Saturday, March 23, 2024
HomeTestHow Soon Can You Get Tested For Chlamydia After Exposure

How Soon Can You Get Tested For Chlamydia After Exposure

Waiting Times And Test Result Accuracy

How many days should you wait to get tested after COVID-19 exposure?

Answering how long it would take for someone to definitively test positive or negative on an STI test after a sexual encounter without physical protection requires knowing a number of things, including:

  • What STIs the person had been exposed to
  • What tests were being used to detect the infection

There are also other unclear factors that could play a role. Unfortunately, this makes it impossible to give someone a definitive answer on how long they should wait to go get a test.

It’s a difficult question even from a research standpoint. How do you ethically and practically expose someone to an STI and then repeatedly test them to determine how long it takes for them to test positive? Because of this, there is little to no solid data about how long after an exposure people should wait to get tested for many STIs.

Common practice suggests that people could go in for basic testing for bacterial STIs as soon as two to three weeks after an exposure. However, they would need to be retested again at least three to six months out in order to feel relatively certain of their results.

At a month out, some tests for chlamydia and gonorrhea would be reasonably accurate. Still, tests for other diseases such as herpes and human immunodeficiency virus take longer to become conclusive.

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.

Dont Miss:

How Does Chlamydia Affect A Pregnant Person And Their Baby

In newborns, untreated chlamydia can cause:

  • ophthalmia neonatorum ,

Prospective studies show that chlamydial conjunctivitis and pneumonia occur in 18-44% and 3-16%, respectively, of infants born to those with chlamydia. 9-12 Neonatal prophylaxis against gonococcal conjunctivitis routinely performed at birth does not effectively prevent chlamydial conjunctivitis.37-39

Screening for and treating chlamydia in pregnant people is the best way to prevent disease in infants. At the first prenatal visit and during the third trimester, screen:

  • All pregnant people under age 25 and
  • All pregnant people 25 years and older at increased risk for chlamydia .

Retest those with infection four weeks and three months after they complete treatment.40

Read Also: How To Get Rid Of Chlamydia Smell

Do I Need To Tell My Partner

In Canada, chlamydia is a reportable infection, meaning that the healthcare provider or lab will notify public health authorities after a diagnosis. You are not in any trouble. This reporting is strictly medical and allows for tracking, statistics, and prevention of STIs.

If youâre diagnosed with chlamydia, your healthcare provider will ask that you contact your past sexual partners from the last 60 days before you were tested or had any symptoms.

If you prefer not to contact your sexual partners, a public health nurse will contact them to get tested and treated for chlamydia. Notified partners are recommended to get treatment even before their test results are completed.

To maintain discretion and anonymity, the nurse will not use your name when contacting your partners.

Also Check: What Antibiotics Do You Use For Chlamydia

What Does The Chlamydia Test Involve

Can you get tested for STDs Too Soon After Unprotected Sex?

The recommended tests for chlamydia are simple, painless and generally very reliable.

They involve sending a sample of cells to a laboratory for analysis. You don’t necessarily have to be examined by a doctor or nurse first and can often collect the sample yourself.

There are two main ways the sample can be collected:

  • urinating into a container this should ideally be done at least 1 hour after you last urinated

The results will normally be available in 7 to 10 days. If there’s a high chance you have chlamydia for example, you have symptoms of the infection or your partner has been diagnosed with it and you’ve had unprotected sex with them you might start treatment before you get your results.

Read more about treating chlamydia.

Read Also: How Are You Tested For Chlamydia

When To See A Doctor

If you are sexually active and displaying symptoms of chlamydia, or you believe you were exposed to the bacterial infection through a sexual partner, see a doctor for evaluation and treatment as soon as possible.

The CDC advises sexually active women under 25 years old get screened for chlamydia every year. Its also a good idea to be tested when beginning a sexual relationship with a new partner.

How Soon Can You Get Tested

Like an infections incubation period, the window in which you can get tested for an STD or STI will vary depending on the type of infection youre testing for.

Using the same examples as above, here are some examples of varying STD testing windows:

  • Chlamydia and gonorrhea: Using nucleic acid amplification tests , the general testing window for both chlamydia and gonorrhea ranges between 5 days and 2 weeks. If youve had a known exposure, get tested as soon as possible. If you test within five days of possible exposure and receive a negative result, plan on retesting within one week.
  • HIV: Depending on the type of diagnostic test being used, the testing window can range from 10-90 days.
  • Syphilis: Most tests can detect syphilis within one month after exposure.

Recommended Reading: How To Test Yourself For Chlamydia At Home

How Long For Chlamydia To Show Up

Most people who have chlamydia have no symptomsat least not at first.

Some never develop symptoms, while others only develop them 1-3 weeks after having unprotected sex with an infected partner.

