or chlamydia? Let’s take a closer look.

What is Amoxicillin?

First, let’s begin with the basics of amoxicillin. Chances are, if you’ve had an infection at some point in your life, you may have taken this antibiotic. You see, amoxicillin is a type of penicillin that is used for fighting specific bacterial infections. Basically, it’s one of the most common tools in your doctor’s tool kit.

As useful as it may be, this drug does not work on infections caused by viruses, such as the flu.

Here’s how amoxicillin works to help keep you healthy:

• Amoxicillin is created from a form of fungi called Penicillium fungi.
• This drug fights infections by preventing bacteria from forming cell walls. As a result, the growth of bacteria stagnates, eventually killing it and putting a stop to the overall infection.

What is Gonorrhea?

Gonorrhea is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections (STIs). This bacterial infection can affect both males and females. It can affect the urethra, rectum, throat, and cervix of infected individuals.

Often referred to as “the clap,” gonorrhea is a shockingly “popular” STI. In fact, it is diagnosed more than three million times each year in the United States. As you can probably imagine, this has a lot of people Googling “will amoxicillin cure gonorrhea?”

What is Chlamydia?

Chlamydia is another common STD that can affect both men and women. You can contract chlamydia by having vaginal, oral, or anal sex with someone who is infected. If you get this STD, it’s important to seek medical treatment right away. This is because if left untreated, chlamydia can cause serious health complications, including infertility.

Does Amoxicillin Treat STD Infections Such As Gonorrhea?

Now it’s time to discuss how to treat STDs with amoxicillin. Each STD is unique, so the treatment options will vary depending on the type of STD you have.

On the whole, gonorrhea tends to be treatable with common drugs such as penicillin, ampicillin, tetracycline and doxycycline. With several doses of amoxicillin or a similar drug, gonorrhea can be cured in a few days.

Antibiotics such as amoxicillin have been prescribed by doctors to treat gonorrhea in the past. Of course, even though Amoxicillin is one of the most well-known drugs, that doesn’t mean that it is the primary drug of choice for treatment of gonorrhea. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that uncomplicated gonorrhea be treated only with the antibiotic ceftriaxone – given as an injection – in combination with either azithromycin (Zithromax, Zmax) or doxycycline (Monodox, Vibramycin, others) – two antibiotics that are taken orally.

According to the CDC, this combination of prescription medications will successfully treat gonorrhea, but it will not repair permanent damage caused by this STD. For this reason, it’s important to seek medical treatment right away to ensure you can get rid of this infection before it causes permanent damage.

Amoxicillin for Chlamydia: Is It Effective?

Amoxicillin is not the preferred treatment option for gonorrhea, but is it an effective way to treat chlamydia? The CDC reports that chlamydia can be easily treated with a course of antibiotics. But this does not mean that amoxicillin is effective simply because it is an antibiotic.

The CDC recommends that healthcare providers prescribe either azithromycin or doxycycline to treat chlamydia. The CDC also suggests several alternative antibiotics that can be used to treat chlamydia, including erythromycin, levofloxacin, or ofloxacin.

Amoxicillin is not on the list of antibiotics that the CDC recommends for the general treatment of chlamydia. However, it is on the list of antibiotics that the CDC recommends for the treatment of chlamydia in pregnant women. So if you are pregnant, your doctor may prescribe amoxicillin to treat chlamydia.

How to Take Amoxicillin For STD Treatment

Obviously, you should always follow your doctor’s orders before taking any medication. When prescribed with an antibiotic, a medical professional will provide you with the specific information you need. For the rest of us, here are the basics of how amoxicillin should be taken.

Amoxicillin is rarely a single dose treatment. It should be taken orally a few times a day, usually every 8 or 12 hours. The drug works most efficiently when taken at around the same time each day. If you accidentally miss a dose, make sure to take it as soon as possible. But if it is almost time to take the next dose, you may need to simply skip over the dose you missed. In this situation, it’s best to contact the prescribing doctor for further instruction.

What is the Amoxicillin For STD Dosage?

The dosage that you will need will vary on a case-by-case basis. But in general, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends taking 500 mg of amoxicillin orally three times per day for seven days to treat certain STDs, including chlamydia.

Can Amoxicillin Cure STD “Super” Infections?

So far, we’ve been talking about the standard, run-of-the-mill case of STDs that’s common in millions of people. Unfortunately, there is a new common threat. The World Health Organization recently reported that certain STDs, including gonorrhea, has been growing more resilient to the antibiotics we’ve been discussing, such as amoxicillin, which are usually used to eradicate it.

One of the likely causes of this advanced super gonorrhea is the fact that people often don’t finish their antibiotics. Will Amoxicillin Cure Gonorrhea? Sure, most of the time. But you need to complete your medication, even if your symptoms seem to disappear. Stopping too early can allow bacteria to continue to grow and mutate. This can result in the infection coming back, or becoming far more dangerous.

This new “super gonorrhea” is much harder to stop. In some severe cases, it is incurable. Most bacteria will eventually evolve, developing resistances against specific antibiotics over time. Unfortunately, that includes amoxicillin. So while amoxicillin can currently usually treat gonorrhea, it will become less effective against strains of super gonorrhea in the future.

How to Treat Gonorrhea and Chlamydia at Home: Get Tested!

Taking antibiotics is the only way to treat gonorrhea and chlamydia, and these antibiotics must be prescribed by a physician. This means you cannot treat these STDs at home. But there is something you can do at home: get tested. The results of this at-home test will determine whether or not you need to contact a medical professional to discuss treatment options.

