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So a lot of young people have Chlamydia and don't know it. In studies where all the women are screened on their annual exam, without symptoms, up to 12 percent are found to have Chlamydia.

Surprisingly many insurance companies do not cover screening for Chlamydia unless a patient has symptoms. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend yearly screening for women under 26 who have sex, and for any women at risk. So any woman who has a new partner, or multiple partners needs to be screened along with anyone who has already had a sexually transmitted disease.

Screening is easy and quick and can be done on a urine sample or a swab from the cervix during a pelvic exam, or in men from the urethra on a penile exam. Treatment for Chlamydia is also simple, and now even quick with a single dose of an antibiotic by mouth or a 7-day dosing.

Untreated Chlamydia can result in serious infections like pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic or tubal pregnancy, and infertility. Babies born to infected mothers with untreated Chlamydia can catch Chlamydia from inside their mothers leading to eye infections that can lead to blindness or lung infections that can be deadly.

Finding and treating Chlamydia could save $45 in health costs for every woman screened, per Dr. Soper of the American College of OB/GYN. So screening saves money in the long run. Right now, there are no recommendations for screening men without symptoms, though most men with Chlamydia also do not have symptoms. When a woman is found to have Chlamydia, it is recommended that her partners also be treated. Women who have sex with women should be screened the same way heterosexual women are screened. Men who have sex with men are also at risk for Chlamydia and may not have symptoms.

If you are a woman under 26 years old who has had sex, or a woman of any age with a new partner, multiple partners, or if your partner is non-monogamous, and if you don't always use condoms, then schedule a Chlamydia screening appointment at your clinic, even if you have to pay for it, even if you don't have symptoms.

• Dr. Maureen Longworth is a family physician also certified in holistic medicine with a private practice in downtown Juneau.