Misdiagnosis of Chlamydia

Misdiagnosis of Chlamydia

A prompt diagnosis and treatment of chlamydia infection increases the chances of preserving fertility and preventing other complications, such as pelvic inflammatory disease, prostatitis, epididymitis, and ectopic pregnancy.

Chlamydia is simple to diagnose, but a diagnosis can be missed or delayed because there are often no symptoms in the earliest, most curable stage. Because of these factors, it is important to have regular medical care throughout a lifetime in order to maximize the chances of early diagnosis and treatment....more about Chlamydia »

Chlamydia misdiagnosis: Chlamydia was cited by Reader's Digest as one of the top 10 misdiagnosed diseases. Undiagnosed prevalence can be high: 9.51% of female Army recruits had undiagnosed chlamydia in a study by Charlotte Gaydos as reported by Reader's Digest. In the article entitled "10 Diseases Doctors Miss", the 10 diseases mentioned were hepatitis C, lupus, celiac disease, hemochromatosis, aneurysm, Lyme disease, hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid), polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), chlamydia, and sleep apnea. ¹...more about Chlamydia »

Alternative diagnoses list for Chlamydia:

For a diagnosis of Chlamydia, the following list of conditions have been mentioned in sources as possible alternative diagnoses to consider during the diagnostic process for Chlamydia:

• Gonorrhea
• Vaginal yeast infection
• Bacterial vaginosis
• Trichomoniasis
• Cervical inflammation
• Vaginal allergies
• Spermicide allergies
• Vaginal hygiene product allergies
• Detergent allergies
• Fabric softener allergies
• Genital herpes
• Molluscum contagiosum
• Genital warts
• Pelvic inflammatory disease
• Sexually transmitted diseases
• Other causes of vaginal discharge

Diseases for which Chlamydia may be an alternative diagnosis

The other diseases for which Chlamydia is listed as a possible alternative diagnosis in their lists include:

• Cervicitis
• Genital herpes
• Genital wart
• Gonorrhea
• Interstitial cystitis
• Non-Specific Urethritis
• Urethritis

Chlamydia: Medical Mistakes

Related medical mistakes may include:

• STDs -- Health Mistakes
• Women's Health Mistakes:
  • Womens Health -- Health Mistakes
  • Contraception -- Health Mistakes
  • Fertility -- Health Mistakes
• more mistakes...»

Chlamydia: Undiagnosed Conditions

Commonly undiagnosed conditions in related areas may include:

• Women's Reproductive Health: diseases that are commonly undiagnosed:
  • Overactive Bladder Syndrome -- Undiagnosed
  • PCOS -- Undiagnosed
  • Chlamydia -- Undiagnosed
  • Pelvic Inflammatory Disease -- Undiagnosed
  • Cervical Cancer -- Undiagnosed
  • Breast Cancer -- Undiagnosed
  • Ovarian Cancer -- Undiagnosed
  • Von Willebrand Disease -- Undiagnosed
  • more ...»
• more undiagnosed conditions...»

Discussion of diagnosis/misdiagnosis of Chlamydia:

Chlamydia is easily confused with gonorrhea because the symptoms of both diseases are similar, and because they often occur together. Until recently, the only way to diagnose chlamydia was to take a sample of secretions from a patient’s genital area and culture the organism in special tissue culture in the laboratory. While still the most definitive test, it is expensive and technically difficult. Results can take up to 3 days. More recently, however, several rapid tests that use sophisticated techniques and a dye to detect bacterial proteins have been developed and are a readily available test for chlamydial infection. (Source: excerpt from Chlamydia: NWHIC)

Common Misdiagnoses and Chlamydia

Antibiotics often causes diarrhea: The use of antibiotics are very likely to cause some level of diarrhea in patients. The reason is that antibiotics kill off not only "bad" bacteria, but can also kill the "good" bacteria in the gut. This leads to "digestive imbalance" where there are too few remaining "good" bacteria in the digestive system. The treatment is typically to use "probiotics", such as by eating yoghurt cultures containing more of the good bacteria. See digestive imbalance and probiotics.

Rare type of breast cancer without a lump: There is a less common form of breast cancer called inflammatory breast cancer. Its symptoms can be an inflammation of the breast tissue, such as with a breast rash with redness and warmth, but not necessarily a physical breast lump. This type of breast cancer should be considered as an uncommon possibility for certain types of breast symptoms.

Misdiagnosed weight-related causes of infertility: A woman's weight status can affect her level of fertility. Although obesity or overweight can in themselves reduce fertility, there are other weight-related or associated medical conditions that further reduce fertility. Some of these hidden causes include COPD, diabetes, thyroid disorders (overactive thyroid or underactive thyroid) and metabolic syndrome. See also other causes of infertility.

Chlamydia: Rare Types

Rare types of medical disorders and diseases in related medical areas:

• Women's Reproductive Health -- rare types of diseases:
  • Overactive Bladder Syndrome -- Rare Types
  • PCOS -- Rare Types
  • Chlamydia -- Rare Types
  • Pelvic Inflammatory Disease -- Rare Types
  • Cervical Cancer -- Rare Types
  • Breast Cancer -- Rare Types
  • Ovarian Cancer -- Rare Types
  • Von Willebrand Disease -- Rare Types
  • more ...»
• Women's General Health: rare types of diseases:
  • Heart Disease -- Rare Types
  • Heart Attack -- Rare Types
  • Thyroid Disease -- Rare Types
  • Diabetes -- Rare Types
  • High Cholesterol -- Rare Types
• Pregnancy: rare types of diseases:
  • Gestational Hypertension -- Rare Types
  • Gestational Diabetes -- Rare Types
  • Eclampsia -- Rare Types
• more rare diseases...»

General Misdiagnosis Articles

Read these general articles with an overview of misdiagnosis issues.

• Misdiagnosis Overview
• How Common is Misdiagnosis?
• Over-Diagnosed Diseases
• Under-Diagnosed Diseases
• Types of Misdiagnosis
• Wrong Type Misdiagnosis
• Why Does Misdiagnosis Occur?
• Difficult Diseases to Diagnose
• More premium medical articles ...

About misdiagnosis:

When checking for a misdiagnosis of Chlamydia or confirming a diagnosis of Chlamydia, it is useful to consider what other medical conditions might be possible misdiagnoses or other alternative conditions relevant to diagnosis. These alternate diagnoses of Chlamydia may already have been considered by your doctor or may need to be considered as possible alternative diagnoses or candidates for misdiagnosis of Chlamydia. For a general overview of misdiagnosis issues for all diseases, see Overview of Misdiagnosis.

Search Specialists by State and City