Will I Need To Go Back To The Clinic
If you take your antibiotics correctly, you may not need to return to the clinic.
However, you will be advised to go back for another chlamydia test if:
- you had sex before you and your partner finished treatment
- you forgot to take your medication or didn’t take it properly
- your symptoms don’t go away
- you’re pregnant
If you’re under 25 years of age, you should be offered a repeat test for chlamydia 3 to 6 months after finishing your treatment because you’re at a higher risk of catching it again.
What Can Be Done To Prevent The Spread Of Chlamydia
- Limit your number of sex partners
- Use a male or female condom
- If you think you are infected or have been exposed, avoid any sexual contact and visit a local sexually transmitted disease clinic, a hospital or your doctor. Either bring your sex partners with you when you are treated or notify them immediately so they can obtain examination and treatment.
Im Pregnant How Does Chlamydia Affect My Baby
If you are pregnant and have chlamydia, you can pass the infection to your baby during delivery. This could cause an eye infection or pneumonia in your newborn. Having chlamydia may also make it more likely to deliver your baby too early.
If you are pregnant, you should get tested for chlamydia at your first prenatal visit. Testing and treatment are the best ways to prevent health problems.
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How Do People Get Chlamydia
Chlamydia can spread when you have unprotected sexual contact with someone who already has the infection. This means vaginal, oral or anal sex without using a condom.
Transmission occurs because the bacteria that cause chlamydia live and grow in the fluids that are secreted during sexual activity. If you have chlamydia, there is a 30% to 50% chance of your partner catching it every time you have unprotected sex.
Since chlamydia often has no symptoms, you probably wont know whether your partner has it.
Chlamydia cant spread from toilets, swimming pools or usual contact with people. It only spreads through the sharing of genital fluids.
Newborn babies, however, can get chlamydia through their mother during childbirth.
Chlamydia infections can live in the nose, genitals or rectum for more than 2 years.
When Can I Have Sex Again
If you had doxycycline, you shouldn’t have sex including vaginal, oral or anal sex, even with a condom until both you and your partner have completed treatment.
If you had azithromycin, you should wait 7 days after treatment before having sex .
This will help ensure you don’t pass on the infection or catch it again straight away.
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How Do I Know If I Have Chlamydia
Most people who have chlamydia have no symptoms. If you do have symptoms, they may not appear until several weeks after you have sex with an infected partner. Even when chlamydia causes no symptoms, it can damage your reproductive system.
Women with symptoms may notice
- An abnormal vaginal discharge
- A burning sensation when urinating.
Symptoms in men can include
- A discharge from their penis
- A burning sensation when urinating
- Pain and swelling in one or both testicles .
Men and women can also get infected with chlamydia in their rectum. This happens either by having receptive anal sex, or by spread from another infected site . While these infections often cause no symptoms, they can cause
- Rectal pain
- Discharge
- Bleeding.
You should be examined by your doctor if you notice any of these symptoms or if your partner has an STD or symptoms of an STD. STD symptoms can include an unusual sore, a smelly discharge, burning when urinating, or bleeding between periods.
How And When To Take It
Your dose of doxycycline depends on why you are taking it.
The usual dose is 100mg to 200mg once or twice a day. If you’re taking doxycycline more than once a day, try to space your doses evenly throughout the day. If you take it twice a day, this could be first thing in the morning, and in the evening.
For preventing malaria, you’ll take 100mg once a day, usually in the morning. Start taking doxycycline 1 or 2 days before going to an area where there is malaria. Carry on for 4 weeks after leaving the area. Check with your doctor or pharmacist that doxycycline is the best medicine to prevent malaria in the country you are travelling to.
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Male Complications Of Untreated Chlamydia
Men can also experience complications when chlamydia is left untreated. The epididymis the tube that holds the testicles in place may become inflamed, causing pain. This is known as epididymitis.
The infection can also spread to the prostate gland, causing a fever, painful intercourse, and discomfort in the lower back. Another possible complication is male chlamydial urethritis.
These are just some of the most common complications of untreated chlamydia, which is why its important to get medical attention right away. Most people who get treatment quickly have no long-term medical problems.
How To Prevent Chlamydia
Below are some ways to prevent chlamydia
- Use condoms every time you have sex
- Discuss testing for sexually transmitted infections with your doctor or nurse
- Ask if you are due for your annual chlamydia screening
- See your doctor or nurse if you have any symptoms of chlamydia or another infection
- Do not have sex if you or your sexual partner has abnormal discharge, burning with urination, or a genital rash or sore
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Can You Get Chlamydia In Mouth
Can you get chlamydia in your mouth?
