How Common Is Oral Chlamydia

Is Oral Chlamydia A Common Thing

Yes, it is possible to get oral chlamydia, which causes symptoms in the mouth and throat. In 2018, four million cases of chlamydia were reported in the United States, though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates the number of infections may be much higher because many people do not experience noticeable symptoms.

The exact prevalence of oral chlamydia is unknown, as it is typically less common than genital chlamydia. However, its important to know that it can happen and that taking the necessary steps to avoid this STD may help reduce your risk for infection.

How Do You Get Tested

There are several different reliable tests for chlamydia. Newer tests, called NAATs , are very accurate and easy to take. Your healthcare provider can explain what testing options are available . If you dont have a regular healthcare provider, you can search here for a clinic near you.

People infected with chlamydia are often also infected with gonorrhea, so patients with chlamydia are often treated for gonorrhea at the same time, since the cost of treatment is generally less than the cost of testing.

If you live in Alaska, Maryland, or Washington, D.C., you can have a free at-home chlamydia test. Visit iwantthekit.org for more information.

What Does Chlamydia In The Throat Look Like

Chlamydia in the throat may cause white spots to appear in the back of the throat or tonsils. If you have swollen tonsils and any other symptom that resembles a strep throat infection, it may be wise to still get tested for chlamydia. These white spots may resemble tonsillitis that are caused by a bacterial infection.

Recommended Reading: How To Tell If You Got Chlamydia

Possible Home Remedies For Oral And Nose Chlamydia

• Garlic:

It is the most commonly used natural spice due to its awesome anti-viral and antibiotic properties. The best way to fight against symptoms of chlamydia is to eat 3-4 cloves of garlic every day prefer to consume them before your meal. The natural chemicals of garlic are capable enough to clear the infection and can also kill the bacteria present in your body. However, in case if you are not in a condition to eat raw garlic, prefer to add few cloves to your meals. Some of you may also prefer to consume the garlic capsules that are also powerful enough to reverse the oral and nose chlamydia symptoms.

• Sage:

It is a perennial herbal plant that is popular as a top-rated remedy for treating chlamydia symptoms. It helps to clean the immune system so that it can initiate fight against disease bacteria. Prefer to include sage tea to your routines, and it will naturally add care to your overall health. Simply take around 50 mg leaves of sage, crush them and then put into 250 ml boiling water. Let it stay on the stove for at least 3 to 4 minutes and enjoy the delicious taste of this tea. Make sure you consume these doses without adding milk or sugar to your tea. Sage tea is medically trusted solution to treat chlamydia symptoms, and it is extremely safe as well.

• Echinacea:

• Goldenseal:

• Improved diet:

• Neem:

• Saw Palmetto:

• Olive Tea Extract:

• Turmeric:

Who Is Most At Risk Of Getting Chlamydia From Oral Sex

Chlamydia is most commonly reported in young people the reasons for this could be:

• Behavioural

• Biological

• Cultural

Situations that can pass on chlamydia according to some sources, the greatest chance of passing on infection is through oral sex involving a penis without a condom. Chlamydia is passed on during sex and also during childbirth. For chlamydia in pregnancy if the person giving birth is infected and remains untreated at the time of birth.

To lower your risk of getting chlamydia you should use a barrier method with all new sexual partners, and have regular STI screening tests to make sure you have not caught an infection. STIs like chlamydia are very easy to treat with antibiotics, which are available free on the NHS.

Back to top

Also Check: Can Trichomoniasis Turn Into Chlamydia

What Are The Symptoms Of Chlamydia In The Throat

Many people who contract oral chlamydia have no symptoms. Some people may experience only a sore throat and think they have the flu or a cold. Other possible symptoms of a pharyngeal infection with chlamydia bacteria include mouth pain, oral sores , or pain in the throat when swallowing. In rare cases, chlamydia bumps on the tongue have also been seen. If you are experiencing white spots on the back of the throat, it is highly suggested to get it checked out by a doctor.

