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Check For Chlamydia At Home

How Does An At Home Chlamydia Test Work

Sneaky Chlamydia | Do You Have It & Not Know It?

Wondering how an at home chlamydia test works? Lets take a deep dive into whats involved in an at home chlamydia test, when you should consider taking a test and the best at home chlamydia tests on the market.

Chlamydia is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States, and the world! It is also the most curable disease, if it is diagnosed early, it can easily be treated with a course of antibiotics. Chlamydia is caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis.

Find out everything you need to know about chlamydia here.

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What Are The Symptoms Of Chlamydia

It may be difficult to actually know if you have contracted chlamydia because most people do not have any symptoms at all. The suspicion may only be raised if there has been a known contact with chlamydia or from testing after unprotected sex. It is important that you get tested if you suspect you have chlamydia because there are treatments available and if left untreated it can have serious short-term and long-term effects.

A white discharge may also be caused by vaginal thrush, however, but this is usually curd-like, often odourless, or smells like bread or yeast. It is also often associated with vaginal itching or redness.

A green, rather than yellow discharge, along with a foul smelling odour, may be due to other sexually transmitted diseases such as trichomoniasis.2 A grey-white watery vaginal discharge that has a strong fishy smell may be due to bacterial vaginosis, which is caused by a disruption of the balance of normal vaginal bacteria.3 So, the difference in colour and smell of the vaginal discharge may differentiate between whether it is likely to be caused by chlamydia or not.

Read Also: Gc Chlamydia Urine Test Quest

How Can You Test For Stds At Home

Our roundup of nine home STD tests is a good starting point if you want to get tested without visiting a doctor.

Depending on the test, you may need to visit a lab in person for collection. Every other part of the process, including lab order, payment, and results, is done online.

If you receive a positive test result, the testing kit company may offer a consultation with one of their physicians about the next steps, such as further testing or treatment.

At this point, its also a good idea to contact your primary care doctor to share your results.

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How To Use Over The Counter Antibiotics To Safely Treat Chlamydia

It is not a sin or wrong to go for Chlamydia over the counter antibioticsbut our major concern is your safety and using it more effectively. Do not ignore your doctors instructions when using your prescribe drug. Always go for the label if you must buy from the counter. Make sure you check

  • Active ingredients
  • How Does Chlamydia Treatment Work

    Chlamydia Test

    Chlamydia treatment works by stopping the bacteria that causes chlamydia from producing an important protein which it needs to multiply. This stops the bacteria from growing and replicating, so your symptoms should improve as your body is cleared of chlamydia.

    The first line treatment for chlamydia in the UK is doxycycline. The usual dose is one tablet to be taken twice daily for 7 days. You can swallow doxycycline tablets whole with water and take them with or without food. You should sit up for about 30 minutes after each dose to prevent symptoms of throat irritation or stomach upset.

    Also Check: How Do You Treat Gonorrhea And Chlamydia

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    How Do I Know If I Should Get Tested

    If youre sexually active or engaging in activities that have the potential to increase your risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease, like sharing needles, you should get tested.

    In fact, according to the , getting tested for STDs is one of the most important things you can do to protect your health.

    Symptoms Of Chlamydia In Men And Women

    What symptoms will you experience if you have chlamydia?

    This depends on whether you are a female or male. Lets take a look at both symptom types for each respective gender:

    Chlamydia Symptoms in Women

    • Vaginal discharge that is abnormal and may be accompanied by a strange odor

    Chlamydia Symptoms in Men

    • Burning or itching around the penal opening
    • Swelling or pain around the testicles

    If you have any of these symptoms, its time to order an at home Chlamydia test. These tests are taken in the comfort of your home, and offer the utmost in privacy and confidentiality. You can be treated for this disease, but it requires that you take action immediately, especially if youre a woman.

    Women who are currently pregnant or become pregnant and have chlamydia can pass the disease onto their child. If you seek treatment that is successful, your child will not have this disease. Disease will be contracted during childbirth itself, and can cause:

    Complications do occur during childbirth in some cases. If you are pregnant, you should be tested for chlamydia at your very first prenatal visit. Getting tested is the smart choice for any mother to be, and this is essential if you have more than one sex partner and you engage in unprotected sex.

    If you are suffering from any of the symptoms listed above, its time to get tested.

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    When To See A Doctor

    If a person has symptoms of chlamydia after testing and treatment or thinks that they have come into contact with chlamydia again, they should see their doctor.

    Females are less likely than males to have symptoms of chlamydia, so testing is especially important for them.

    The recommend chlamydia testing every year for the following groups of people:

    • sexually active females under the age of 25 years
    • females over the age of 25 years who have new or multiple sexual partners
    • anyone with a sexual partner who has an STI
    • sexually active gay and bisexual males

    Pregnant women should have a chlamydia test early on in their pregnancy.

