How Long Does It Take For Chlamydia To Appear

What Is The Treatment For Chlamydia

There are antibiotic treatments that are effective in treating chlamydia. A healthcare provider will decide which antibiotic is prescribed, taking into consideration the particular needs of the patient.

Whatever treatment is prescribed, there are some important points about any treatment:

• The patient must take all medications as directed.
• All partners should be examined and treated.
• The infected person should not have sex until they and any partner or partners have been treated and cured.
• People who show symptoms after treatment should be tested again.
• Women should be retested three to four months after treatment because of a high rate of reinfection.
• Because the symptoms of chlamydia are similar to the symptom of gonorrhea, and because a person can be infected with both, doctors will sometimes go ahead and treat people with chlamydia for both infections . Remember, partners should be examined for infection and treated as well to avoid reinfection.

Chlamydia In The Rectum Throat Or Eyes

Chlamydia can also infect:

• the rectum if you have unprotected anal sex this can cause discomfort and discharge from your rectum
• the throat if you have unprotected oral sex this is uncommon and usually causes no symptoms
• the eyes if they come into contact with infected semen or vaginal fluid this can cause eye redness, pain and discharge

When Should I Get Tested

Donât 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
• youâre pregnant or planning a pregnancy
• youâre offered a chlamydia test as part of the NCSP

If you live in England, youâre a woman under 25 and sexually active, itâs 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, youâre a man under 25 and sexually active, itâs 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.

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How Soon Do Std Symptoms Appear

How long it takes for an STD to show up in testing is entirely dependent on the STD itself, how long its own incubation period is, and your own bodys immune response. You can test for some STDs, like chlamydia, only a day after potential exposure. Meanwhile, HIV and syphilis can take a month or more before you can accurately test for them. Its all pretty confusing but lucky for you, we created a nifty little chart that breaks down each STDs average incubation period.

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What Are Symptoms Of An Sti

Different STIs can cause different symptoms. Sometimes STIs dont cause any symptoms at all.

Gonorrhea or chlamydia can cause:

• Burning when urinating

• Muscle aches

• Sore throat

Many times, people with an STI dont have any symptoms, so they dont realize they need treatment. This is how people can unknowingly pass an STI to someone else.

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What Does Chlamydia Infection Mean For My Health

Chlamydia can be treated and cured easily, but that doesnt mean that chlamydia infection isnt potentially dangerous. If chlamydia isnt diagnosed and left untreated, it can cause serious complications.

Untreated chlamydia infections in women may lead to:

• Pelvic inflammatory disease , a serious infection of the reproductive organs . Left untreated, PID can cause infertility , chronic pelvic pain, or ectopic pregnancy.
• Cystitis
• A condition called mucopurulent cervicitis, characterized by a yellow discharge from the cervix

Untreated chlamydia in men may lead to:

• Prostatitis
• Scarring of the urethra
• Infertility
• Epididymitis

When Should I See My Healthcare Provider

When it comes to chlamydia, its a good idea to be proactive. Speak with your healthcare provider about your risks of infection. Make a plan to get screened regularly for STIs based on your providers recommendations for how often you should be tested. Make an appointment with your healthcare provider if your partner tests positive for chlamydia or if you notice any signs or symptoms that you may be infected.

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How Can I Prevent Getting Chlamydia

Anyone who is sexually active can catch chlamydia. Youâre most at risk if you have a new sexual partner or donât use a barrier method of contraception, such as a condom, when having sex. You can help to prevent the spread of chlamydia by:

• using a condom every time you have vaginal or anal sex
• using a condom to cover the penis during oral sex
• using a dam to cover the female genitals during oral sex or when rubbing female genitals together
• not sharing sex toys. If you do share sex toys, wash them or cover them with a new condom between each person who uses them.

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What Happens If I Dont Get Treated

The initial damage that chlamydia causes often goes unnoticed. However, chlamydia can lead to serious health problems.

If you are a woman, untreated chlamydia can spread to your uterus and fallopian tubes . This can cause pelvic inflammatory disease . PID often has no symptoms, however some women may have abdominal and pelvic pain. Even if it doesnt cause symptoms initially, PID can cause permanent damage to your reproductive system. PID can lead to long-term pelvic pain, inability to get pregnant, and potentially deadly ectopic pregnancy .

