Can You Get A Blood Test For Chlamydia

How Long Does It Take To Test Positive For Chlamydia

Almost 3 million new cases of chlamydia are reportedevery single year, which means 1 in 20 sexually active young people havechlamydia. With such a prevalent STI like this one, its very important to getregularly tested.

Anyone who has unprotected sex is exposed to chlamydia and can get this infection during genital, , or oral sex. This bacteria is treatable, but if left undetected for a long time, it can cause infertility or other serious health problems.

The real problem is that chlamydia often shows no signs and no symptoms, which means people are at risk of transmitting this infection without having a clue they are infected. Those who do get tested, but decide to do it too early will not get adequate results. Thats why timing is crucial for chlamydia testing.

Here we will focus on how long it takes forchlamydia to show up on tests, why is the incubation period important, and howit affects the test results in both men and women.

What To Think About

• If a chlamydia infection is suspected, do not have sexual intercourse until the test results have come back. If you have a chlamydia infection, do not have sexual intercourse for 7 days after the start of treatment. Your sex partner should also be treated for a chlamydia infection so that you dont get reinfected and so that others dont get infected.
• Only one laboratory test is needed to diagnose chlamydia. Your doctor can choose which test to use.
• Screening for and treating chlamydia can help prevent pelvic inflammatory disease . To learn more about the treatment of a chlamydia infection, see the topic Chlamydia.
• Other sexually transmitted infections may be present at the same time as chlamydia. So it is important to be tested and treated for all STIs. Chlamydia as well as other STIs can also increase the chance of getting human immunodeficiency virus . An HIV test may be offered at the same time as a test for chlamydia or other STIs.

Read Also: How To Get Rid Of Oral Chlamydia

Where Can I Get Tested For Chlamydia

You can get tested for chlamydia and other STDs at your doctors office, a community health clinic, the health department, or your local Planned Parenthood health center. In some states, you can do an online visit and take a chlamydia test at home.

STD testing isnt always part of your regular checkup or gynecologist exam you have to ask for it. Be open and honest with your nurse or doctor so they can help you figure out which tests you may need. Dont be embarrassed: Your doctor is there to help, not to judge.

You May Like: How Soon After Getting Chlamydia Can It Be Detected

How Long Does It Take To Show Up In The Throat

Symptoms of chlamydia in your throat are typically caused by having oral sex with someone whos contracted the infection.

Its much less common to notice throat symptoms, but they may still appear after a week or so, up to a few months or longer.

STI tests that look for chlamydia arent always done on the throat since its an area that does not carry the infection often. Ask your doctor for a throat swab or other chlamydia test if you think youve been exposed through oral sex.

Here are the most common symptoms of chlamydia in both people with penises and people with vulvas.

How Soon Should I Test For Stds After Exposure

Use the table below to determine when you should get tested following exposure to an STD. The first column lists some of the most common types of STDs. The second column has the earliest time that tests offered by myLAB Box could be positive after a potential exposure. Some of the times listed are estimates due to limited data in other cases the window period is simply unknown. The third column tells you how long it could take following initial exposure to test positive for an STD.

For example, say you have been potentially exposed to genital herpes. If you look at the second column, it says you should take your first test 2 weeks from the date of exposure. This is the earliest that genital herpes will be detectable in your system. But according to the third column, it could take as long as 4 months, or 16 weeks, for genital herpes to become detectable in your system. In other words, the incubation period for genital herpes could be anywhere from 2 to 16 weeks following exposure.

This means if your results are negative when you get tested two weeks following exposure, you should get retested after 16 weeks. This way, you can confirm that it was not a false negative caused by testing before the STD was detectable.

Dont Miss: Can You Get Rid Of Chlamydia Without Treatment

Recommended Reading: Azithromycin Dosage For Chlamydia 500mg

How Long Does It Take For Chlamydia To Show Up On A Test

How long it takes for the results to show up depends on the test performed and on your specific health as an individual. Urine tests take about 2 to 5 days to show a positive or negative result, positive meaning it was found and negative meaning it wasnt. If the blood is analyzed on site, blood tests can come back with results in a few minutes. However, if sent off to a lab, they can take a week or more. To show a positive or negative, swab results take about 2 to 3 days.

Your doctor will likely prescribe one of the following to help treat the infection:

• Azithromycin This antibiotic is usually taken in one big dose and is also referred to as Z-Pal.
• Doxycycline This antibiotic is usually taken twice a day for a week.
• Erythromycin This antibiotic is normally taken frice a day for a week.
• Levofloxacin This antibiotic is taken once a day for a week.
• Ofloxacin This antibiotic is given in doses that are taken twice daily for a week.

