How Do Females Get Tested For Chlamydia

How Do They Test For Chlamydia In Men

Chlamydia is one of the most common bacterial infections that are spread through sexual intercourse not only in the United States but in several other areas of the world too. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 1.7 million cases of this sexually transmitted infection were reported in 2018. This data accounts for the United States alone. The World Health Organization estimates that about 2.7% of men around the world have been infected with Chlamydia between 2009 and 2016.

Due to the fact that chlamydia is a condition that affects male and female patients in unique ways, it is important to consider the differences in testing for these conditions too. In this post, we will consider some unique ways that chlamydia tends to affect men and take a look at what tests are performed to identify the presence of this bacterial infection in a male patient.

Just How Usual Is Chlamydia

In 2017, more than 1.7 million situations of chlamydia were reported to the Centers for Illness Control as well as Avoidance . Several cases go unreported, so the real number of chlamydia infections every year may be closer to 3 million.

Men and women can both obtain the infection, but much more instances in women are reported.

Infection rates are highest among more youthful females, with the highest rates of infection occurring in females in between ages 15 and 24.

The CDC recommends that all sexually active women ages 25 years as well as more youthful obtain evaluated for chlamydia each year, in addition to older ladies with threat factors like numerous or new partners.

Statistically, an individual is more likely to obtain an STI if theyve had sex with more than a single person. Other risk factors consist of having had an STI in the past, or currently have an infection because this can lower resistance.

Prices for chlamydia and also various other STIs have been climbing up in recent times.

How Do We Test At The Doctor

At The Doctor, we get to know you. We encourage patients to be honest, upfront, and out about all issues from sexuality, to mental disposition, to sexual activity. We want to know you so that we can help you stay healthy and active.

We run a no judgement zone type of clinic where you can be yourself, own your sexuality, and feel comfortable telling us how you engage sexually.

Based on that sexual history, well identify the type of STI testing you need to make sure we test and treat appropriately. Thats the kind of approach that only comes from a practice that truly understand you and your lifestyle.

Read Also: Chlamydia And Gonorrhea Treatment Online

What Is A Chlamydia Test

This test detects a chlamydia infection, the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection in the United States. A chlamydia test looks for the bacteria that cause the infection .

For this test, you provide a urine sample. Or your provider takes a swab of fluid from your vagina, anus, throat or eye . Most often, you get this test in your healthcare providers office. But you may be able to do the test on your own using an at-home test kit.

How Do I Know If I Have Chlamydia

You cant tell if you have chlamydia just by the way you feel. The only way to know for sure if you have chlamydia is to get tested whether or not you have symptoms.

If youre showing any signs of chlamydia, you should get tested. Testing is also a good idea if youve had unprotected sex or if a partner has chlamydia . In general, people who are sexually active should get tested for STDs, including chlamydia, about once a year. If youre pregnant, get tested for chlamydia at your first prenatal visit. Want to know if you should be tested for chlamydia? Check out this quiz to find out.

Chlamydia testing is pretty easy and painless. The best part about getting tested for STDs? Once you get it over with, it can really put your mind at ease. And if you DO have chlamydia, its best to know right away so you can take medicine and get better as soon as possible.

Also Check: How To Cure Chlamydia At Home

Is There Anything Else I Need To Know About A Chlamydia Test

Chlamydia testing enables diagnosis and treatment of the infection before it can cause serious health problems. If you are at risk for chlamydia due to your age and/or lifestyle, talk to your health care provider about getting tested.

You can also take steps to prevent getting infected with chlamydia The best way to prevent chlamydia or any sexually transmitted disease is to not have vaginal, anal or oral sex. If you are sexually active, you can reduce your risk of infection by:

• Being in a long-term relationship with one partner who has tested negative for STDs
• Using condoms correctly every time you have sex

What Can Happen If Chlamydia Is Not Treated

Untreated chlamydia can cause serious health problems in women, including:

• Pelvic inflammatory disease , an infection of a woman’s reproductive organs. PID can lead to chronic pelvic pain, pregnancy problems, and infertility . Untreated chlamydia is a common cause of PID. It affects about 10% to 15% of women with untreated chlamydia.4
• Increased risk of getting HIV from sexual activity

Recommended Reading: What Drugs Are Used To Treat Gonorrhea And Chlamydia

What Causes Chlamydia And Gonorrhea

Chlamydia is caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis. Its most commonly spread through vaginal, oral, or anal sex. While this infection mostly affects young women, men and women of any age can contract chlamydia.