Who Should Take An At-Home Gonorrhea and Chlamydia Test?

Before you start worrying about amoxicillin, you should first get a proper diagnosis. For cases in which chlamydia or gonorrhea symptoms are present, these are the signs to watch out for:

• More frequent urination or the urge to urinate
• Painful sensation when urinating
• Red and swollen penis near the urinary meatus
• Abnormal discharge or (white, green, yellow) fluid from the penis or vaginal area
• Sore throat that won’t go away
• Fever
• Testicular pain and swelling in men
• Lower abdominal pain in women
• Heavier period or excessive spotting in women

If you notice any of these symptoms, it’s in your best interest to purchase an at-home STD kit to test for gonorrhea and chlamydia right away.

Don’t assume that you don’t need to get tested simply because you aren’t experiencing any symptoms. In many cases, gonorrhea and chlamydia may not show any visible signs of infection at all. For this reason, every sexually active person should be tested regularly for all common sexually transmitted infections.

In general, the CDC recommends that every sexually active adult get tested for chlamydia and gonorrhea at least once a year. But if you engage in certain sexual activities, you may need to get tested more frequently.This is especially true for people who meet one or more of the following conditions:

• You have recently entered a new relationship.
• You and your partner no longer want to use condoms.
• You or your partner have multiple partners.
• You recently had unprotected sex.
• You believe you may have been exposed to gonorrhea or chlamydia.

If you’re wondering about the best solution for how to treat gonorrhea at home, look no further than testing with myLAB Box. The results are just as accurate as those you’d receive in a doctor’s office or clinic, but you don’t have to leave home to get them. If you test positive, you will have a phone consultation with a myLAB Box physician affiliate to be evaluated for treatment.

When Should You Test For Gonorrhea or Chlamydia At Home?

If you’ve recently had unprotected sex or potentially been exposed to gonorrhea or chlamydia, you may think that it’s important to get tested immediately. But taking an STD test too soon could actually lead to inaccurate results. Why? STDs such as gonorrhea and chlamydia will not be detectable in your system immediately following exposure. If you take a test too early, you may get a false negative result.

So how long should you wait to get tested for STDs? Every STD has a unique incubation period, which is the amount of time that it takes for the STD to be detectable in your system. The incubation period for chlamydia can range from 7 days to 21 days, whereas the incubation period for gonorrhea is up to 14 days.

Therefore, it is best to get tested for chlamydia and gonorrhea two to three weeks following the initial exposure. If you take a test within the first two to three weeks following exposure, it’s best to get tested again after several weeks to ensure your initial results were accurate.

How Can You Test For Gonorrhea and Chlamydia At Home?

You don’t need to visit a lab, clinic, or doctor’s office to test for STDs. You can take this test in the comfort of your own home thanks to myLAB Box. Simply follow these steps:

• Order your STD panel kit online on the myLAB box website. Don’t worry, we even include free shipping! We offer discreet shipping, which means your neighbors won’t know you are receiving an STD test in the mail.
• Test yourself at any time and from any place using the easy-to-follow instructions. Your testing kit will include everything you need to complete the test. This part only takes five minutes!
• Send your samples back to the lab with the pre-paid return envelope that comes with your kit.
• Get results online in a matter of days. Results are typically sent within 2-5 days. Once you receive our email, you can log into a secure portal for your private results.
• If you test positive for gonorrhea or chlamydia, you have the option of scheduling a phone consultation with a medical professional to discuss your results. The physician will answer your questions, address your concerns, and help you understand what steps you need to take next.

Bonus!

When you order myLAB Box’s chlamydia and gonorrhea test kit, it comes in one combo mail-in kit, which tests for both gonorrhea and chlamydia. Both are bacterial infections and often occur at the same time. When these infections show symptoms, which is not always the case, they are similar. For this reason, testing for them together makes the most sense. It’s a great way to keep track of two potential infections at once.

Why Is It Important to Take Antibiotics Such As Amoxicillin For Chlamydia and Gonorrhea?

It’s important to treat any STD—especially chlamydia or gonorrhea—as quickly as possible. If left untreated, both of these STDs can lead to serious health complications, including:

• Pelvic inflammatory disease
• Infertility
• Chronic abdominal/pelvic pain
• Life-threatening pregnancy
• Vaginal, rectal, and/or oral infections

The only way to avoid these complications is to seek medical attention immediately after finding out you have tested positive.

What Should You Do If You Test Positive For Chlamydia or Gonorrhea?

Testing positive for gonorrhea or chlamydia is a nerve-wracking experience, but it’s important to stay calm. If you test positive for either STD, seek medical treatment right away. If your symptoms do not improve after taking the prescribed antibiotics, make sure to contact your doctor to discuss other treatment options so you can avoid these serious complications.

Be sure to get tested again once you have completed the full course of antibiotics. Taking another test will help you confirm that the treatment was successful. If you are still testing positive for either gonorrhea or chlamydia after completing your treatment, contact your doctor to discuss your next steps.

You will also need to reach out to your sexual partners as soon as possible after testing positive for chlamydia or gonorrhea. Share your test results with your sexual partners and encourage them to get tested right away. This may be an uncomfortable conversation, but you shouldn’t put it off. Telling your sexual partners about your test results right away is the only way to stop the spread of chlamydia and gonorrhea.

Take Control of Your Health With STD Testing

The more you know about your health, the better. Take an at-home STD test today to learn more about your condition so you can seek the medical treatment you need to improve your health.

View our full range of STD test options here.

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