Why Are You Contagious Up To After 7 Days Of Chlamydia Exposure
The biggest exposure to getting Chlamydia is to have unprotected sex, however, that might be. It is more common than young women and a part of the reason is that the symptoms of the infections do not show up until after you have been infected for 3 weeks which is a risk of going around and transmitting it to other people.
However, there are lab tests to diagnose Chlamydia, and sexually active people should have the test done frequently, pregnant women get that test at their first visit to the doctor.
Even though the symptoms of Chlamydia do not seem that harmful, it is only because the infection should not spread in the body. If spread in the body, Chlamydia can harm the uterus and the fallopian tubes in women, which can lead to serious consequences in the future like damage to the reproductive system, infertility, etc. In men, it does not usually cause bigger health problems but it can spread to the tube which carries the sperm, which can sometimes result in infertility.
What Are Typical Symptoms Of Chlamydia
These are genitourinary symptoms. Men can experience pain, discomfort, or swelling of the testicles, a burning sensation when passing urine, or a genitourinary discharge. Half of infected men have no symptoms. Symptoms for women are a vaginal discharge, bleeding after sexual intercourse, or between periods, a burning sensation when passing urine, and pelvis or lower abdominal pain. Three quarters of infected women have no symptoms.
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
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What Are The Symptoms Of Chlamydia
Most people who are infected by chlamydia dont notice any symptoms and so dont know they have it.
- If you do have symptoms, they may not appear until a few weeks after you have sex with an infected person.
- Symptoms can appear 1 to 3 weeks after infection, many months later or not until the infection has spread to other parts of your body.
- Chlamydia can be transmitted to other people even if you dont have symptoms.
- If you have the infection but no symptoms, you can remain infectious for months or even years without knowing it.
Common symptoms, if they do occur, may include the following:
- unusual vaginal discharge
- testicular pain or swelling
- discomfort when passing urine
- rectal discharge or discomfort.
Chlamydial infection of your throat can occur, but is uncommon and usually does not cause any symptoms.
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Chlamydia Is Not An Easy Std
Chlamydia has always been the troublemaker itsincredibly difficult to notice any symptoms and get diagnosed quickly. But, ifyou do suspect youve been exposed to this infection, you need to take theincubation period into account. If you get tested too early, you risk gettinginadequate results. Paying attention to the incubation of the bacteria can bethe difference between a successful and failed chlamydia testing.
References
- May vary in consistency, or color
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Am I At Risk For Chlamydia
If you are sexually active, have an honest and open talk with your healthcare provider. Ask them if you should get tested for chlamydia or other STDs. Gay or bisexual men and pregnant people should also get tested for chlamydia. If you are a sexually active woman, you should get tested for chlamydia every year if you are:
- Younger than 25 years old.
- 25 years and older with risk factors, such as new or multiple sex partners, or a sex partner who has a sexually transmitted infection.
When Will The Signs And Symptoms Go Away
You should notice an improvement quite quickly after having treatment.
- Discharge or pain when you urinate should improve within a week.
- Bleeding between periods or heavier periods should improve by your next period.
- Pelvic pain and pain in the testicles should start to improve quickly but may take up to two weeks to go away.
If you have pelvic pain or painful sex that doesnt improve, see your doctor or nurse as it may be necessary to have some further treatment or investigate other possible causes of the pain.
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Where Can I Get Tested
Sexual health clinics, a genitourinary medicine clinics or GP surgeries provide free and confidential chlamydia testing. In England there is a national screening program for people under 25 years test kits are available in many pharmacies, contraception clinics, or colleges. Home testing kits may also be purchased in some pharmacies and online.
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How Do I Take Doxycycline
Take two doses a day for one week. Gullet irritation is a risk with doxycycline. To avoid this swallow the capsules whole, taking them with water. This ensures they go straight into the stomach without sticking in the gullet. Taking them whilst upright, sitting or standing, will also help. For this reason dont take doxycycline just before bed.
