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 To Fight Chlamydia Naturally
The fight against chlamydia Chlamydia trachomatis may seem complicated, but it is achieved if we follow the advice of experts and follow the suggestions listed here.
Chlamydia is a more common sexually transmitted disease than we can imagine today. This disease can not only affect women as many think, but also men.
Women can get chlamydia in various areas such as the cervix, rectum or throat. For their part, men in the area of the urethra , rectum or also in the throat.
Chlamydia can be contracted during oral, vaginal or anal sex with someone who is infected.
It is important that we always express our feelings to our partner, so if we have chlamydia, we talk about it immediately.
Also Check: How Do You Get Chlamydia Female
What If I Take Too Much
Taking an extra dose of azithromycin by accident is unlikely to harm you or your child. It may, however, increase the chance of temporary side effects, such as feeling or being sick or diarrhoea.
Talk to your pharmacist or doctor if youre worried, or if you or your child accidentally take more than 1 extra dose.
Read Also: How Long Does Chlamydia Last
Also Check: What Do I Do If I Have Chlamydia
Preventing Chlamydia And Recurrences
How Does Azithromycin Work
Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted infection caused by chlamydia trachomatis bacteria multiplying in your urinary tract. A single 1000mg dosage of Azithromycin tablets is swallowed as a one-time treatment. Over the next 7 days, the azithromycin antibiotic goes to work by directly targeting the chlamydia trachomatis bacteria. It prevents the bacteria from growing, ending the chlamydia infection and any unpleasant symptoms that it caused. Azithromycin is generally considered to be a safe and effective antibiotic and is widely prescribed to treat chlamydia. Despite its almost complete success rate, you may be advised to have another test for chlamydia a few months after being treated.
Don’t Miss: Can You Get Chlamydia Medication Over The Counter
What Are The Long
If chlamydia is not treated, it can have negative long-term effects. Untreated chlamydia can affect the female reproductive organs through pelvic inflammatory disease, which can lead to inflammation of the fallopian tubes, uterus, and ovaries. This inflammation can cause an increased buildup of scar tissue, which can result in infertility.
In most cases, when chlamydia has damaged the reproductive organs, it is nearly impossible to reverse the changes. Women who reach this point may be unable to conceive in the future. Besides causing infertility, it can also lead to chronic pelvic pain and ectopic pregnancy.
Drug Resistance And Biopharmaceuticals
Natural biological materials and phytochemicals offer a wide range of compounds, such as flavonoids, coumarins, tannins, terpenoids, alkaloids, lipids, and peptides, many of which have been shown in vitro to exhibit antimicrobial as well as specific antichlamydial activity, and may prove to be sources of novel antichlamydial substances . However, even as researchers move forward with the identification and isolation of novel single compounds from natural materials, acquired drug resistance may still develop. To progress, it is likely that even with new natural compounds it will be necessary to employ an MDT approach. It is also important to consider that traditional formulations are natural examples of MDT, and the modern concept of MDT may help to explain how some traditional herbal formulations may be successful in treating various bacterial infections. Drug synergies may occur through the use of several compounds which exhibit inhibitory effects through various mechanisms of actions , and this may also lead to a reduction in the rate of acquired drug resistance. However, it seems that the microbial battle which has been playing out in nature throughout the evolutionary process will continue, and it is unclear whether it will ever be possible to identify a permanent single compound solution to the treatment of specific bacterial infections.
You May Like: When Do You Get Tested For Chlamydia
Read Also: How Soon Do You Get Symptoms Of Chlamydia
What Problems Can Happen
If it’s not treated, chlamydia can lead to:
- in girls: pelvic inflammatory disease , which can damage the reproductive system, making it hard or impossible for a woman to get pregnant later on
- in guys: swelling in the testicles and tubes at the back of the testicles, possibly preventing a man from fathering kids later on
- joint problems
Can You Get Chlamydia Treatment Online
Yes. You can request chlamydia treatment online from some online doctors and health services. These services are able to provide both discrete testing and treatment.
Some states offer free chlamydia test kits, which can be ordered online. Telehealth teams can also search locations near you to help arrange testing. If you have tested positive, online doctors can then prescribe antibiotics to your local pharmacy. .
