What is clindamycin?

Clindamycin is used to treat certain types of bacterial infections, including infections of the lungs, skin, blood, female reproductive organs, and internal organs. It can be used for treating chlamydia infection but it's not one of the common ones. Clindamycin is in a class of medications called lincomycin antibiotics. It works by slowing or stopping the growth of bacteria. Antibiotics such as clindamycin will not kill the viruses that cause colds, flu, and other infections.

Important information about clindamycin

Many antibiotics, including clindamycin, may cause overgrowth of dangerous bacteria in the large intestine. This may cause mild diarrhea or may cause a life-threatening condition called colitis (inflammation of the large intestine). As a antibiotic for chlamydia, clindamycin is more likely to cause this type of infection than many other antibiotics, so it should only be used to treat serious infections that cannot be treated by other antibiotics. Tell your doctor if you have or have ever had colitis or other conditions that affect your stomach or intestines.

Before taking clindamycin,
- tell your doctor and pharmacist if you are allergic to clindamycin, lincomycin (Lincocin), or any other medications. If you will be taking clindamycin capsules, tell your doctor if you are allergic to aspirin or tartrazine (a yellow dye found in some medications).
- tell your doctor and pharmacist what prescription and nonprescription medications, vitamins, nutritional supplements, and herbal products you are taking or plan to take. Be sure to mention erythromycin (E.E.S, E-Mycin, Erythrocin, others). Your doctor may need to change the doses of your medications or monitor you carefully for side effects.
- tell your doctor if you have or have ever had asthma, allergies, eczema (sensitive skin that often becomes itchy or irritated) or kidney or liver disease.
- tell your doctor if you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, or are breast-feeding. If you become pregnant while taking clindamycin, call your doctor.
- if you are having surgery, including dental surgery, tell the doctor or dentist that you are taking clindamycin.

What are clindamycin side effects?

Clindamycin may cause side effects. Tell your doctor if any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away:
- nausea
- vomiting
- joint pain
- pain when swallowing
- heartburn
- white patches in the mouth
- thick, white vaginal discharge
- burning, itching, and swelling of the vagina

Some side effects can be serious. If you experience any of these symptoms or those listed in the IMPORTANT WARNING section, call your doctor immediately:
- blisters
- rash
- hives
- difficulty breathing or swallowing
- yellowing of the skin or eyes
- decreased urination

Clindamycin may cause other side effects. Call your doctor if you have any unusual problems while taking this medication.

chlamydia transmission is always treated by antibiotics. Popular antibiotics for chlamydia infection including Erythromycin, Levofloxacin, Tetracycline, Azithromycin, Doxycycline, and so on. A single dose of antibiotics is good to treat chlamydia infection in most cases. You will get a negative result of chlamydia test after the treatment. If you are sill suffering from chlamydia symptoms, or have got a positive result again, visit your doctor.

While antibiotics are treating your infection, they may bring you a serious of side effects.

Below is a list of the most common side-effects of chlamydia antibiotics:
- Hives;
- Difficulty breathing;
- Swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat
- Dizziness and/or headache
- Mild nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or stomach pain

Below is a list of rare side-effects of chlamydia antibiotics:
- Stomach or bowel upsets
- Mild skin rash or itching
- Vaginal itching or discharge
- Abnormal liver tests
- Allergic reactions
- Nervousness

Some of chlamydia antibiotics are harmful to your kidneys or liver. Besides, taking antibiotics overloads your kidneys and liver while metabolizing. So do not ask for antibiotics from your doctor unless there's no better alternatives.

Chlamydia Infection is a bacterial infection that is caused by Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria and can be transmitted through oral, anal and vaginal sexual contact. Men and women can both be affected by Chlamydia, but symptoms of the infection are not always present. In fact, up to 75% of women and 50% of men experience no symptoms of Chlamydia.