Men rarely have health problems linked to chlamydia. Infection sometimes spreads to the tube that carries sperm from the testicles, causing pain and fever. Rarely, chlamydia can prevent a man from being able to have children.

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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.

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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Question: How Fast Can Chlamydia Spread

The incubation period for chlamydia is quite variable and may range from days to months after the initial exposure. The average time from exposure to the development of symptoms is usually about one to three weeks after sexual contact with an infected person.Symptoms: Abdominal pain Pain Vaginal discharge

Chlamydia Is A Serious Infection

Chlamydia is Americas most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection. Every year, an estimated 2.86 million infections occur. Since its so common, you may assume that its no big deal. However, chlamydia can be a very serious infection.

Chlamydia is very common, but that doesnt mean it cant have a serious impact on your health. The infection can cause a number of long-term complications. In up to 15 percent of women with untreated chlamydia, the infection spreads to the uterus and uterine tubes, leading to symptomatic pelvic inflammatory disease. In addition, some women experience subclinical inflammation of the upper genital tract. This can cause permanent damage to the affected tissues.

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How Long Can You Have Chlamydia Before It Does Damage

How long can you have chlamydia before it does damage? Symptoms usually appear within one to three weeks after being infected and may be very mild. If not treated, chlamydia can lead to damage to the reproductive system. In women, chlamydial infection can spread to the uterus or fallopian tubes and cause pelvic inflammatory disease , according to the CDC.

How long can chlamydia go untreated before it causes damage? Chlamydia infection is usually asymptomatic in women, but can be treated with antibiotics when diagnosed . The estimated mean duration of untreated asymptomatic infection is more than one year in women .

What happens if you have chlamydia for too long? What happens if chlamydia goes untreated? If a person is not treated for chlamydia, complications may occur. Women frequently develop pelvic inflammatory disease . PID can cause infertility , chronic pelvic pain, tubal pregnancies, and the continued spread of the disease.

Can you have chlamydia for years? How long can you have chlamydia for? An untreated chlamydia infection can persist for several years. Although this goes for both men and women, it is believed that men are less likely to carry the bacteria for several years. If you remain infected for a long time you have an increased risk of complications.

What Other Problems Can Chlamydia Cause

In women, an untreated infection can spread to your uterus and fallopian tubes, causing pelvic inflammatory disease . PID can cause permanent damage to your reproductive system. This can lead to long-term pelvic pain, infertility, and ectopic pregnancy. Women who have had chlamydia infections more than once are at higher risk of serious reproductive health complications.

Men often don’t have health problems from chlamydia. Sometimes it can infect the epididymis . This can cause pain, fever, and, rarely, infertility.

Both men and women can develop reactive arthritis because of a chlamydia infection. Reactive arthritis is a type of arthritis that happens as a “reaction” to an infection in the body.

Babies born to infected mothers can get eye infections and pneumonia from chlamydia. It may also make it more likely for your baby to be born too early.

Untreated chlamydia may also increase your chances of getting or giving HIV/AIDS.

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What Increases Your Risk

Risk factors for getting chlamydia include:

• Having unprotected sex .
• Having more than one sex partner.
• Having a high-risk partner or partners. This includes people who have more than one sex partner or sex partners who have chlamydia.
• Starting sexual activity before age 18.

Any child with chlamydia needs to be seen by a doctor to determine the cause and to assess for possible sexual abuse. For more information, see the topic Child Abuse and Neglect.

Symptoms In The Throat

Chlamydia symptoms can sometimes appear in the throat, although this is uncommon. When it does occur, the time frame is likely to be similar to that of chlamydia infections of the genitals.

In people who experience symptoms, the main one is a persistent sore throat. A doctor may refer to a chlamydia infection in the throat as pharyngeal chlamydia.

Testing for chlamydia in the throat is not a common practice in STI testing, as it does not have approval from the Food and Drug Administration . However, if a person suspects that they have pharyngeal chlamydia, a doctor may take a swab from the throat.

A person can undergo testing for chlamydia at their:

• doctors office
• local health department
• local planned parenthood center

A person can also order a chlamydia test online, take it at home, and then send it off for testing.

If people are at high risk of chlamydia, they may need screening for all types of chlamydia every 36 months.

At risk groups include people who have:

• multiple or unknown sexual partners
• sex in combination with illegal drug use
• sexual partners who use illegal drugs or have multiple partners

7 days .

