If You Get Treated For Chlamydia Is It Gone

How Will I Know If I Have Chlamydia

You can only be certain you have chlamydia if you have a test.

Anyone can get chlamydia. Youre more likely to have it if youre under 25, have a new sexual partner, or more than one sexual partner in the last year, and if you havent used condoms.

You should have a test if:

• you, or a partner, have or think you might have symptoms
• youve recently had sex without a condom with a new partner
• you, or a partner, have had sex without a condom with other partners
• during a vaginal examination, your doctor or nurse says that the cervix is inflamed and/or theres an unusual discharge
• a sexual partner tells you they have a sexually transmitted infection
• you have another STI.

If you live in England, and youre a woman who is under 25 and sexually active, its recommended that you have a chlamydia test when you change sexual partner and once a year.

If youre a man who is under 25 and sexually active, its recommended that you have a chlamydia test once a year if you are not using condoms with new or casual partners.

You could still have chlamydia even if a partner has tested negative. The only way to make sure you dont have chlamydia is to get tested yourself.

If you have chlamydia, youll be encouraged to be tested for other STIs as you can have more than one STI at the same time.

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.

Chlamydia Symptoms In Females How Do You Know If Chlamydia Is Gone After Treatment

Chlamydia is typically known as the silent infection. Thats since individuals with chlamydia might not experience symptoms whatsoever.

If a female agreements the STI, it might take numerous weeks before any kind of symptoms appear.

Some of the most common signs and symptoms of chlamydia in women include:

• excruciating sexual relations
• discomfort in the reduced abdomen
• swelling of the cervix
• hemorrhaging between durations

In some females, the infection can infect the fallopian tubes, which might trigger a problem called pelvic inflammatory illness .

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What Happens If Chlamydia Isnt Treated

Only some people who have chlamydia will have complications. If chlamydia is treated early, its unlikely to cause any long-term problems. But, without proper treatment, the infection can spread to other parts of the body. The more times you have chlamydia the more likely you are to get complications.

• If you have a vulva, chlamydia can spread to other reproductive organs causing pelvic inflammatory disease . This can lead to long-term pelvic pain, blocked fallopian tubes, infertility and ectopic pregnancy .
• In people with a vulva, chlamydia can also cause pain and inflammation around the liver, though this is rare. This usually gets better with the correct antibiotic treatment.

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How Long Does It Take For Chlamydia To Disappear

Chlamydia typically goes away within 1 to 2 weeks. You should avoid sex during this time to prevent transmitting the disease. Your doctor may prescribe a one-dose medication or a medication youll take daily for about a week. If they prescribe a one-dose pill, you should wait 7 days before having sex again.

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Does Azithromycin Also Cure Chlamydia

Azithromycin was the first choice antibiotic to treat chlamydia until February 2019 when BASHH guidance was issued recommending a 7-day course of doxycycline as the first choice treatment based on recent data. Azithromycin is now recommended only for pregnant women and those with an allergy to doxycycline.

How Long Does It Take For Chlamydia Symptoms To Clear

When taking antibiotics , symptoms usually settle quickly. Pain on passing urine and discharge go within a week, pelvic or testicular pain can take two weeks and menstrual irregularities should improve by the next cycle. Always complete the full course of antibiotic.

Chlamydia is unlikely to go away without treatment. Although symptoms may subside temporarily, infection may persist in the body without treatment. It is important to seek diagnosis and treatment to get rid of the infection.

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What Happens If I Get Chlamydia When I’m Pregnant

• Chlamydia during pregnancy has been associated in very rare cases with problems such as premature birth, and infection of the uterus lining after the birth.
• It can be passed to the baby during the birth and before the baby is born. This can cause inflammation and discharge in the babys eye and/or pneumonia.
• You may be offered a chlamydia test as part of your antenatal care.
• Chlamydia can be treated with antibiotics when youre pregnant and when youre breastfeeding. The antibiotics wont harm the baby, but do tell the doctor or nurse that youre pregnant or breastfeeding.
• Youll be advised to have another test after you complete your treatment.

Testing And Treating Sexual Partners

If you test positive for chlamydia, it’s important that your current sexual partner and any other recent sexual partners you’ve had are also tested and treated.

A specialist sexual health adviser can help you contact your recent sexual partners, or the clinic can contact them for you if you prefer.

Either you or someone from the clinic can speak to them, or the clinic can send them a note to let them know they may have been exposed to a sexually transmitted infection .

The note will suggest that they go for a check-up. It will not have your name on it, so your confidentiality will be protected.

