How Can You Know If You Have Chlamydia

How Is Chlamydia Transmitted

Sex without a condom or other barrier method and oral sex without a barrier method are the main ways a chlamydia infection can be transmitted.

Penetration doesnt have to occur to contract it. Touching genitals together may transmit the bacteria. It can also be contracted during anal sex.

Newborn babies can acquire chlamydia from their mother during birth. Most prenatal testing includes a chlamydia test, but it doesnt hurt to double-check with an OB-GYN during the first prenatal checkup.

A chlamydia infection in the eye can occur through oral or genital contact with the eyes, but this isnt common.

Its also possible to get a chlamydia infection in the anus. In this case, the main symptoms are often:

• discharge
• pain
• bleeding from this area

Having oral sex with someone who has the infection raises the risk of getting chlamydia in the throat. Symptoms can include a sore throat, cough, or fever. Its also possible to carry bacteria in the throat and not know it.

Chlamydia Symptoms And Treatment

Chlamydia usually has no symptoms meaning most people with the infection do not know they have it. It is passed on through vaginal, anal and oral sex without a condom or sharing unwashed sex toys with someone who has the infection.

If left untreated for a long time it can lead to serious health problems, if discovered early it is easily treated with a short course of antibiotics.

• The basics

What Are The Treatments For Chlamydia

Antibiotics will cure the infection. You may get a one-time dose of the antibiotics, or you may need to take medicine every day for 7 days. Antibiotics cannot repair any permanent damage that the disease has caused.

To prevent spreading the disease to your partner, you should not have sex until the infection has cleared up. If you got a one-time dose of antibiotics, you should wait 7 days after taking the medicine to have sex again. If you have to take medicine every day for 7 days, you should not have sex again until you have finished taking all of the doses of your medicine.

It is common to get a repeat infection, so you should get tested again about three months after treatment.

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The Key Questions About Chlamydia In Men

According to 2018 figures from Public Health England, a higher percentage of young men tested positive for chlamydia compared to women. Despite this, the number of young men getting tested was half of the number of women getting testing. Weve created this article, focussing specifically on chlamydia in men, to answer the key questions surrounding the STI.

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Prepare For The Conversation

To prepare yourself for the conversation with your partner to let them know they may have an STI, do some research on the subject. There are a lot of myths and misconceptions about STIs out there, so its important to read up on the topic and be ready to answer your partners questions.

But that doesnt mean you have to become an expert on the topic there may be questions you both have, and in those cases, you can do your research together.

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How Do You Get Chlamydia

Chlamydia is a bacterial infection. The bacteria are usually spread through sex or contact with infected genital fluids .

You can get chlamydia through:

• unprotected vaginal, anal or oral sex
• sharing sex toys that are not washed or covered with a new condom each time they’re used
• your genitals coming into contact with your partner’s genitals this means you can get chlamydia from someone even if there’s no penetration, orgasm or ejaculation
• infected semen or vaginal fluid getting into your eye

It can also be passed by a pregnant woman to her baby.

Chlamydia cannot be passed on through casual contact, such as kissing and hugging, or from sharing baths, towels, swimming pools, toilet seats or cutlery.

When Can I Have Unprotected Sex After Chlamydia Treatment

Even if your chlamydia infection has been cured, its not recommended to practice unsafe sex. Having your STD treated doesnt guarantee that the infection will never come back. In fact, many people become infected with STDs multiple times because they continue to have unprotected sex with partners who have untreated STDs.

If you have a regular sexual partner, tell them about your infection so they can get treatment as well. Once youre sure you both got treated, you have to wait until the treatment has had time to be effective before you start having unprotected sex again.

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 womens 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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How Soon Can You Retest After Chlamydia Treatment

igmg87 over a year ago

I was diagnosed with Chlamydia a week ago, I had not had sex with anyone for over a month prior to that. Doctor prescribed me Azithromycin 500mg 2 tablets as a one time dose. My doctor told me I needed to retest after 3 months to make sure that I didnât have it or have been reinfected. Iâm very paranoid because Iâve never had an std, & I donât want to have sex with anyone unless I test first & its negative. Can I retest a week after I finish the antibiotic treatment or will it still show positive? I donât want to get back with my ex boyfriend unless both of our results are negative. I still plan on retesting in 3 months

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Biomajor10over a year ago

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How To Help Partners Get Treatment

If you are not sure whether your sexual partner will seek treatment, ask your doctor for extra chlamydia medication . You can give it to them so they can be treated as soon as possible.