Below is a breakdown of how long it takes for chlamydia to show up in different sexes and parts of the body.

Recommended Reading: How Can You Get Tested For Chlamydia

What Does The Test Measure

STD Glossary: Chlamydia

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.

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

Read Also: Do I Have Chlamydia Or Gonorrhea

What Is Std Screening Exactly

Getting a screening test means that we look for an infection when you may not have any symptoms. Just like you get a mammogram, or screen for colon cancer, its also important to screen for sexually transmitted infections . There are no exact recommended times or tests that we recommend for everyone. These testing recommendations depend on your lifestyle and risk level.

Std Testing Doesnt Replace Discussion

People often wonder whether they have to tell current/future partners that they might have been exposed to an STD. Whether the question is modified by âWhat if we only had oral sex?â or âWhat if it didnât last long?â the answer is usually the same. These are discussions that everybody should be having before they have sex.

Most people donât come to sexual relationships completely inexperienced. Therefore, talks about testing and safe sex arenât just appropriate but smart.

Still, sometimes the discussion can be difficult. Thatâs why itâs always a good idea to practice safe sex, particularly until youâre reasonably certain of your test results.

Condoms may not be perfect, but latex types still offer protection against STDs.

Also Check: What Happens When Chlamydia Goes Untreated

How Long Does It Take For An Std To Show Up

Half of sexually active adults under 25 will have at least one sexually transmitted infection in their lifetime.

In fact, theyre the most commonly reported type of infection in the United States.

Some infections may not cause any symptoms, and others may not cause symptoms for several weeks.

Thats why sexual health screening is crucial to a healthy and active lifeand why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends STD testing for all sexually active adults and adolescents.

Because each infection is different, its important to get tested in order to catchand treatany possible infection early.

If youre worried that you may have contracted an STI, Ill tell you more about how long these infections take to show up in tests in this article.

Ill talk about the incubation period for some common STDs, how soon you can get tested, and provide some testing information.

Ill also talk about whether these infections can remain dormant, and give you some more information on why its important to be tested regularly.

Finally, Ill tell you when you should see a doctor or healthcare provider.

Get Immunized For Hpv Hepatitis A And Liver Disease B Prior To Participating In Sexual Activities

Can you get tested for STDs Too Soon After Unprotected Sex?
  • Make use of a prophylactic every time you have sex.
  • Get checked together for all STDs before participating in sex with a brand-new partner.
  • Limiting your sex-related partners.
  • Recognizing your sex-related partners prior to having sex with them.
  • Finding out if pre-exposure prophylaxis is a excellent choice for you to avoid HIV infection if your companion is HIV-positive and also list below therapy adamantly.
  • Individuals Who Are A Lot Of At-Risk For Contracting STDs:.
  • Men who have sex with guys .
  • Liver disease C is much more usual in people birthed in between 1945-1965.
  • People that have actually been put behind bars.
  • Individuals with several companions.
  • People that do not utilize protection .Being between the ages of 13 as well as 25 young people are less enlightened about Sexually transmitted diseases, take more risks, and also girlss cervixes are still establishing, that makes them more prone to particular STDs.People who have an STD are more likely to agreement one more.

Also Check: Antibiotics To Get Rid Of Chlamydia

How Is Chlamydia Diagnosed

Diagnose chlamydia with nucleic acid amplification tests , cell culture, and other types of tests. NAATs are the most sensitive tests to use on easy-to-obtain specimens. This includes vaginal swabs or urine.43

To diagnose genital chlamydia in women using a NAAT, vaginal swabs are the optimal specimen. Urine is the specimen of choice for men. Urine is an effective alternative specimen type for women.43 Self-collected vaginal swab specimens perform as well as other approved specimens using NAATs.44 Patients may prefer self-collected vaginal swabs or urine-based screening to more invasive specimen collection.45 Adolescent girls may be good candidates for self-collected vaginal swab- or urine-based screening.

Diagnose rectal or pharyngeal infection by testing at the anatomic exposure site. While useful for these specimens, culture is not widely available. Additionally, NAATs have better sensitivity and specificity compared with culture for detecting C. trachomatis at non-genital sites.46-48 Most tests, including NAATs, are not FDA-cleared for use with rectal or pharyngeal swab specimens. NAATs have better sensitivity and specificity compared with culture for the detection of C. trachomatis at rectal sites.46-48 However, some laboratories have met set requirements and have validated NAAT testing on rectal and pharyngeal swab specimens.

What To Do If You Test Positive For An Std

If you get a positive STI test result, its important to follow up with your doctor for treatment. Also, make sure you inform any recent sexual partners, as some STIs can be transmitted back and forth. Its a good idea to consider how you want to tell your partners while factoring in safety if thats a concern.

For example, a face-to-face conversation may be no big deal for some partners, while for others, it could pose harm if your partner has a history of emotional or physical aggression.