There is evidence that unlike some other tetracycline antibiotics, doxycycline absorption is not significantly slowed when taken with a meal. If nausea and tummy upset is a problem when taken on an empty stomach, the advice is to take with food.
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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 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.
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.
- A condition called mucopurulent cervicitis, characterized by a yellow discharge from the cervix
Untreated chlamydia in men may lead to:
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Why Is It Important To Treat Chlamydia
If left untreated chlamydia is unlikely to go away. It can be passed onto sexual partners and can cause serious harm. Women can get cervicitis or pelvic inflammatory disease. This can result in permanent damage to the fallopian tubes, which may lead to infertility or ectopic pregnancy. Chlamydia also can cause a reactive arthritis. Men can suffer with urethritis , this can spread to the contents of the scrotal sac epididymis and testicles. This causes pain, and in severe cases infertility. Men can also get a reactive arthritis.
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How To Treatment Of Chlamydia
Antibiotics, consisting of azithromycin and doxycycline, are typically recommended to treat chlamydia. Patients need to wait up until the chlamydia has been totally cured before taking part in sexual behavior.
If you start to exhibit symptoms once again after a successful course of treatment, it is most likely that you have been reinfected since treatment usually does not cannot remove the bacteria. Women typically have a high rate of reinfection and need to be tested once again within 3 to 4 months following the conclusion of treatment.
We hope the above info was practical.
Good luck! Have a nice weekend!
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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 stop 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. 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. 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.
Infants infected with chlamydia may develop ophthalmia neonatorum and/or pneumonia. Chlamydial infection in infants can be treated with antibiotics.
How Stis Are Diagnosed
Doctors diagnose different STIs in different ways. For example, urine tests can detect gonorrhea and chlamydia, whereas blood tests detect syphilis, herpes, and HIV. Testing for other infections requires genital swabs.
| Infection | |
|---|---|
| Molluscum contagiosum | Physical exam |
A lack of symptoms is no guarantee that you dont have an STI. You may be infected and be able to transmit the disease to your sexual partners. Thats why there is no substitute for regular screening.
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What Happens If Chlamydia Is Untreated
If untreated, chlamydia can develop into serious reproductive and other health problems with both short-term and long-term effects. Like the disease itself, the damage is often silent. In women, untreated infection can cause pelvic inflammatory disease . This happens in 10 percent to 15 percent women with untreated chlamydia.
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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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Chlamydia Can Harm Your Pregnancy Or Reproductive Health
Can chlamydia harm your unborn baby or your future reproductive health? Many people will say no, but thats not true. The infection can cause complications for both pregnancy and fertility.
Chlamydia can cause many complications for pregnant women and their babies. When the infection is left untreated, it can cause preterm delivery. Babies who are born prematurely can have problems with their lungs, hearts, or brains. The infection can spread to the baby, resulting in pneumonia, eye infections, and other complications. Due to these risks, pregnant women are routinely screened for chlamydia.
Chlamydia can cause many complications for pregnant women and their babies. When the infection is left untreated, it can cause preterm delivery.
Chlamydia can also cause complications for women who want to get pregnant. If untreated chlamydia spreads to other parts of the reproductive system, like the uterus, those tissues can be damaged. This can cause infertility. Damage to the uterine tubes could also result in an ectopic pregnancy. This means a fertilized egg implants somewhere other than the uterus, usually inside the uterine tube. These pregnancies arent sustainable and may put the mothers life at risk.
There are many myths that are circulating about this common sexually transmitted infection. If youre concerned about chlamydia, see your doctor to get tested.
