By Dr. W. Gifford Jones
APRIL 16, 1988
How can you tell whether your partner has been unfaithful? It's not easy. Certainly if he or she wanders home every night at 4:a.m. the excuse can't always be walking the dog. Or if there's an occasional smear of lipstick on the cheek it's unlikely it's from a loving mother. But consider the eyes, the so-called window of the soul. Might they reveal a clue about the existence of an extramarital affair?
Dr. John Sheppard , a researcher at the University of California, recently reported startling news for delegates at the Dallas meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. I suspect the first thing these physicians did on arriving home was look their spouse straight in the eye.
The California physician suggested that a red eye could be the first sign that a partner was cheating. Chlamydia trachomatis is the major sexually transmitted disease in North America and can cause adult inclusion conjunctivitis.
Sheppard says there are 40,000 cases of adult inclusion conjunctivitis every year in the United States, the result of undetected genital chlamydial infection. The infection reaches the eye either through oral sex or by genital discharge carried on the hands to the eye. And often, according to Dr. Sheppard, the eye infection is the only visible sign of this sexually transmitted disease.
Chlamydia trachomatis is not a new disease. It affects an estimated 500 million people in developing countries and leaves two million of them blind. In this country it's known that pregnant women suffering from chlamydia pose a risk to the fetus. The infection can be passed to the baby during birth causing either conjunctivitis or pneumonia. But little warning has been sounded that adult eyes are also at risk.
If your partner suddenly develops a red eye don't jump to questionable conclusions. Not all cases of conjunctivitis are due to adultery. In fact even ophthalmologists should think twice before casting aspersions on their mate. Sheppard says that community ophthalmologists were asked to refer cases to him which they thought might be due to chlamydia. But cultures showed that only 10 per cent of these patients actually had chlamydia.
How can so many eye doctors err in the diagnosis of 90 per cent of the cases? The reason is that symptoms of adult inclusion conjunctivitis such a mild discharge are present in other eye problems. For instance, contact lens wearers often suffer from this symptom.
Today genital trachomatis has reached epidemic proportions and is largely undiagnosed. The reason is obvious. An estimated 70 per cent of women and 10 per cent of men with chlamydia have no symptoms. This means that they do not receive treatment until serious evidence appears. And in the interval they infect unsuspecting partners.
One study revealed that 40 per cent of teenagers during routine visits to a family planning clinic were found to be infected with this disease. In a Swedish study chlamydial infection was three to four times more common in males than gonorrhea. In males the infection spreads along the spermatic cord and infects the epididymis, an oblong organ attached to the upper part of each testicle.
The consequences of chlamydial infection in females is more serious. The infection spreads through the uterus to the fallopian tubes causing pelvic inflammatory disease. Complete blockage of the tube results in infertility. A partial blockage may trap a fertilized ovum creating a tubal pregnancy.
Is there any good news? Not much, if you arrive home with a red eye and your partner has read this column . If so, my apologies for causing trouble. But there is something positive.
Patients without symptoms can hardly be blamed for not seeking medical attention. But even those with genital symptoms such as discharge , burning on urination and pelvic pain often procrastinate about seeing the doctor.
But Dr Sheppard says patients with a red eye invariably make a beeline for the doctor's office. Most patients don't delay treatment when something is wrong with an eye. So the good news is that symptoms in the eye bring on early treatment of chlamydial infection.
W. Gifford-Jones M.D is the pen name of Dr. Ken Walker graduate of Harvard. Dr. Walker's website is: Docgiff.com
My book, �90 + How I Got There� can be obtained by sending $19.95 to:
Giff Holdings, 525 Balliol St, Unit # 6,Toronto, Ontario, M4S 1E1
Pre-2008 articles by Gifford JonesPursuant to Title 17 U.S.C. 107, other copyrighted work is provided for educational purposes, research, critical comment, or debate without profit or payment. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for your own purposes beyond the 'fair use' exception, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Views are those of authors and not necessarily those of Canada Free Press. Content is Copyright 1997-2024 the individual authors. Site Copyright 1997-2024 Canada Free Press.Com Privacy Statement