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    How Accurate Are At

    Startup delivers STD tests to your home

    Most at-home tests are processed at certified laboratories, so as long as your sample was collected and preserved correctly until it was processed and then analysed at a CLIA-certified laboratory, your at-home test results should be comparable to what you would receive otherwise.

    A 2015 review looked at 2,100 studies comparing the sensitivity and specificity of at-home vs. physician ordered chlamydia and gonorrhea tests. Sensitivity refers to a testâs ability to determine a positive result and specificity refers to the tests ability to determine a negative result. The study determined that the tests had sufficient sensitivity and specificity.

    The quality of the lab results depend mainly on the quality of sample collection. The likelihood of a contaminated or unusable sample is higher in home-collection compared to physician collected samples.

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    How Does A Chlamydia And Gonorrhea Test Work

    Screening for chlamydia and gonorrhea can be done at home or at a clinic. A sample of urine is typically sent to a laboratory, which checks the urine for chlamydia and gonorrhea DNA. If you are using the Everlywell at-home test, youâll receive secure, online results just a few days after the lab receives your sample.

    Learn more:How to test for gonorrhea

    What Is Extragenital Chlamydia Testing

    Contrary to popular belief, chlamydia does not always just infect your genitals. In fact, it can also affect your mouth, throat and rectal region. Today, lets take a closer look at the oral version of this sexually transmitted infection . Believe it or not, oral chlamydia is trickier to test for than you may expect.

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    How Long Should I Wait Before Getting An Sti Test

    The incubation period for chlamydia is 7 to 21 days. If youve had sex with someone whos positive, or if youve had a sexual encounter with a new partner, your results can be detected within the incubation period.

    Its recommended to get tested 3 months after treatment to make sure youre in the clear.

    What If I Test Positive

    Pin on Chlamydia Test Kit

    Chlamydia is a curable infection and can be treated effectively with a short course of antibiotics. If your test is reactive, your Better2Know doctor will provide you with a prescription for the medication you require, at no further cost. We can also arrange a doctors consultation, wherever you are in the Middle East.

    If you are concerned that you may have a Chlamydia infection in the throat or rectum, Better2Know can also provide oral or rectal swab testing, though these results will take a little longer. You may instead opt to show the results to your own doctor or sexual healthcare provider.

    Read Also: Over The Counter Medicine For Chlamydia And Gonorrhea

    How Can You Test For Chlamydia At Home

    Sexually transmitted infections such as chlamydia are a serious problem for many countries, only in the UK, more than 200,000 individuals tested positive for this infection. With more than 127 million newly reported cases in 2016, chlamydia is the topmost prevalent STIs in the world. But, the real problem is that chlamydia often doesnt show any symptoms, so people might be infected without even knowing it.

    Complications From Chlamydia And Gonorrhea

    Because these two diseases often have no symptoms, some people go untreated.

    Even with those who have symptoms, stigma, access, or other reasons get in the way of getting medical attention.

    Not receiving prompt and proper treatment can create serious health problems.

    For women, chlamydia and gonorrhea that goes untreated can spread through your uterus to your fallopian tubes.

    Fallopian tubes connect the ovaries to the uterus and transport fertilized eggs during pregnancy. If untreated bacteria that cause gonorrhea and chlamydia spread to this area, the result is pelvic inflammatory disease , affecting around 5% of women in the US.

    Pelvic inflammatory disease, similar to chlamydia and gonorrhea, can have no symptoms or just some pelvic or abdominal pain initially.

    Unfortunately, PID can do permanent damage to a womens reproductive system, including:

    For men, gonorrhea and chlamydia can also lead to serious health problems.

    One difference is that chlamydia can also spread to the urethra, causing Non-Gonococcal urethritis, which is an infection of the tube that carries urine resulting in inflammation, pain, and fever.

    This cannot be caused by the bacteria that causes gonorrhea. However, for both diseases, it is possible for either to cause:

    For both women and men, chlamydia and gonorrhea can develop into a form of arthritis:

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    Home Remedies For Chlamydia

    There are several home remedies for chlamydia, and a number of websites claim that these home remedies can cure chlamydia. While some of the home remedies have been shown to have antibacterial properties, antibiotics are the only proven cure for chlamydia. If untreated, chlamydia can lead to infertility or other serious complications.

    If you experience symptoms, some of these home remedies may be effective for symptom relief, but they cant cure the infection itself.

    Each Year There Are Approximately 15 Million Cases Of Chlamydia And 350000 Cases Of Gonorrhea Reported To The Centers For Disease Control And Prevention

    Chlamydia treatment in 100 seconds

    However this may not accurately reflect the total number of infected individuals, as most people with these infections have no symptoms and go untested. These bacterial infections are spread through sexual intercourse . This test will not be able to tell you the specific site of the infection, but will detect the infection if present.