How Did I Get Chlamydia If I Didnt Cheat

You can get chlamydia if your partner had vaginal, oral or anal sex with someone who was infected and then had sex with you. People in relationships may have different ideas about what kinds of sexual contact counts as cheating, and this miscommunication can lead to infections. Communicate honestly with your partner about what sex youre having and what sex theyre having. Practice safer sex to reduce your risk of catching chlamydia, and get regularly screened to be sure.

A note from Cleveland Clinic

It can be embarrassing to talk about anything sex-related with your healthcare provider, including STI prevention. But your sex life is an important part of your health that your provider needs to know about to care for you. Not getting the treatment you need for chlamydia can pose serious risks to your health. Speak with your provider about getting regularly screened for chlamydia and other STIs to reduce your risks of complications. Practice safer sex to prevent the spread of chlamydia.

Recommended Reading: What Antibiotic Is Used For Chlamydia

How Do You Get Chlamydia In The Mouth

Also known as pharyngeal chlamydia, oral chlamydia can be caused by having oral sex with a partner who is infected with chlamydia.

According to the CDC, chlamydia in the throat and mouth is caused by giving oral sex to a partner who has an infected penis, vagina, urinary tract, or rectum. Oral chlamydia can also be caused by receiving oral sex on the penis, vagina, or anus from someone who has chlamydia in the throat.

How Can I Protect Myself From Chlamydia

The only way to avoid getting chlamydia is to abstain from having vaginal, anal or oral sex with someone who has a chlamydia infection. And be sure that sex toys that carry the bacteria dont come in contact with your genitals.

Its not always possible to know if a current or potential partner has chlamydia, though, especially since many people with chlamydia never notice symptoms. With prevention in mind, its a good idea to make safer sex practices a regular part of your sex life:

• Use condoms during intercourse, anal sex and oral sex.
• Use dental dams during oral sex or vagina-to-vagina contact.
• Dont share sex toys, but if you do, wash them after each use and cover toys used for penetration with a condom.
• Have sex with only one partner, who only has sex with you.

Recommended Reading: Can You Have Chlamydia For Years

Oral Or Throat Gonorrhea Infection Is The Possible Source Of Genital Gonorrhea Infection

One study has shown that if a person only receives oral penile sex without having any other sex types , the chance of being diagnosed with oral gonorrhea during a routine screening is from 3.1 % to 4.1% . This data allows us to suggest that oral gonorrhea infection may serve as a reservoir and source of urethral infection and that oral sex may be contributing to the ongoing transmission of gonorrhea. Moreover. It is more difficult to treat and eradicate oral gonorrhea infection than genital infection.

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.

Don’t Miss: Does Chlamydia Go Away Without Treatment

What Are The Symptoms Of Chlamydia

Chlamydia is known as a silent infection because most infected people are asymptomatic and lack abnormal physical examination findings. Estimates of the proportion of chlamydia-infected people who develop symptoms vary by setting and study methodology two published studies that incorporated modeling techniques to address limitations of point prevalence surveys estimated that only about 10% of men and 5-30% of women with laboratory-confirmed chlamydial infection develop symptoms.21.22 The incubation period of chlamydia is poorly defined. However, given the relatively slow replication cycle of the organism, symptoms may not appear until several weeks after exposure in those persons who develop symptoms.

In women, the bacteria initially infect the cervix, where the infection may cause signs and symptoms of cervicitis , and sometimes the urethra, which may result in signs and symptoms of urethritis . Infection can spread from the cervix to the upper reproductive tract , causing pelvic inflammatory disease , which may be asymptomatic 23 or acute, with typical symptoms of abdominal and/or pelvic pain, along with signs of cervical motion tenderness, and uterine or adnexal tenderness on examination.