There are also anonymous, free options for sharing this information with partners if you prefer:

These options do not require the use of your personal information.

If you opt for a face-to-face conversation instead, it may be helpful to have relevant research and resources on hand. This way, you can answer any questions and discuss things with your partner, including treatment options, risks, incubation periods, etc.

Its also OK to feel a wide variety of emotions if you test positive. These feelings are normal, and you can talk with your doctor about any concerns you may have.

Read Also: How Long Before Signs Of Chlamydia

Pathogen And Antibody Tests

In theory, tests that look directly for the pathogen should become positive faster. That’s because pathogens are there from the start of the infection. However, these tests often require samples from an infected location on the body to work. That’s not always easy to come by.

For example, herpes swabs are notoriously sensitive to timing. They only work during a very short window of active infection. The accuracy and ease of these tests usually depend on the type of disease being tested for. New tools have allowed healthcare providers to develop reliable urine testing for chlamydia and gonorrhea. Other infections, such as human papillomavirus and herpes, may be more difficult to detect without the presence of an obvious sore or lesion.

In contrast, blood tests that look for antibodies don’t require a healthcare provider to know where to sample. What they do require is time to turn positive. Your body’s immune system must first react to the infection and then produce detectable levels of antibodies for these tests to work.

Different types of antibodies peak at different times after infection. In some cases, this fact can be used to determine how long you’ve been infected with an STI. However, the delayed response also affects how long it takes for a test to become reasonably predictive of infection.

How Long Does It Take For Hiv To Show Up

How long can you test positive after a COVID-19 test?

The human immunodeficiency virus is a sexual infection that can lead to AIDS. In the United States, one out of four infected individuals is a woman. More than one million American live with this infection. The most common signs of HIV are body rashes, fever, sore throat and severe headaches. Weight loss is also common, along with enlarged yeast infections and flaky skins.

HIV Incubation Period: the incubation period of HIV is between two to four weeks after being exposed to the virus. Thats when symptoms like the flu start appearing and can last for many weeks.

HIV Window Period: window periods can differ between a virus to testing technique and another. An HIV antibody test would need a period of 30 to 90 days to show a correct result.

Don’t Miss: Chlamydia And Gonorrhea In Men

How To Test For Chlamydia: Chlamydia Culture

Based on the Chlamydia test results, the doctor will decide a treatment plan for the both partners. The best thing about this infection is that it can be easily treated with antibiotics. Unless one gets re-infected it does not tend to cause more problems.

To conclude, a Chlamydia test for men should be ordered as soon as the symptoms have appeared in order to avoid the development of potential complications such as infertility.

About Getting Tested For Stds / Stis

If youre sexually active and at risk, the time to get tested is now. One out of two people will contract an STI by age 25, and half of all Americans will get an STD at some point in their life . Plus, many STIs have no symptoms.

Thats why sometimes instead of testing for certain STIs, you can be screened for several at once. You can do that by getting a test called a full panel.

What is Included in an STD Panel?

A typical full-panel STD test includes a urine test for Chlamydia and gonorrhea, and a blood test for HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis B and C. It doesnt always include all STIs. In fact, practitioners often wont include a test for herpes unless you already have a sore.

Does a Pap Smear Include an STD test?

No, a pap smear does not include an STD test. A pap smear looks for abnormal cells on the cervix as a screening tool for cervical cancer. Tests for chlamydia, gonorrhea, HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis need to be done with blood and urine samples.

Don’t Miss: How Soon Can I Test For Chlamydia

Symptoms In Males Can Consist Of:

  • Burning/itching sensation during peeing.
  • Seriousness or need to pee a lot more regularly.
  • Pain/swelling in one or both testicles .

Signs in females can consist of:.

  • Irregular genital discharge.
  • Pain throughout sexual intercourse .
  • Abdominal pain .
  • Fever can occur if infection spreads to top genital tract.

How Long Does It Take For Stds To Show Up

Ectopic Pregnancy: Causes, symptoms &  treatments

It may be a simple equation to think that as soon as a sexually transmitted infection enters the body, you can get tested for it and detect it. But, the truth is that the exact processing route is far more complex. We get infected when a pathogen enters our system. If the route is sexual then, the infection is called an STD. The pathogen can be a virus, bacteria or other types of microbes. As soon as any of these enter the body, they start reproducing. When the infection is spread in the body and starts damaging our normal cells, disease can happen. However, every infection has its own time-frame and susceptibility.

When the infection multiplies, our immune system will be alert. Its action begins with the white blood cells and antibodies, produced to fight off the infection. Getting tested for an STD means that you are testing for the antibodies that your system has produced as a result of being exposed to an infection.

You May Like: Average Cost Of Chlamydia Medication

RELATED ARTICLES

Most Popular