If you or someone you know needs to be tested for chlamydia, come to Express Healthcare today! Our kind and compassionate health care professionals are experienced in testing for chlamydia and other STIs and provide confidential, discreet results, so you can feel comfortable knowing that your test results are private. Contact our office today to talk with a member of our specialist team. Go online or simply give us a to book an appointment with us today!

Read Also: Can Cranberry Juice Cure Chlamydia

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 burning sensation when urinating
• Pain and swelling in one or both testicles .

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.

Read Also: Do Uti Antibiotics Cure Chlamydia

You May Like: Pills To Take For Chlamydia

What Does The Chlamydia Test Involve

The recommended tests for chlamydia are simple, painless and generally very reliable.

They involve sending a sample of cells to a laboratory for analysis. You don’t necessarily have to be examined by a doctor or nurse first and can often collect the sample yourself.

There are two main ways the sample can be collected:

• urinating into a container this should ideally be done at least 1 hour after you last urinated

The results will normally be available in 7 to 10 days. If there’s a high chance you have chlamydia for example, you have symptoms of the infection or your partner has been diagnosed with it and you’ve had unprotected sex with them you might start treatment before you get your results.

Read more about treating chlamydia.

How To Interpret Chlamydia Test Results

Lab test results may be positive, negative or in some case inconclusive. A positive test result means the infection is there and the person is suffering from Chlamydia infections. So the person should go for treatment as advised by the doctor. Negative test interprets bacteria is not found and he/she is normal. Sometimes it also means that bacteria are at a very low amount and impact of it is not seen. But if there will be an increment in that then only it will start impacting. Sometimes test result gives inconclusive results. It happens when test result does not clearly indicate whether it is positive or negative.

How to Conclude Chlamydia Test Result?

There is a very slight chance of false test result. NAAT accuracy result is almost 100% whereas for Chlamydia culture it is 80%. This test is very necessary to be conducted because it gives accurate results. A person should conduct this test in identified lab only and certified person should see the result. An impact of this infection is huge at later stages. So, diagnosis of this is necessary so that person does not suffer from this infection later and it is easy to curb it at earlier stages later on it becomes difficult to curb its impact.

This is how, you can read your Chlamydia Test result without any doctor guideline. However, I would suggest you to consult doctor to get proper guideline.

Originally posted 2016-08-21 15:57:40.

You May Like: How Easy Is It To Pass Chlamydia

Chlamydia Cdc Fact Sheet

Chlamydia is a common sexually transmitted disease that can be easily cured. If left untreated, chlamydia can make it difficult for a woman to get pregnant.

Basic Fact Sheet | Detailed Version

Basic fact sheets are presented in plain language for individuals with general questions about sexually transmitted diseases. The content here can be syndicated .

Recommended Reading: After You Get Treated For Chlamydia

How Long Will It Take For Chlamydia To Show Up In Men

Both women and men need the same amount of time forchlamydia symptoms to show up, and there is no major difference in the timelinenecessary for the bacteria to reproduce. The only huge difference is thefrequency of the symptoms men might experience. Based on statistics, 70% of mendont notice any symptoms at all, while 90% of women dont notice physicalsymptoms only.

Don’t Miss: Can You Do A Blood Test For Chlamydia

Should My Partners Be Tested For Chlamydia

If you receive a chlamydia diagnosis, your partners need to be tested, too. Since this bacterial infection is highly contagious, it spreads easily through sexual contact.

You and your partners may need regular testing until the infection fully disappears. In the meantime, its a good idea to use barrier methods during sexual contact, such as using condoms.

Can You Test Negative For Chlamydia But Still Have It

This is because the bacteria needs enough time to multiply within your body in order for it to reach a detectable level when taking a chlamydia test. For chlamydia this is often 14 days. If you test before that 14 days is over, you may test negative, but you could still pass the bacteria on following your test.

Don’t Miss: How Long Does It Take To Test For Chlamydia

Do Hospitals Perform Std Testing When Drawing Blood

Are you up-to-date with your sexual health screenings? If you are sexually active, you should regularly schedule sexually transmitted disease tests to protect yourself from any resulting health problems. If you are experiencing STD symptoms, you might wonder:

• Do I have a sexually transmitted infection ?
• Will blood tests show if I have an STD?
• Do hospitals do STD testing when they draw blood?

Hospitals do not automatically run STD tests on your blood sample. You will need to specifically request STD testing. If you want an accurate andrapid STD test, contact Rapid STD Testing today.