Though it is less common to get chlamydia in your mouth and throat, it is possible.
Chlamydia may be transmitted when someone performs oral sex on someone who has genital chlamydia It is also possible for someone who has chlamydia in the throat to give it to another person via oral sex.
Chlamydia is most commonly spread through unprotected anal, vaginal and/or oral sex.
Its also important to note that contact with chlamydia bacteria from one location to another can lead to the transmission. For example, it would be possible to get anal chlamydia if a person living with vaginal or penile chlamydia used toilet paper in an infected area and then later wiped a non-infected area.
Oral sex is a less common route of transmission, or in other words, chlamydia is less likely to be transmitted during oral sex. The bacteria associated with chlamydia generally targets warm and moist environments such as the genitals. Chlamydia bacteria is more likely to thrive in the genital areas.
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How Can I Reduce My Risk Of Getting Chlamydia
The only way to avoid STDs is to not have vaginal, anal, or oral sex.
If you are sexually active, you can do the following things to lower your chances of getting chlamydia:
- Be in a long-term mutually monogamous relationship with a partner who has been tested and has negative STD test results
- Use latex condoms the right way every time you have sex.
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What Is The Prognosis For A Female With Chlamydia
As discussed previously, chlamydia infection can progress to pelvic inflammatory disease if untreated, which can have serious consequences. Complications include permanent damage to the reproductive organs, including infertility and an increased risk of ectopic pregnancy. Chlamydia infection in pregnancy can also lead to low birth weight and premature delivery as well as pneumonia and eye damage in the newborn.
Having an untreated chlamydia infection can also increase a person’s risk for acquiring HIV infection. It can also increase the risk that a person with HIV infection will transmit the infection to others during sexual intercourse.
Chlamydia Treatment And Prevention
Milly DawsonSanjai Sinha, MDShutterstock
Chlamydia is easy to cure. If you test positive for chlamydia, basically you take an antibiotic, says Jill Rabin, MD, cochief in the division of ambulatory care for women’s health programs and prenatal care assistance program services for Northwell Health in New Hyde Park, New York.
Your partner must take an antibiotic, too, to keep them from reinfecting you, she says.
You have to have your partner treated, and if you have more than one partner, they should all be treated, says Dr. Rabin, regardless of your partners genders.
Even if you dont have chlamydia now, its wise to learn how to protect yourself so you wont develop this common infection in the first place. In women, chlamydia can create serious health problems, including infertility. Besides, no one ever wants to have a sexually transmitted disease and then have to tell other people about it.
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Symptoms Of Genital Chlamydia
Some of the common symptoms of genital chlamydia include:
- A burning sensation during urination
- Rectal pain
- Pain or swelling in the testicles
- Pain during sex
Often people who have chlamydia in the mouth will not be aware of their condition due to the fact that they are not experiencing significant symptoms.
This is why it is so important to get tested as soon as you think you may have been exposed to the chlamydia. You could have no symptoms but continue to spread chlamydia onto other people.
In this case it is always better to be safe than sorry. Order a home STD test today.
What Medication Is Prescribed For Chlamydia
Chlamydia is a bacterial sexually transmitted infection . While most patients who have been treated for chlamydia are asymptomatic, it is imperative to be treated if you or a partner may have been exposed. The CDC recommended treatment for chlamydia is Azithromycin 1 g by mouth in a single dose or Doxycycline 100 mg by mouth twice a daily for 7 day. These options are equally as effective and chosen based on preference and patience tolerance to antibiotics.
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Who Should Be Tested For Chlamydia
You should go to your health provider for a test if you have symptoms of chlamydia, or if you have a partner who has a sexually transmitted disease. Pregnant women should get a test when they go to their first prenatal visit.
People at higher risk should get checked for chlamydia every year:
- Sexually active women 25 and younger
- Older women who have new or multiple sex partners, or a sex partner who has a sexually transmitted disease
- Men who have sex with men
How Do You Get Chlamydia
Chlamydia is usually spread during sexual contact with someone who has the infection. It can happen even if no one cums. The main ways people get chlamydia are from having vaginal sex and anal sex, but it can also be spread through oral sex.
Rarely, you can get chlamydia by touching your eye if you have infected fluids on your hand. Chlamydia can also be spread to a baby during birth if the mother has it.
Chlamydia isnt spread through casual contact, so you CANT get chlamydia from sharing food or drinks, kissing, hugging, holding hands, coughing, sneezing, or sitting on the toilet.