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Who To Test For Chlamydia
Anyone with the following genital symptoms should not have sex until they see a healthcare provider:
- A burning sensation when peeing
- Unusual sores, or a rash
Because chlamydia usually has no symptoms, screening is necessary to identify most infections. Screening programs can reduce rates of adverse sequelae in women.31,41 CDC recommends yearly chlamydia screening of all sexually active women younger than 25. CDC also recommends screening for older women with risk factors, such as new or multiple partners, or a sex partner who has a sexually transmitted infection.40 Screen and treat those who are pregnant as noted in How does chlamydia affect a pregnant person and their baby? Women who are sexually active should discuss their risk factors with a healthcare provider to determine if more frequent screening is necessary.
Routine screening is not necessary for men. However, consider screening sexually active young men in clinical settings with a high prevalence of chlamydia. This can include adolescent clinics, correctional facilities, and STD clinics. Consider this when resources permit and do not hinder screening efforts in women.40
At the initial HIV care visit, providers should test all sexually active people for chlamydia. Test at least each year during HIV care. A patients healthcare provider might determine more frequent screening is necessary, based on the patients risk factors.42
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What Can Happen If Chlamydia Isnt Treated
Untreated chlamydia can put your health at risk. Make an appointment with your provider immediately if you notice any symptoms of chlamydia, and get regular STI screenings to avoid complications later.
Complications of chlamydia for people with vaginas
Untreated chlamydia can cause:
- Pelvic inflammatory disease . PID is a serious condition that requires hospitalization. It can occur when an untreated STI, like chlamydia, damages your reproductive organs. PID can lead to infertility and chronic pelvic pain. It can also cause an ectopic pregnancy, which is life-threatening for the fetus and potentially deadly for the mother or gestational parent, too.
- Pregnancy complications. An untreated infection can lead to pre-term delivery. Also, if youre pregnant and have chlamydia, you can pass the infection on to your newborn. Babies born with chlamydia may have pneumonia or conjunctivitis that could lead to blindness if not treated.
Complications of chlamydia for people with penises
Untreated chlamydia can cause:
- Epididymitis. Infection can spread to the testicles and the tube that carries sperm to your testicles , causing symptoms like pain, swelling and tenderness in your testicles.
- Reduced fertility. Chlamydia can harm your sperm, negatively impacting your ability to conceive.
Complications of chlamydia that can affect all genders
Untreated chlamydia can:
How Long Does Chlamydia Last In Men
When it comes to men, there is no significant difference in the incubation period. The factors that determine the incubation period are the same as for women. Also, a man will also experience symptoms, if any, after 7 to 21 days of being exposed to chlamydia.
The only difference between sexes when it comes to chlamydia are the very symptoms and how it manifests.
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Q2 What Happens If Chlamydia Goes Untreated For 6 Months
If chlamydia goes untreated for months, then a person might start facing different complications. Chlamydia and infertility are very closely linked to each other. So, if someone goes untreated for as long as 6 months, that person might face some complications like PID , which can cause infertility. Apart from that, it can also cause other issues like tubal pregnancies, chronic pelvic pain, and others.
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Home Remedies For Chlamydia Symptoms
You may still experience painful or uncomfortable symptoms while youre taking chlamydia antibiotics.
Here are some home remedies for reducing your pain and other symptoms while youre waiting for the antibiotics to work:
- pain medications, such as ibuprofen to reduce pain
- cold pack to help limit swelling and inflammation
- goldenseal to reduce inflammation and potentially make symptoms less severe
- echinacea to bolster your immune system against the infection and reduce your symptoms
- turmeric containing an ingredient called curcumin to reduce inflammation and make symptoms less severe
No studies support the effectiveness of these supplements specifically for chlamydia, so take them with caution.
And theres no substitute for antibiotics when treating chlamydia. Only try these remedies if youre already taking antibiotics or if you plan to go to the doctor.
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How Do You Get Chlamydia
The bacteria are usually spread through:
-
sharing unwashed or uncovered sex toys with someone who has the infection
Chlamydia can also be passed on by a pregnant woman to her baby. For more details on chlamydia in pregnancy read our in detail tab.
Chlamydia cant be passed on through casual contact like kissing, hugging, sharing baths, towels or using the same toilet as someone with the infection.