Serious complications can result if it is left untreated. These include infertility in both men and women, Fallopian tube scarring, increased risk of tubal pregnancy, and, if other organisms become involved, pelvic inflammatory disease. In both men and women, chlamydia can be cured with oral antibiotics if it's caught soon enough. Gonorrhea is often seen in conjunction with Chlamydia and is transmitted by contact with infected semen or mucous membranes. The symptoms, if any, are very similar to chlamydia for both men and women and lead to similar complications.
Treatment consists of antibiotic therapy, either oral or by injection.
Tell your clinician what behaviors have put you at risk and when, and get whatever lab tests the clinician recommends. Use condoms and vaginal spermicides for the first six months of any relationship even if you are taking birth control pills or Depo-Provera. Always use condoms and spermicide when there is any doubt about consistently monogamous behavior. Condoms can break, come off or leak, and spermicides eventually are diluted and discharged, but if you use them according to instructions, they offer a high degree of protection.