This is known as patient delivered partner therapy for chlamydia. Talk to your doctor to see if PDPT is right for you and your sexual partner.

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How To Prevent Chlamydia

Since chlamydia is a STD, the only 100% effective way to not contract the disease is to not have oral, anal, or vaginal sex. If you are sexually active, however, there are a few things you can do to reduce the risk:

• Limit the number of sexual partners Have yourself and your partner get tested before having oral, vaginal, or anal sex and remain monogamous to better ensure you are not exposed. The more partners you have at any given time, the more likelihood of contracting chlamydia or any other STD.
• Use condoms Use condoms as directed every time to help reduce the risk, but condoms are not 100% effective in eliminating the risk.
• Get tested regularly Since having a history of STDs increases your likelihood of contracting another, getting tested regularly helps limit exposure.
• Avoid douching Douche or douching refers to washing out the vagina either with an at-home mix of water and vinegar or using a purchased product that can include antiseptics and fragrances. Between 20% to 40% of women ages 15 to 44 in the US use a douche and believe it helps clean and freshen their vagina as well as avoid getting a STD or pregnancy. Health experts agree that douching is both not effective and increases your risk of a STD or other health problems.

Know Your Sexual Health Status

If you have recently changed sexual partners, or have multiple sex partners, getting regularly tested for STIs will tell you if you have an infection. Some people can have an STI and not have any symptoms. Finding and treating an STI reduces the chances of passing infections on to your partner.

The more partners you have, the higher your chances of getting exposed to STIs.

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Where Can I Get A Test

There are a number of services you can go to. Choose the one you feel most comfortable with.

A chlamydia test can be done at:

• a genitourinary medicine or sexual health clinic
• your general practice
• contraception and young peoples clinics
• some pharmacies.

Abortion clinics, antenatal services and some gynaecology services may also offer a chlamydia test.

In England, if youre a woman aged under 25 years old, you may be offered a chlamydia test as part of the National Chlamydia Screening Programme when you visit some service for other reasons, for example at a pharmacy or your GP.

The NCSP aims to identify people without symptoms to reduce the complications of untreated infection. If chlamydia is not treated, it can cause health complications, especially in women. Untreated chlamydia in women can cause pain in the pelvis, ectopic pregnancy and infertility .

If you are a woman aged under 25 years old and you are offered a chlamydia test as part of the NCSP you should consider taking it.

In many areas, free home self-sampling tests for chlamydia are available to order online. This is where you take your own sample and send it to be tested. See www.nhs.uk

Its also possible to buy a chlamydia test to do at home. The accuracy of these tests varies. Some types are very accurate when carried out according to the instructions, others can be less reliable. If you buy a testing kit make sure you get advice from a pharmacist or your doctor.

How Do You Get Oral Chlamydia

A person can get oral chlamydia by giving vaginal, penile, or anal oral sex to another person already infected with the bacteria.

Chlamydia trachomatis can also be spread from an infected persons throat to the penis. Research has not shown that the infection can spread from an infected persons throat to the vagina or rectum during oral sex.

Chlamydia does not seem to spread through kissing.

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What Foods Cause Vulvodynia

Soy, goat dairy, and gluten all caused flare ups of her vulvodynia throughout the process. Eliminating those items and supplementing with magnesium, vitamin D3, probiotics, vitamin B12, and omega-3 allowed the patient to be symptom free of both vulvodynia and IBS for 6 months post-treatment.

References : 28 interviews and posts 5 Videos.

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How Is Chlamydia Spread Can You Still Have Symptoms Chlamydia After Treatment

You can obtain chlamydia by having vaginal, anal, or oral sex with somebody who has chlamydia.

If your sex companion is male you can still get chlamydia even if he does not have an orgasm.

If you have actually had chlamydia and were dealt with in the past, you can still get contaminated once more. This can happen if you have unguarded sex with somebody that has chlamydia.

If you are pregnant, you can provide chlamydia to your child during giving birth.

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What Are Chlamydia Symptoms

Chlamydia in women and people with female reproductive organs is often asymptomatic. This means that people often do not experience any discomfort or notice any changes while infected.

Without any symptoms, people may be infected and not know it. Some people may have very mild or vague symptoms after they are infected, which can be confused with a urinary tract infection or vaginal infection .