Read Also: 2 Day Treatment For Chlamydia
Treatment Of Chlamydia Is There A Cure For Chlamydia
Chlamydia can be cured easily and effectively with simple antibiotics once it has been diagnosed. The treatment can consist of a single dose or last up to 2 weeks depending on the type of chlamydia. The infected person should not have penetrative sex until receiving a negative Chlamydia test at an after-treatment check-up. Both partners must be treated for chlamydia and undergo re-testing after 34 months.
How And When To Take It
Your dose of doxycycline depends on why you are taking it.
The usual dose is 100mg to 200mg once or twice a day. If youre taking doxycycline more than once a day, try to space your doses evenly throughout the day. If you take it twice a day, this could be first thing in the morning, and in the evening.
For preventing malaria, youll take 100mg once a day, usually in the morning. Start taking doxycycline 1 or 2 days before going to an area where there is malaria. Carry on for 4 weeks after leaving the area. Check with your doctor or pharmacist that doxycycline is the best medicine to prevent malaria in the country you are travelling to.
Don’t Miss: Chlamydia In The Throat Symptoms Female
How Is Chlamydia Diagnosed
There are a number of diagnostic tests for chlamydia, including nucleic acid amplification tests , cell culture, and others. NAATs are the most sensitive tests, and can be performed on easily obtainable specimens such as vaginal swabs or urine.43
Vaginal swabs, either patient- or clinician-collected, are the optimal specimen to screen for genital chlamydia using NAATs in women urine is the specimen of choice for men, and is an effective alternative specimen type for women.43 Self-collected vaginal swab specimens perform at least as well as other approved specimens using NAATs.44 In addition, patients may prefer self-collected vaginal swabs or urine-based screening to the more invasive endocervical or urethral swab specimens.45 Adolescent girls may be particularly good candidates for self-collected vaginal swab- or urine-based screening because pelvic exams are not indicated if they are asymptomatic.
NAATs have demonstrated improved sensitivity and specificity compared with culture for the detection of C. trachomatis at rectal and oropharyngeal sites.40 Certain NAAT test platforms have been cleared by FDA for these non-genital sites and data indicate NAAT performance on self-collected rectal swabs is comparable to clinician-collected rectal swabs. 40
You Can Get Chlamydia More Than Once
With some diseases, having one infection makes you immune to future infections. That’s not the case with chlamydia. If you engage in sexual activity with a person who has a chlamydia infection, you can get it again, even if you’ve just completed treatment for it.
“Both partners should be treated before reinitiating sexual intercourse to prevent relapse,” Schaffir says.
Recommended Reading: What Medicine Treats Gonorrhea And Chlamydia
What Should I Do If I Have Chlamydia
Chlamydia is easy to treat. But you need to be tested and treated as soon as possible.
If you have chlamydia:
- See a doctor or nurse as soon as possible. Antibiotics will treat chlamydia, but they will not fix any permanent damage to your reproductive organs.
- Take all of your medicine. Even if symptoms go away, you need to finish all of the antibiotics.
- Tell your sex partner so they can be tested and treated. If they are not tested and treated you could get chlamydia again.
- Avoid sexual contact until you and your partner have been treated and cured. Even after you finish your antibiotics, you can get chlamydia again if you have sex with someone who has chlamydia.
- See your doctor or nurse again if you have symptoms that dont go away within a few days after finishing the antibiotics.
How Is Chlamydia Transmitted
Sex without a condom or other barrier method and oral sex without a barrier method are the main ways a chlamydia infection can be transmitted.
Penetration doesnt have to occur to contract it. Touching genitals together may transmit the bacteria. It can also be contracted during anal sex.
Newborn babies can acquire chlamydia from their mother during birth. Most prenatal testing includes a chlamydia test, but it doesnt hurt to double-check with an OB-GYN during the first prenatal checkup.
A chlamydia infection in the eye can occur through oral or genital contact with the eyes, but this isnt common.
Its also possible to get a chlamydia infection in the anus. In this case, the main symptoms are often:
- discharge
- pain
- bleeding from this area
Having oral sex with someone who has the infection raises the risk of getting chlamydia in the throat. Symptoms can include a sore throat, cough, or fever. Its also possible to carry bacteria in the throat and not know it.
You May Like: What To Do If You Know You Have Chlamydia
Chlamydia Symptoms & Treatment
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.
You May Like: What Medication Is Used To Treat Chlamydia And Gonorrhea
Chlamydia Is Only Contagious From Person To Person
You can only get chlamydia by having intimate sexual contact with an infected person, not from casual contact, touching another persons clothing, or consuming contaminated food or water.