Men who are symptomatic typically have urethritis, with a mucoid or watery urethral discharge and dysuria. A minority of infected men develop epididymitis , presenting with unilateral testicular pain, tenderness, and swelling.24

What Is The Treatment For Chlamydia

Chlamydia can be easily cured with antibiotics. HIV-positive persons with chlamydia should receive the same treatment as those who are HIV-negative.

Persons with chlamydia should abstain from sexual activity for 7 days after single dose antibiotics or until completion of a 7-day course of antibiotics, to prevent spreading the infection to partners. It is important to take all of the medication prescribed to cure chlamydia. Medication for chlamydia should not be shared with anyone. Although medication will cure the infection, it will not repair any permanent damage done by the disease. If a persons symptoms continue for more than a few days after receiving treatment, he or she should return to a health care provider to be reevaluated.

Repeat infection with chlamydia is common.49 Women whose sex partners have not been appropriately treated are at high risk for re-infection. Having multiple chlamydial infections increases a womans risk of serious reproductive health complications, including pelvic inflammatory disease and ectopic pregnancy.50,51 Women and men with chlamydia should be retested about three months after treatment of an initial infection, regardless of whether they believe that their sex partners were successfully treated.40

Infants infected with chlamydia may develop ophthalmia neonatorum and/or pneumonia.10 Chlamydial infection in infants can be treated with antibiotics.

Don’t Miss: What Medicine Treats Gonorrhea And Chlamydia

Am I At Risk For Chlamydia

Anyone who has sex can get chlamydia through unprotected vaginal, anal, or oral sex. However, sexually active young people are at a higher risk of getting chlamydia. This is due to behaviors and biological factors common among young people. Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men are also at risk since chlamydia can spread through oral and anal sex.

Have an honest and open talk with your health care provider. Ask whether you should be tested for chlamydia or other STDs. If you are a sexually active woman younger than 25 years, you should get a test for chlamydia every year. If you are an older woman with risk factors such as new or multiple sex partners, or a sex partner who has an STD, you should get a test for chlamydia every year. Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men as well as pregnant women should also get tested for chlamydia.

Risk Of Passing Hiv In A One

The risk of getting HIV through oral sex alone, whether giving or receiving it, is believed to be very low. However, no reliable studies exist because people having oral sex are likely to be having other types of sex during the same sexual encounters.

Giving oral sex is thought to be riskier than receiving it, and oral sex involving the mouth and penis is thought to be riskier than oral sex involving the mouth and vagina.

Also Check: Can I Test Positive For Chlamydia And Not Have It

How Common Is Mouth Chlamydia

It is difficult to be sure how commonly chlamydia is found in the throat, as study results are varied. In fact, most people with oral chlamydia do not have a sore throat and are unaware of the infection unless they test positive.

Its not always tested for the throat is not routinely sampled for chlamydia when you go for an STI screen. This is because current chlamydia tests may produce false positive results and cause anxiety. In addition, the chance of having oral chlamydia is extremely low .

When are people at risk? in a clinic, you may be offered a throat swab for chlamydia if there are other risk factors such as:

Back to top

Oral Sex Vs Vaginal Or Anal Sex Is It Safer

Oral sex is considered safer than genital sex but is it the true? Where is the misconception coming from? Letâs look together at what is known!

• People that have oral sex have genital sex at the same time and it is difficult to differentiate how the person get the STD.
• Not a lot of studies done to look for the chance of getting and passing different STDs orally
• Most likely the main misconception comes from studies showing a lower chance of getting HIV by giving and getting oral sex on the penis. But what is true for HIV might not be true for other conditions.
• Some STDs such as chlamydia and gonorrhea if contracted stays at the point of contact. It means the testing of one area is not excluding the presence of bacteria in another area . Mouth swabs are not as commonly done, especially on heterosexual people.
• Oral STDs not as symptomatic and can be missed for a long time.