Page last reviewed: 01 September 2021 Next review due: 01 September 2024

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How Do You Know If Chlamydia Is Gone

FAST FACTS

• Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted infection that is normally passed on through sex without a condom or sharing sex toys with someone who has the infection.
• Using male or female condoms and dental dams during sex will help to protect you from getting chlamydia.
• Chlamydia is often symptomless however if left untreated it can lead to long-term health problems.
• Chlamydia is easily treated with antibiotics.
• Chlamydia can be passed on from mother to child during pregnancy, so its important for pregnant women to get tested.

Chlamydia Can Live In Your Gut And Reinfect You After Youre Cured

Doctors have known that chlamydia can reappear, but until now theyve been stumped as to how exactly it happens

Chlamydia is the most commonly reported sexually transmitted diseases in the United States. Thankfully, its also curable. But new research suggests that for some people, curing chlamydia doesnt prevent reinfection, even if theyre not exposed to it again. Apparently the disease can live inside your gut, and reinfect you out of the blue.

Apparently doctors have known that chlamydia can reappear in cured patients for about 80 years, but theyve been stumped as to how exactly it happens. This study points out that, in many animals, chlamydia has been found to live in the gastrointestinal tract. Thus, if gastrointestinal infection occurs in most hosts, the authors write, then it is very likely that gastrointestinal infection occurs in humans as well.

The study in question doesnt actually test this theory on any human beings. Instead it looks at data in animal models about reinfection, and the failure of certain drugs to treat chlamydia when it lives in the gut. From there, they propose that women who are infected with chlamydia could see the same kind of issues: the drugs theyre given might cure the disease genitally, but not gastrointestinally, leaving the bug to live inside waiting for the right time to strike.

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If I Have Chlamydia Am I At Risk Of Other Sexually Transmitted Infections

Yes. By definition, having unprotected sex means risk of STI. As well as chlamydia, there are also genital warts, genital herpes, gonorrhoea, HIV, pubic lice, and syphilis. Like with chlamydia, gonorrhoea may well cause no symptoms, so being tested is the only way to really know. This can be done at your local sexual health clinic.

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Does Chlamydia Go Away

• How long does it take for Chlamydia to go away?

The dangers of sexually transmitted viruses are increasing day by day and people these days are more in fear about how they can stay safe. Chlamydia is one of the common names in the list of sexually transmitted infections and most of its cases are reported in North America.

It can affect males as well as females still the cases for female Chlamydia are reported more in number. It demands immediate attention because if left untreated then it leads to painful troubles or may cause severe health issues like pelvic pain, testicles or women can even face infertility.

Most of people throughout this world are not familiar with the disease and its symptoms and when they hear its name for the first time they often get into worry about does Chlamydia go away on its own.

The fact is, it can go away but only if you follow right guidelines and medications as suggested by professionals. But first of all it is important to educate yourself about the disease so that you can understand its symptoms and make efforts to keep yourself safe for longer run.

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Letting Partners Know You Have Chlamydia

Sexual partners may be infected too. If you have chlamydia, anyone you have had sex with from the last 6 months needs to be informed, tested and treated.

If they dont know, they could reinfect you or infect someone else if they are not treated. dont receive treatment.

Most people will appreciate being told they may have an infection and it is an important step in preventing further infection in the community.

Your local GP and sexual health centre can help you inform your partners and let them know that they need a test. This process is called partner notification. It can be done anonymously, and your confidentiality is always respected.

You can also anonymously notify your sexual partners of the need to get tested and treated for chlamydia via the Let Them Know website if you feel unable to speak to them personally.

There are also nurses who can help you anonymously notify your partners. They can be contacted on .

Treatment Of Sexual Partners

When you are being treated for chlamydia, it is important to have your sexual partners treated as well. This includes anyone you’ve had sex with within 60 days of the appearance of symptoms.

Depending on state law, your partner may be able to be prescribed the same treatment without having to undergo chlamydia testing. This precautionary measure helps ensure that you are not reinfected or that others are not infected as well.

If you have chlamydia, do not share your antibiotics with your partner. You need the full course to fully clear the infection, and your partner does as well.

To avoid reinfection, abstain from sexual intercourse until all sexual partners have been treated.

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Is Azithromycin Better Than Doxycycline At Curing Chlamydia

STD guidelines still favor azithromycin over doxycycline for the treatment of chlamydia. This is because of the following reasons:

• Cure rates of azithromycin and doxycycline are similar, 97% and 98-100% respectively, according to a meta-analysis of 12 trials.
• Azithromycin is given as a single dose, doxycycline needs to be given for seven days, either as a once-daily or twice-daily dose.
• The dose of azithromycin can be easily supervised if need be it is much harder to supervise seven days of once daily or twice daily doxycycline treatment
• People are more likely to take a single dose of azithromycin than finish a seven-day course of doxycycline.