How Can I Tell My Partner Will They Think Ive Cheated On Them

You may feel embarrassed, scared or angry. However it is important and respectful to let your partner know as soon as possible so they can get tested and treated. Remember that chlamydia often has no symptoms, so a diagnosis doesnt necessarily mean the infection was caught recently. You may not be sure when you were exposed. Many people are surprised how supportive their partner is, and how they appreciate being confided in.

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Chlamydia Symptoms & Treatment

FAST FACTS

• Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted infection that is normally passed on through sex without a condom or sharing sex toys with someone who has the infection.
• Using male or female condoms and dental dams during sex will help to protect you from getting chlamydia.
• Chlamydia is often symptomless however if left untreated it can lead to long-term health problems.
• Chlamydia is easily treated with antibiotics.
• Chlamydia can be passed on from mother to child during pregnancy, so its important for pregnant women to get tested.

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Complications Of Chlamydia In Males

When left untreated chlamydia can lead to other conditions and symptoms. In men, chlamydia infection can lead to the inflammation of the testicles and the tubes that carry sperm from the testicles . If you develop this complication you may experience:

• Swelling or a lump in the testicle
• Discharge from the penis
• Difficulty urinating or needing to urinate more often
• Later on, problems with fertility

Untreated chlamydia can also cause sexually acquired reactive arthritis , which can lead to:

• Pain, stiffness and swelling in the joints
• Pain and redness in the eyes
• Pain when urinating

Inflammation of the testicles and epididymis can usually be treated with antibiotics. SARA cannot be cured, it normally clears up on its own within a few months, but it is prone to recurrences. SARA occurs 10 times more frequently in men than women.

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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.

Chlamydia Infection May Have Long

For women, the long-term effects of an untreated chlamydia infection may include:

• Severe infection with pain and fever requiring a hospital stay
• Pelvic inflammatory disease, an infection of the upper reproductive tract
• Scarring in the reproductive tract that causes infertility
• Higher risk of ectopic pregnancy

Men are less likely than women to have major health problems linked to chlamydia, although they can develop epididymitis, an inflammation of a structure within the testicles called the epididymis that can result in infertility.

A chlamydia infection can sometimes result in reactive arthritis in both men and women.

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Signs And Symptoms Of Chlamydia In Men

The first thing to be aware of is that chlamydia does not always cause symptoms. It is estimated that 50% of all men who become infected with chlamydia suffer no symptoms at least to begin with. If chlamydia is left untreated it can lead to serious complications such as the infection spreading to the testicles and surrounding tissues resulting in pain and possible reduced fertility.

When chlamydia does cause symptoms, they can be very similar to other STIs such as gonorrhoea. Male symptoms of chlamydia include:

• Pain when urinating
• Discharge from the penis that is white, watery or cloudy
• Itching or burning in the urethra
• Pain and swelling in the testicles

Chlamydia can also infect the throat, eyes and rectum. This means that men can also experience:

• Redness, pain and discharge in the eye
• Discharge from and pain in the rectum

If you notice these kinds of symptoms in yourself, you should get tested as soon as possible. If you notice these kinds of symptoms in a male sexual partner its best to refrain from any sexual activity until they have been tested and received treatment.

In female sexual partners, look out for pain when urinating, abdominal pain, pain during sex and bleeding after sex as these can indicate chlamydia infection.

What Is The Treatment For Chlamydia

Since its a bacterial infection, chlamydia is treated with oral antibiotics. Depending on the severity of the infection, youll need to take your prescription for 5 to 10 days. Be sure to finish the entire prescription. Just because your symptoms improve, doesnt mean the infection has fully cleared.

Youll also need to avoid all sexual activity during the course of your treatment until the infection clears up. This will reduce the risk of reinfection or transmitting the infection.

Due to the prevalence of chlamydia, its important to get annual tests if you:

• are under the age of 25 and are also sexually active, especially if youre female
• have sex with multiple partners
• have a history of STIs, or are treating another type of STI
• dont use condoms regularly
• are male and you have sex with other men
• have a partner who has told you theyve recently tested positive for chlamydia

You may need to get tested more often than once a year.

If youre pregnant, youll need to get a chlamydia test during your first prenatal appointment. Your gynecologist or midwife may also recommend another test later in your pregnancy if you have any of the above risk factors.

Chlamydia can cause complications in pregnant women, but also lead to problems at birth, such as pneumonia and eye infections.

After youve had chlamydia, you should get retested

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