    Pregnant women with an active gonorrhea or chlamydia infection at the time of vaginal delivery can spread the infection directly to their children during birth. All sexually active women under age 25 and women over age 25 with risk factors for contracting chlamydia or gonorrhea should get tested every year: risk factors include unprotected sex, new sexual partners, or multiple sexual partners. Men at risk for chlamydia or gonorrhea should get tested each year, and more often as needed: risk factors include having sex with a partner who has chlamydia or gonorrhea, men who have sex with men, unprotected sexual intercourse, and multiple sex partners.

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    When Can I Get Tested

    At Better2Know, we can arrange your STI test or screen around your busy schedule. Instant Chlamydia testing with Better2Know is available at just 14 days of incubation. This is the time between potential exposure to Chlamydia and your STI test. This recommended period of incubation ensures the highest levels of accuracy for your instant Chlamydia test.

    How Quickly Will I Get My Chlamydia Test Results

    Your chlamydia results will usually be ready 1 to 3 days after we receive your samples, with most people seeing online results in 2 to 5 days.

    As soon as your results are ready, well contact you with details of how to access them securely online.

    You can choose whether we contact you by text or email.

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    How Do Home Chlamydia Tests Work

    Taking a home chlamydia test typically involves collecting a urine or genital swab sample while at home and then sending it to a lab for analysis. Lab technicians then determine whether the bacterium responsible for chlamydia is present in the sample.

    Some home testing companies allow a person to discreetly order testing kits while at home but then require the person to take the kit to a specified laboratory where a technician will collect a sample. The lab that analyzed the sample then sends the results directly to the person who ordered the test.

    Some home-testing companies have doctors on staff who can write a prescription and send it to a pharmacy if required.

    Before the chlamydia test, a person should:

    • avoid douching or using vaginal creams for 24 hours before the test
    • avoid taking antibiotics for 24 hours before the test
    • refrain from urinating for 12 hours before taking the sample

    If a test indicates that a person has chlamydia and the company does not offer a follow-up consultation service, they should contact a doctor or healthcare professional. Without treatment, chlamydia can cause serious

    gynecological exam or regular health checkup, but this is not always the case. With this in mind, anyone who believes they may have chlamydia should consider a test.

    One symptom of chlamydia is a burning sensation when urinating. A person experiencing this issue should contact a doctor, even if a home chlamydia test has returned a negative result.

    Best For Lab Choice: Personalabs

    Buy STI Test Kit Online, Lab and Home Tests Available
  • Sample type: blood and/or urine
  • Pros: exceptional service and accuracy
  • Cons: no prescription services, high costs for a full panel screening
  • A person can choose either a specific test for chlamydia and gonorrhea or a comprehensive or 11-panel test that both involve submitting a blood and urine sample.

    After buying a test, the person takes a form to a nearby lab, where a technician collects the samples. The lab posts the results to the individuals online account. The customer may then speak with a doctor regarding any required prescriptions.

    This company does not have BBB accreditation but has an A+ rating on the platform. No customers have filed a complaint or left a review with the BBB regarding PersonaLabs since its 2006 launch.

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    How Soon Can You Be Tested

    Every STD has its own incubation period. For some STDs, the body begins to produce antibodies and symptoms in as little as a few days. For others, it can take weeks or months for symptoms to appear. Here are the ranges of for some of the most common STDs.

    STD
    NAAT blood test 2 weeks

    While retesting is recommended for bacterial STDs, some STDs are lifelong viral infections. In the case of a lifelong viral infection, a blood test will always detect the STD, even after treatment has been successful. Therefore, retesting would only be necessary if you wanted to reconfirm an original diagnosis.

    Why Should You Choose Our Partner Over Walgreens Cvs

    Stepping in a Walgreens clinic, you should be prepared to answer the questions about your sexual history and personal issues. Also, the test cost at Walgreens and CVS are set high at $100, for the chlamydia test. Being pharmaceutical companies they do have answers to any health query still, they are not qualified doctors to provide exact prescription and best medications.

    Our at-home chlamydia testing provider has several advantages and easily accessible to anyone in the country, which will get you rapid lab-certified results without leaving the comfort of your home, and if the test results are positive youll get a free doctor consultation for further treatment. myLAB Box home STD test kits cost lower than the Walgreens/CVS providers. This provides a reasonable option for those who want to save time and money in transit to the lab, also people who are not covered with any insurance.

    Four big advantages of getting tested with our partner laboratory:

    • Accurate and relaible

    You dont want to end up spending more than you can afford. Sexual health is a top priority for everyone in a community. Our chlamydia testing provider offers valuable service in means of low cost, and nationwide home testing kit.

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    Recommended Reading: How Can You Tell If A Male Has Chlamydia

    Testing And Treating Sexual Partners

    If you test positive for chlamydia, its important that your current sexual partner and any other recent sexual partners youve 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

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