Using condoms and/or dental dams every time you have sex is the best way to help prevent chlamydia.
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I Was Treated For Chlamydia When Can I Have Sex Again
You should not have sex again until you and your sex partner have completed treatment. If your doctor prescribes a single dose of medication, you should wait seven days after taking the medicine before having sex. If your doctor prescribes a medicine for you to take for seven days, you should wait until you have taken all of the doses before having sex.
Parents Have A Role In Chlamydia Prevention
Parents can do two main things to help their kids avoid getting chlamydia and other sexually transmitted infections , says Dombrowski. These two things are:
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How Long Does It Take For Chlamydia To Go Away
How long does it take for Chlamydia to clear up? Can you have Chlamydia for years and not know it? These are questions that give headache to a lot of women at some point in their lives.
Chlamydia is a bacterial infection with the Chlamydia infectious agent, which is transmitted through sexual contact. It`s among the most common STDs in the world. Chlamydia infects the urethra in men and the cervix, urethra and superior reproductive organs in women. Chlamydia can also infect the rectum, eye surface and eyelids.
An infected mother can transmit the infection to her baby during childbirth. Between 50% and 70% of infants are born from infected mothers. They acquire the infection in the eyes, rectum, vagina and the back of the throat. Between 30% and 40% of these infected neonates develop complications, like conjunctivitis or pneumonia.
Chlamydia increases the risk of human immunodeficiency virus infection, in case of exposure.
Letting Partners Know You Have Chlamydia
Sexual partners may be infected too. If you have chlamydia, anyone you have had sex with from the last 6 months needs to be informed, tested and treated.
If they dont know, they could reinfect you or infect someone else if they are not treated. dont receive treatment.
Most people will appreciate being told they may have an infection and it is an important step in preventing further infection in the community.
Your local GP and sexual health centre can help you inform your partners and let them know that they need a test. This process is called partner notification. It can be done anonymously, and your confidentiality is always respected.
You can also anonymously notify your sexual partners of the need to get tested and treated for chlamydia via the Let Them Know website if you feel unable to speak to them personally.
There are also nurses who can help you anonymously notify your partners. They can be contacted on .
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How Is Chlamydia Diagnosed
Its easy to test for chlamydia. Your doctor may ask you to have a sample taken from the vagina, cervix, throat, anus or penis. Or, you may be asked to produce a urine sample. Once the sample is collected, it is sent to a laboratory for testing. STI test results usually come back within a week.
There are 2 main types of tests:
Get Retested Following Treatment
Many people have more than one chlamydia infection. If youre a girl or woman and your sex partners are not treated for the infection, you will be at high risk for reinfection. Repeated infections with chlamydia make it much more likely that your ability to have children will be affected. Repeated infections also raise your risk of painful complications, such as pelvic inflammatory disease.
Both women and men with chlamydia should be retested about three months after they are first diagnosed and treated. Go to be retested even if you think your sex partners were successfully treated.
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Are There Complications Of Chlamydia
Chlamydia can cause serious complications if it isnt treated promptly and properly.
Untreated chlamydia can trigger arthritis, skin rashes, and inflammation in the eye or rectum.
For women, chlamydia can spread into the uterus and the fallopian tubes and cause pelvic inflammatory disease . This can cause problems with pregnancy, such as ectopic pregnancy. Women with untreated chlamydia have up to a 1 in 12 chance of becoming infertile. In men, chlamydia can spread to the testicles and the tubes that carry sperm, causing pain and fertility problems.
Pregnant women who are infected with chlamydia have a higher chance of miscarriage or premature birth. Their babies may also get an eye or lung infection. You can read more about chlamydia and pregnancy here.
What Happens If Chlamydia Is Left Untreated
What happens if chlamydia goes untreated? If a person is not treated for chlamydia, complications may occur. Women frequently develop pelvic inflammatory disease . PID can cause infertility , chronic pelvic pain, tubal pregnancies, and the continued spread of the disease.
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Testing And Treating Sexual Partners
If you test positive for chlamydia, it’s important that your current sexual partner and any other recent sexual partners you’ve had are also tested and treated.
A specialist sexual health adviser can help you contact your recent sexual partners, or the clinic can contact them for you if you prefer.
Either you or someone from the clinic can speak to them, or the clinic can send them a note to let them know they may have been exposed to a sexually transmitted infection .
The note will suggest that they go for a check-up. It will not have your name on it, so your confidentiality will be protected.
Page last reviewed: 01 September 2021 Next review due: 01 September 2024