What Does The Test Result Mean

A positive test indicates you have an active chlamydia infection that requires treatment with antibiotics.

A negative test means only that there is no evidence of infection at the time of the test. If you are at an increased risk, it is important that you have screening tests performed yearly to check for possible infection, especially since re-infection is common, particularly among teenagers.

If you are infected, your sexual partner should be tested and treated as well.

Don’t Miss: How To Treat Chlamydia Without Seeing A Doctor

Do Normal Blood Tests Show Stds

When you visit your regular doctor for your annual checkup, you will often get some standard blood tests to screen for common health conditions. In most cases, screening for STDs is not included in these tests. Instead, they are generally looking for issues like high cholesterol, liver problems, thyroid problems, and other common conditions.

If you engage in sexual behavior that could put you at risk for STDs, then your doctor may include testing for certain diseases along with your normal blood tests. Make sure that youre completely honest with your doctor about the activities that you normally engage in, including how many sexual partners youve had recently and whether you always used protection. Its important that your doctor understands your level of risk, in order to know whether STD screening should be included with your normal blood tests.

Why Do I Need A Chlamydia Test

Chlamydia is a very common STD, especially in sexually active people ages 15 to 24. But chlamydia usually doesnt cause symptoms, so the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health organizations recommend regular screening tests if your risk of getting chlamydia is high.

If you are a woman or a transgender or gender diverse person with a cervix , you should:

• Get tested for chlamydia at least once a year if you are:
• Younger than 25 and having sex
• Age 25 or older and have a higher risk of getting chlamydia because you:
• Have a new sex partner or more than one partner
• Have a sex partner who is having sex with others
• Have a sex partner with an STD
• Dont use condoms correctly every time

Regular chlamydia testing at least once a year is also recommended if you:

The best testing schedule for you may be different than the recommendations. Ask your provider how often you should get tested.

Your provider will order a test if your sex partner has been diagnosed with chlamydia or if you have symptoms. Symptoms of chlamydia may include:

Read Also: Can You Reinfect Yourself With Chlamydia

How Accurate Is Blood Test For Chlamydia

There are basically 2 tests to diagnosis this disease which is Nucleic acid amplification tests and Chlamydia culture. NAAT accuracy level is almost 100% and it is done through urine sample and body fluid. It gives instantaneous results. Chlamydia culture requires time to give the result. It is also 95% accurate but this should be conducted in lab only. Symptoms of Chlamydia are seen clearly. Chlamydia test need some time to detect the bacteria.

Some of the common symptoms are:-

Following symptoms are seen in men:-

Following Major Chlamydia symptoms are seen in women:-

• Abnormal vaginal discharge
• Bleeding between periods

This infection can be so dangerous that it can cause HIV which is a deadly disease. A newborn baby can also get contaminated with this disease if parents are suffering from it. This disease is most common in pregnant women.

It is important that person who is diagnosed with should antibiotics and should refrain from sexual activity week for at least 1 week. It is also possible that this infection can happen again after curing it completely. So a person should avoid the reasons which this disease occurs.

Can You Find Chlamydia In A Blood Test

Submitted:Category:

Hello

Although chlamydia infection can be checked by clinical examination,it can also be detected by blood test- Chlamydia Antibody Blood Test .

When a person has a Chlamydia infection, the body reacts by making antibodies to fight off the infection. These antibodies can remain in a person’s blood even after the infection has passed.These are detected in the blood.A positive test indicates Chlamydia infection some time in a person’s life whether in past or is now having it.

Hope this helped.

Also Check: How Many Azithromycin 500mg Do I Take For Chlamydia

When Should I Get Tested

Don’t delay getting tested if you think you might have chlamydia. Being diagnosed and treated as soon as possible will reduce your risk of developing any serious complications of chlamydia.

You can get a chlamydia test at any time although you might be advised to repeat the test later on if you have it less than 2 weeks since you had sex because the infection might not always be found in the early stages.

You should consider getting tested for chlamydia if:

• you think you could have a sexually transmitted infection
• a sexual partner tells you they have an STI
• you’re pregnant or planning a pregnancy
• you’re offered a chlamydia test as part of the NCSP

If you live in England, you’re a woman under 25 and sexually active, it’s recommended that you have a chlamydia test once a year, and when you have sex with new or casual partners.

If you live in England, you’re a man under 25 and sexually active, it’s recommended that you have a chlamydia test once a year if you are not using condoms with new or casual partners.

If you have chlamydia, you may be offered another test 3 to 6 months after being treated. This is because young adults who test positive for chlamydia are at increased risk of catching it again.