Gonorrhea is caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Once referred to as the clap, this infection is spread through vaginal, oral, or anal sex. Similar to chlamydia, rates of infection tend to be higher in women but both genders can be affected.

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.

Also Check: What Can Chlamydia Do To You

Where Can You Be Tested For Stis

Some of the places you can go to recieve STI testing include:

• Planned Parenthood. STI testing is available at Planned Parenthood. Costs vary by certain factors, including income, demographics and assistance eligibility.
• Doctors office. For quick testing, you can schedule an appointment with your doctor, or visit your local urgent care center.
• Local health clinics. Most government-funded healthcare clinics offer free or low-cost STI testing for gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, and HIV. Some also receive funding to test for herpes, trichomoniasis, and hepatitis.
• Pharmacy. Some pharmacies offer the options to schedule testing for certain STIs like gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, and HIV.
• At home. Currently, the OraQuick In-Home HIV Test is the only HIV test thats FDA approved, but there are other options if you dont live in the United States. There are also other STI home-testing kits like LetsGetChecked, STD Check, Everlywell, and Nurx.

Several STIs are notifiable diseases. That means your doctor is legally required to report positive results to the government. The government tracks information about STIs to inform public health initiatives. Notifiable STIs include:

Depending on your sexual history, your doctor may order a variety of tests to check you for STIs, including:

Do I Need To Get Tested For Chlamydia

• If you are 24 or younger and have sex, you need to get tested for chlamydia.3 Chlamydia is most common in women between 15 and 24 years old.2 You need to get tested if you have had any symptoms of chlamydia since your last negative test result or if your sex partner has chlamydia.
• If you are older than 24, you need to get tested if, in the past year or since your last test, you:3
• Had a new sex partner
• Had your sex partner tell you they have chlamydia
• Traded sex for money or drugs
• Have had chlamydia or another STI in the past
• Did not use condoms during sex and are in a relationship that is not monogamous, meaning you or your partner has sex with other people

You also need to be tested if you are pregnant or if you have any symptoms of chlamydia.

Recommended Reading: Can You Get A Chlamydia Test On Your Period

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.

What Does The Test Measure

Chlamydia testing looks for evidence of infection with the bacteria Chlamydia trachomatis. There are several types of tests that can be used to detect chlamydia, including molecular testing, also called Nucleic Acid Amplification Test , and cell culture.

NAAT is the preferred method for detecting a chlamydia infection. This type of test detects the genetic material of Chlamydia trachomatis. It can be performed using a urine sample or swab of fluid taken from a site of potential infection such as the urethra, vagina, rectum, or eye.

Traditionally, NAAT takes a day or more to provide results, but there have also been rapid chlamydia tests developed using NAAT methods. Rapid chlamydia tests can often provide a result within 30 to 90 minutes. Rapid chlamydia tests are typically performed on urine samples or swabs of fluid taken from the vagina or cervix.

Although much less commonly used, cell cultures can help diagnose a chlamydia infection. Chlamydia cell cultures may be used in children with a suspected chlamydia infection, when evaluating potential infections in the anus or rectum, and when initial treatment for chlamydia is unsuccessful. In these cases of treatment failure, doctors may use a cell culture to help understand which treatments may be most effective for an individuals infection.

Other types of chlamydia tests are available but are rarely used given the accuracy and availability of NAAT.

Also Check: Chlamydia Vs Yeast Infection Symptoms

How Do You Know When Chlamydia Is Gone

Improvement should occur right after receiving treatment. Some of the changes that you might notice include:

• Pain while urinating will improve within a week.
• Discharge will return to normal.
• There wont be bleeding between periods or heavier periods.
• Pelvic pain will fade away.
• Pain during sexual intercourse will decrease.

To prevent yourself from catching it again, get re-tested three months after treatment. This is essential if you engage in sexual intercourse with a partner who hasnt been tested for chlamydia.

How Long Does An Sti Test Take

The length of time it takes for an STI test depends on the type of test you take. But most STI tests take a few minutes to collect either urine, saliva, or a blood sample for your test.

Some STI results can come back to you as soon as 20 minutes after being tested, while others could take up to a week for results.

Recommended Reading: Can Trichomoniasis Turn Into Chlamydia

About The Chlamydia & Gonorrhoea Test For Women

• What the test is for

  This kit tests women for chlamydia and gonorrhoea in the vagina. The kit is for you if you do NOT have any symptoms, and if you have sex with men and/or women.