Don’t Miss: Does Chlamydia Make You Pee A Lot

Facts About The Risk Of Transmitting Hiv When Giving Or Receiving Oral Sex

Getting HIV through oral sex is very unlikely. The chance is close to zero, whether youâre giving or receiving oral sex. This is because mouth tissues rarely develop microscopic abrasions during sex, even if blood or sperm enters the mouth. However, it is difficult to scientifically determine the risk of oral sex alone because people having oral sex usually also have other types of sex during the same sexual episode.

Factors that make transmission of oral HIV likelier

Someone with sores in their mouth or bleeding gums is at greater risk of contracting HIV when their mouth is exposed to vaginal fluids or ejaculate.

Giving oral sex is a bit riskier

The risk of getting oral HIV is slightly higher if you are giving oral sex than if you are receiving it . The reason for this is that you may have microscopic abrasions in your mouth that youâre not aware of and your mouth and throat can come into contact with infected bodily fluids.

Mouth-to-penis vs. mouth-to-vagina vs. mouth-to-anus

Oral sex that involves the mouth and penis is slightly riskier than oral sex that involves the mouth and vagina. Oral sex that involves the mouth and anus is very unlikely to result in HIV .

How Can You Avoid Getting Oral Chlamydia

Practice safe sex consistentlyâsuch as using condoms during sex, including oral sexâto help lower your odds of contracting STIs like chlamydia from a sex partner. Making sure you regularly test for STIs is also important, especially if you may have been involved with an infected person. Though it might not directly prevent you from getting oral chlamydia, routine STI testing can be a powerful way to detect a chlamydial infection early onâbefore itâs been passed on to others or seriously affected your health. Because untreated chlamydia increases one’s risk of long-term health complications, be sure to speak with your healthcare provider as soon as possible if you think you might be infected or if you test positive.

To easily check for 6 common STIs , consider our at-home STD Test for women or men.

References

1. Chan PA, Robinette A, Montgomery M, et al. Extragenital Infections Caused by Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae: A Review of the Literature. Infect Dis Obstet Gynecol. 2016 2016:5758387. doi:10.1155/2016/5758387

2. Vonck RA, Darville T, O’Connell CM, Jerse AE. Chlamydial infection increases gonococcal colonization in a novel murine coinfection model. Infect Immun. 2011 79:1566-1577. doi:10.1128/IAI.01155-10

3. Pelvic Inflammatory Disease – CDC Fact Sheet. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. URL. Accessed January 31, 2020.

Don’t Miss: How Many Pills For Chlamydia

Oral Chlamydia Diagnosis And Treatment

To test for oral chlamydia, most doctors will do a swab of your throat. That swab will be tested for presence of the bacteria.

In most cases, chlamydia is easy to cure. Your local or Nurx medical provider can prescribe you with antibiotics. Its important to take the full antibiotic regimen before you have sex to avoid spreading the infection to any partners.

Many people dont realize they have chlamydia since it typically does not produce any symptoms. Unfortunately, the longer you go without treatment for chlamydia, the more serious the infection will be. If the infection becomes severe, it may cause serious health complications or irreversible damage. Routine STI screenings are highly recommended, especially for sexually active young men and women.

Common Symptoms Of Oral Chlamydia

Oral chlamydia is transmitted through unprotected sexual intercourse, where one of the parties is already infected with chlamydia. If symptoms manifest themselves , its usually 1-3 weeks after infection date until they become visible. A sore throat, or throat irritation, is usually the first symptom that the bacterium has settled in his throat. If symptoms, such as sore throat, are prolonged after unprotected sexual intercourse, it is not unlikely that you have chlamydia in the throat. It is then strongly recommended to see your doctor, especially if you have a sore throat for more than 1 week. A sore throat does not necessarily mean youve got a throat infection with chlamydia, but it is always better to detect the disease as early as possible. Other symptoms include:

• Pain when swallowing
• Neck pain makes it uncomfortable to swallow
• Fever

More: Why its important to get tested for Chlamydia

Also Check: What Medication Is Used For Chlamydia And Gonorrhea