Recently, some reports have suggested that doxycycline may be more effective than azithromycin, particularly when medication adherence can be assured. There is also some concern that azithromycin may not be as effective for anogenital chlamydial infections.

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Do Past Infections Mean Im Immune

While some studies have looked into the potential for immunity in animals and in humans, there have been no conclusive signs of immunity.

At this point, it seems you cannot become immune to chlamydia after having it. To avoid future infections, its important to practice safe sex and get tested regularlyespecially if you are sexually active with multiple partners.

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Can A Treated Std Come Back

Monique Rainford, MD, is board-certified in obstetrics-gynecology, and currently serves as an Assistant Clinical Professor at Yale Medicine. She is the former chief of obstetrics-gynecology at Yale Health.

• STD-Specific Concerns

You may be familiar with some of the more common sexually transmitted diseases . Chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, and trichomoniasis can all be treated, and often cured, with antibiotics.

It’s important that you find treatment for your STD if you think or know you have one. It’s also important to know that having your STD treated is not a guarantee that it will never come back.

This article explains why an STD can return, why taking the wrong medication can hurt you, and the risk of reinfection if you are not careful about safe sex practices.

Testing Before The Incubation Period

Every STD test has an advised date from which a test becomes accurate. This is because the bacteria needs enough time to multiply within your body in order for it to reach a detectable level when taking a chlamydia test. For chlamydia this is often 14 days. If you test before that 14 days is over, you may test negative, but you could still pass the bacteria on following your test.

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What Happens If You Dont Seek Treatment

If you take your antibiotics as directed, chlamydia is likely to go away. But if its left untreated, it can cause a few complications.

For example, if you have a vulva, you could develop pelvic inflammatory disease . PID is a painful infection that could damage your uterus, cervix, and ovaries.

Untreated chlamydia can also lead to scarred fallopian tubes, which can cause infertility.

If youre pregnant, untreated chlamydia can be transmitted to the baby during vaginal delivery. Chlamydia can cause eye infections and pneumonia in newborns.

Untreated chlamydia can lead to epididymitis, which is when the epididymis becomes inflamed, causing pain.

Chlamydia can also spread to the prostate gland, which can lead to painful sex, lower back pain, and a fever.

Fortunately, treatment for chlamydia is relatively straightforward. And if its treated quickly, youre unlikely to experience any long-term complications.

Treating Toddlers And Children

Chlamydia in toddlers and children may occur as a result of sexual abuse and should be investigated. With that said, chlamydia transmitted during childbirth can sometimes take up to three years before symptoms develop in the child’s throat, rectum, or genitals.

If chlamydia is confirmed, either erythromycin, azithromycin, or doxycycline may be used depending on the child’s age and/or weight.

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How Can I Tell My Partner Will They Think I’ve Cheated On Them

You may feel embarrassed, scared or angry. However it is important and respectful to let your partner know as soon as possible so they can get tested and treated. Remember that chlamydia often has no symptoms, so a diagnosis doesn’t necessarily mean the infection was caught recently. You may not be sure when you were exposed. Many people are surprised how supportive their partner is, and how they appreciate being confided in.

Does Your Partner Need To Get Treated Too

If you have a sexual partner, or if youve recently had sex with someone, talk with them about your chlamydia diagnosis. Theyll need to get tested and treated, too.

If your sexual partner doesnt seek treatment, theres a risk that they can transmit it back to you, even after your infection has been cured.

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How Long Does Chlamydia Last

If you believe youve been exposed to chlamydia, even if you dont have any symptoms, the first thing you should do is get tested. And if your chlamydia test is positive, be confident that you are doing the right thing.

Being tested means that you can be treated, and the proper treatment will help clear up a chlamydial infection in a matter of weeks.

On the other hand, if you dont get tested or dont see a healthcare provider for treatment, chlamydia can live in the body for weeks, months, or even years without being detected.

This can lead to long-term complications, including infertility.

Read on to learn what chlamydia is, how it spreads, the symptoms, and when symptoms typically show.

Ill also explain how long chlamydia lasts, what happens if it goes untreated, how long you have to wait to have sex after an infection, and if you can become immune to chlamydia.

How Is Chlamydia Treated

If detected early, chlamydia can be treated with a single dose of antibiotic.

If complications from chlamydia infection are present such as pelvic inflammatory disease in women a longer course of antibiotics will be required.

Do not have sex for 7 days after you and your current partner have completed treatment. This includes all kinds of sex with or without a condom.

You can get reinfected with chlamydia if you have sex within the 7 days.

After you have completed treatment, have another test for chlamydia in 3 months time to make sure you have not been re-infected.

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