The chlamydia organism lives only in human cells and cannot be transmitted by external contact, such as towels or toilet seats, Schaffir says.
Recommended Reading: How Can You Get Gonorrhea And Chlamydia
Read Also: How To Check If You Have Chlamydia
Chlamydia Infection May Have Long
For women, the long-term effects of an untreated chlamydia infection may include:
- Severe infection with pain and fever requiring a hospital stay
- Pelvic inflammatory disease, an infection of the upper reproductive tract
- Scarring in the reproductive tract that causes infertility
- Higher risk of ectopic pregnancy
Men are less likely than women to have major health problems linked to chlamydia, although they can develop epididymitis, an inflammation of a structure within the testicles called the epididymis that can result in infertility.
A chlamydia infection can sometimes result in reactive arthritis in both men and women.
What Are The Treatments For Chlamydia
Antibiotics will cure the infection. You may get a one-time dose of the antibiotics, or you may need to take medicine every day for 7 days. Antibiotics cannot repair any permanent damage that the disease has caused.
To prevent spreading the disease to your partner, you should not have sex until the infection has cleared up. If you got a one-time dose of antibiotics, you should wait 7 days after taking the medicine to have sex again. If you have to take medicine every day for 7 days, you should not have sex again until you have finished taking all of the doses of your medicine.
It is common to get a repeat infection, so you should get tested again about three months after treatment.
Read Also: What Antibiotic Is Good For Chlamydia
How To Prevent Gonorrhea
Unfortunately, there are no drugs or vaccines that prevent gonorrhea. The best way to avoid gonorrhea is by employing safe sex practices, including the use of condoms. Getting a gonorrhea Infection does not protect you against future infections.
Gonorrhea is a common STI that is treatable. However, if you wait too long to get treatment, you run the risk of having serious complications, like scarring, PID, and possible future fertility issues. Know your STI status and encourage your sexual partner to do the same. Practicing safe sexual practices is the only way to prevent the transmission of gonorrhea.
When To See A Healthcare Provider
Its important to talk to your healthcare provider if you have any signs or symptoms of chlamydia, any other symptoms that concern you, or if you know or think youve been exposed to the infection.
According to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, women 25 and under and those who are sexually active should be screened for chlamydia every year, as should older women who have an increased risk of infection.
Screening for other STIs/STDs is important as well, as the risk factors for chlamydia also increase the likelihood of contracting these other infections. If you are treated for chlamydia, be sure to tell your healthcare provider if any symptoms persist.
Also Check: How Can A Man Catch Chlamydia
Recommended Reading: What Is Given To Treat Chlamydia
Can Chlamydia Be Cured
Yes, chlamydia can be cured with the right treatment. It is important that you take all of the medication your doctor prescribes to cure your infection. When taken properly it will stop the infection and could decrease your chances of having complications later on. You should not share medication for chlamydia with anyone.
Repeat infection with chlamydia is common. You should be tested again about three months after you are treated, even if your sex partner was treated.
How Are The Symptoms Of Chlamydia Different Depending On Your Sex
For men, most of the infections occur in the urethra, which is the tube that carries urine and sperm.
Symptoms of chlamydia in men include:
- Pain or burning when you urinate
- Tenderness or pain in the testicles
- Unusual itching around the opening of the penis
- Clear or coloured discharge from the urethra
- A low-grade fever.
In women, the most common infection appears in the cervix. This is the opening that connects the vagina to the uterus or the womb.
Symptoms of chlamydia in women include:
- Vaginal irritation or discharge
Also Check: Can Chlamydia Be Tested Through Blood
Also Check: When To Do Test Of Cure For Chlamydia
How Did I Get Chlamydia If I Didnt Cheat
You can get chlamydia if your partner had vaginal, oral or anal sex with someone who was infected and then had sex with you. People in relationships may have different ideas about what kinds of sexual contact counts as cheating, and this miscommunication can lead to infections. Communicate honestly with your partner about what sex youre having and what sex theyre having. Practice safer sex to reduce your risk of catching chlamydia, and get regularly screened to be sure.
A note from Cleveland Clinic
It can be embarrassing to talk about anything sex-related with your healthcare provider, including STI prevention. But your sex life is an important part of your health that your provider needs to know about to care for you. Not getting the treatment you need for chlamydia can pose serious risks to your health. Speak with your provider about getting regularly screened for chlamydia and other STIs to reduce your risks of complications. Practice safer sex to prevent the spread of chlamydia.