  If you are unsure whether you need this test, you can take our free STI assessment. If you have symptoms, we recommend attending your local sexual health clinic.

• Required samples for the chlamydia and gonorrhoea test

  To test for chlamydia and gonorrhoea, you will need to provide a vaginal swab.

  The test kit contains all the information and equipment you will need to safely collect this sample at home.

• When to take the chlamydia and gonorrhoea test

  We recommend doing the test 2 weeks after the unprotected sex. Tests done too early may not be accurate.

  However, if you think you might have chlamydia or gonorrhoea, you can test immediately and repeat the test two weeks after having sex .

• Accessing results

  Test results are normally ready within 3 working days of your sample arriving at our partner laboratory. You will receive a text and an email when your results are ready.

  If you dont receive your results within seven days of posting your sample, contact us via your Patient Record.

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.

Also Check: How Is Chlamydia Passed On

Chlamydia Symptoms In Females

Chlamydia symptoms in females are rare. Roughly 7 in 10 women dont experience any symptoms. The infection may be asymptomatic, meaning that people dont know they have it.

If signs and symptoms occur, they usually happen one to three weeks after the exposure, but could start much later. The symptoms are often mild and passing, and easy to overlook.

Some of the potential signs and symptoms of chlamydia include:

• lower abdominal pain

How Will I Get My Results

It can take a few days to get your results from a swab test, similar to a Pap smear test in women. If youre a woman, you may also be able to obtain an at-home kit to do the vaginal testing on your own.

Your doctor will call you with the results of your test. Be sure you give your doctor your preferred phone number where you can have privacy, such as a mobile phone number. If you dont want them to leave you a voicemail, be sure you tell them before you leave your appointment.

A urine test is much faster to analyze. Your doctor should be able to tell you the results during the same day as your appointment. The downside is that urine tests may not be as accurate as traditional swab testing.

However, urine testing may be more suitable for men. Its also used for more advanced signs of chlamydia, as your body will have a greater number of bacteria to detect at this stage.

You can obtain a chlamydia test from:

• your primary doctor
• a home testing kit and service

find affordable testing

There are clinics that can perform chlamydia testing at a low cost. In some cases, you may obtain testing free-of-charge. You can find a clinic through the American Sexual Health Associations free locator here. All results are confidential.

Recommended Reading: How Much Are Antibiotics For Chlamydia Without Insurance

How Easily Is Chlamydia Transmitted During Sexual Intercourse

Unfortunately, chlamydia is very easily transmitted through unprotected sexual contact. This is especially true because chlamydia infections are sometimes asymptomaticâmeaning they donât cause noticeable symptoms.

In fact, any time you come in contact with the bacteriaâeven if your sex partner doesnât ejaculate or you arenât fully penetratedâyou could become infected or pass along the chlamydial infection. This being the case, men and women should get tested for STIs before beginning any new sexual relationship.

When Is A Chlamydia Test Performed

A chlamydia infection doesnt usually cause symptoms, so people may not know they have it. Untreated, chlamydia can cause serious health problems and infertility. Thats why providers screen for chlamydia, which means they regularly test certain people who have a higher risk of infection. You should get regular chlamydia screenings if you:

• Are sexually active, especially if youre under 25.
• Are a man who has sex with men.
• Are pregnant and under age 25. Pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases can be dangerous for you and your baby.
• Know that your partner has a sexually transmitted disease or sexually transmitted infection .
• Plan to have sex with a new partner or have more than one partner.

If you previously tested positive for chlamydia and got treated for it, you should get follow-up tests. You usually need a test about a month after treatment and two months after that to make sure the treatment worked.

If you have symptoms of chlamydia infection you may or may not have symptoms of chlamydia. If so, your provider will recommend a test. Symptoms of chlamydia include:

• Burning sensation while urinating .
• Discharge from your vagina, penis or anus.
• Painful intercourse or bleeding after having sex.

Also Check: Can You Give Someone Chlamydia After Being Treated

Can You Get Chlamydia From Drinking After Someone

The belief that you can catch chlamydia from drinking after someone is a myth. In reality, theres no risk of catching the infection when sharing food, water, or cutlery.

You can only catch chlamydia during:

• Unprotected vaginal, oral, or anal sex.
• Sharing sex toys.
• Contact with the genitals of an infected partner.