However, long-term complications can develop if left untreated. Left untreated, Chlamydia in women can cause pelvic inflammatory disease, which in turn can cause infertility and damage to the reproductive organs. Untreated Chlamydia in men can cause epididymitis, which can lead to sterility. While it is possible to cure Chlamydia through antibiotics, this treatment cannot undo any damage that may have already occurred in your reproductive organs. Therefore, it is important to seek medical attention as soon as you suspect you may have Chlamydia.

Pregnant women with untreated chlamydia infections are at high risk for pregnancy and labor complications, as well as transmitting eye infections and pneumonia to newborn babies.

A review found eleven trials, involving 1449 women, on erythromycin, amoxycillin, azithromycin and clindamycin, and the overall trial quality was good. However, all the trials assessed 'microbiological cure' (that is they looked for an eradication of the infection) and none assessed whether the eye or lung problems for the baby were reduced. Also, none of the trials were large enough to assess potential adverse outcomes adequately. The review found amoxycillin was an effective alternative to erythromycin but lack of long-term assessment of outcomes caused concern about its routine use in practice. If erythromycin is used, some women may stop taking it because of adverse effects. Azithromycin and clindamycin are potential alternatives.

Pregnant women with chlamydia are commonly treated with amoxicillin or erythromycin. These are not the only antibiotics prescribed, but they are the most commonly prescribed medications for treatment of chlamydia in pregnant women. Tetracyclines taken in pregnancy are known to be associated with teeth and bone abnormalities in babies, and some women find erythromycin unpleasant to take because of feeling sick and vomiting.

Notice
- Take all prescribed medication as directed until gone, even if your symptoms disappear. Notify your doctor if you began to feel worse or develop new symptoms after taking medication. This can be an indication of possible side effects.
- Contact your physician if the symptoms do not disappear within 2 weeks of completing your prescription.

Chlamydia Cure was once again the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) as Rushmoor was revealed to have the highest rate of infections across the Hampshire-Surrey border.

The data from Public Health England showed that the STI rate per 100,000 people in Rushmoor was 796 – marginally higher than in the borough of Guildford where the rate was 794 per 100,000 people.

This compared with a Hampshire average of 583 STIs in every 100,000 people and 545 in Surrey.

Last year, 751 acute STIs were diagnosed in Rushmoor, with 330 of these being chlamydia - a common bacterial infection that often has no symptoms in women but can cause blindness.

This means there were 20 more new chlamydia cases than in 2011.

Cases of the infection fell by 6% to 184 in Hart, by 15% to 293 in Guildford, by 30% to 153 in Surrey Heath and by 13% to 160 in Waverley.

The overall number of all STIs diagnosed in these areas was 524 in Hart, 1,093 in Guildford, 504 in Surrey Heath and 556 in Waverley.

Syphilis cases increased most dramatically in Hart, from zero in 2011 to three in 2012, and in Guildford, where there were seven diagnoses last year compared to four in 2011 and one the year before.

Despite this it remained by far the least common infection in the data.

Cases of gonorrhoea and herpes were more frequent in 2012 than at any point in the past four years in Guildford, Surrey Heath and Waverley, but cases fell in Hart.

Rushmoor was the only borough where diagnoses of genital warts increased – rising from 160 to 169.

The increases in some STIs has prompted a warning from Hampshire County Council to people to take more care with their sexual health.

Councillor Liz Fairhurst, executive lead member for health and wellbeing, said: “Left untreated, sexually transmitted infections can lead to a range of complications including ectopic pregnancy, infertility, disability, cancer and premature death.

"As part of our new public health responsibilities, Hampshire County Council already commissions a range of programmes and services delivered in a variety of community settings that support people to develop and maintain good sexual health.

"Getting screened for HIV and STIs can lead to early diagnosis and treatment, as often these infections have no symptoms.

"In addition, reducing the number of sexual partners and avoiding overlapping sexual relationships can reduce the risk of being infected with an STI."

The Public Health England figures also showed that those aged between 15 and 24 were most at risk from chlamydia.

There were 226 diagnoses in this age group last year in Rushmoor – lower than the 248 in 2011 – whereas there were 103 cases in those older than 25 last year.