People should avoid having sex until their treatment is complete. If a person is experiencing symptoms even after the treatment, they should see a doctor.

People who menstruate should notice that their periods return to normal or that bleeding between periods stops by their next period.

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More About Pelvic Inflammatory Disease

For women, one of the most serious complications from untreated chlamydia is pelvic inflammatory disease .

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between 1020% of women with untreated chlamydia and gonorrhea infections may develop PID. And 1 in 8 women with a history of PID experience difficulties getting pregnant. PID can also cause ectopic pregnancy and chronic pelvic pain.

Like chlamydia, it is possible for a woman to have PID and not have any symptoms, or have symptoms too mild to notice, for an unknown period of time. If symptoms do occur, they could include:

• Dull pain or tenderness in the lower abdomen
• Burning or pain when you urinate
• Nausea and vomiting
• Increased or changed vaginal discharge
• Pain during sex

Put Sex On Hold During And After Chlamydia Treatment

If you were given a single dose of antibiotics to treat your chlamydia, you should not have any kind of sex for a full seven days after the day you took the medicine. If youre taking antibiotics for a week, wait another seven days after the last day of your treatment. Be sure to take all of the medicine that is prescribed for you.

Not having sex for seven days after treatment is important so you dont spread the infection to your partner or partners.

Medication stops the infection and can keep you from spreading the disease, but it wont cure any permanent damage that the infection caused before you started treatment. In women, such damage can include blocking the fallopian tubes, causing infertility.

If you still have symptoms for more than a few days after you stop taking your medicine, go back to see your doctor or other healthcare provider so they can check you again.

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Just How Is Chlamydia Spread How Long Do Chlamydia Symptoms Take To Show Up

You can get chlamydia by having vaginal, anal, or foreplay with a person who has chlamydia.

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

If you have actually had chlamydia and also were treated in the past, you can still obtain contaminated again. This can take place if you have unsafe sex with someone that has chlamydia.

If you are expecting, you can provide chlamydia to your baby during childbirth.

How Is Chlamydia Prevented

You already know chlamydia is a sexually transmitted infection. Therefore, the safest and easiest way to prevent chlamydia is sexual abstinence. Other ways chlamydia can be prevented in men and women are

• Use condoms for intercourse
• Get your male or female sexual partners tested for the infection
• Recheck for chlamydia infection after 5 weeks of treatment
• Avoid intercourse while on chlamydia treatment
• Use adult toys with condoms

Now its your turn. Do you have any chlamydia symptoms? Let us know if we can help.

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What Causes Chlamydia

Chlamydia is an infection caused by a bacteria called Chlamydia trachomatis. Chlamydia bacteria lives in bodily fluids like vaginal fluid and semen. When someone comes in contact with these fluids, they can get chlamydia. You can come in contact with these fluids through:

• Vaginal sex

Chlamydia is not spread through kissing, hugging, or sharing utensils.

How Is It Treated

Antibiotics are used to treat chlamydia. It’s important to take all of the medicine as directed. Otherwise the medicine may not work. Both sex partners need treatment to keep from passing the infection back and forth.

As soon as you find out you have chlamydia, be sure to let your sex partners know. Experts recommend that you notify everyone you’ve had sex with in the past 2 months. If you have not had sex in the past 2 months, contact the last person you had sex with.

Having a chlamydia infection that was cured does not protect you from getting it again. If you are treated and your sex partner is not, you probably will get it again.

Some people who have chlamydia also have other STIs, such as gonorrhea.

Finding out that you have an STI may make you feel bad about yourself or about sex. Counseling or a support group may help you feel better.

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What Are The Symptoms Of Chlamydia

Chlamydia is called a silent infection because people often dont realize they have it. Studies show that:

• 90% of males with chlamydia never have symptoms

• 70% to 95% of females with chlamydia never have symptoms

When chlamydia does cause symptoms, people can experience:

• Urethritis: discharge, pain, or burning with urination

• Proctitis: bloody stool, anal or rectal pain, and constipation

• Conjunctivitis: eye redness and watery discharge

• Pharyngitis: sore throat and pain with swallowing

• Genital lymphogranuloma venereum: large, swollen, and painful lymph nodes

• Reactive arthritis triad: pain, swelling, and stiffness of the joints