What Is Chlamydia And How Do You Get It

Your 7 Home Chlamydia Test Options

There are seven testing options available for people who want to screen for chlamydia from home.

1. Test for Chlamydia and Gonorrhea

This is the most basic Chlamydia test available. This option is perfect for those have been, and believe to have been, exposed to this specifically one of these two infections.

2. Test for Oral, Rectal and Genital Chlamydia Infections

Contrary to many peoples beliefs, taking a standard chlamydia test does not guarantee a proper diagnosis. In fact, a false diagnosis is actually quite likely. You see, people who practice oral and anal sex need to use a specialized type of chlamydia test. An Extragenital test will screen for the infection in the genitals, mouth and rectum. Luckily, this three-site Extragenital test is one of the seven at-home chlamydia test options available through myLAB Box.

3. Test for Causes of Abnormal Vaginal Discharge

The V-Box tests for all common causes of abnormal vaginal discharge: yeast, bacterial vaginosis, trichomoniasis, chlamydia, gonorrhea.

4. Test for the Basics

myLAB Boxs Safe Box checks for the five sexually transmitted infections that are vital to test for: HIV , Chlamydia, Gonorrhea and Trichomoniasis.

5. Test with myLAB Boxs Most Popular Test

The Uber Box, myLAB Boxs most popular product, screens for eight common infections, including HIV , Hepatitis C, Herpes Simplex Type II, Syphilis, Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, and Trichomoniasis.

6. Test with Your Partner

7. Test with myLAB Boxs Most Comprehensive Option

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

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.

Also Check: What Are Symptoms Of Chlamydia In Males

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.

Can You Get Chlamydia Not Sexually

Chlamydia is a common STD or sexually transmitted infection mediated by bacteria named chlamydia trachomatis. Both men and women are affected by this infection. It possesses serious potentials to damage the female reproductive organs and can cause infertility. One can get this infection from an infected person through unprotected sex via vagina, anus or mouth. Unprotected sex is the prime and easy mode of transmission of chlamydia.

Also Check: How To Treat Chlamydia Without Insurance

What Can Happen If Chlamydia Is Not Treated

Untreated chlamydia can cause serious health problems in women, including:

• Pelvic inflammatory disease , an infection of a woman’s reproductive organs. PID can lead to chronic pelvic pain, pregnancy problems, and infertility . Untreated chlamydia is a common cause of PID. It affects about 10% to 15% of women with untreated chlamydia.4
• Increased risk of getting HIV from sexual activity

Chlamydia Symptoms And Treatment

Chlamydia usually has no symptoms meaning most people with the infection do not know they have it. It is passed on through vaginal, anal and oral sex without a condom or sharing unwashed sex toys with someone who has the infection.

If left untreated for a long time it can lead to serious health problems, if discovered early it is easily treated with a short course of antibiotics.

• The basics

Recommended Reading: What Antibiotics Do They Give You For Chlamydia

How Is Chlamydia Treated

Chlamydia can be cleared up with antibiotics in about a week or two. But dont stop taking your medication just because your symptoms improve. Ask your provider about what follow-up is needed to be sure your infection is gone after youve finished taking your medicine.

Part of your treatment should also include avoiding sexual activities that could cause you to get re-infected and ensuring that any sexual partners who may be infected also get treatment. You should:

• Abstain from sex until your infection has cleared up. Starting treatment doesnt mean that youre in the clear. Take all your medication as your provider directs, and avoid all sexual contact in the meantime.
• Contact all sexual partners. Tell any sexual partners from the last 3 months that youre infected so that they can get tested, too.
• Get tested for other STIs . Its common to have multiple STIs, and its important to receive treatment thats tailored to each infection.

Antibiotics can get rid of your infection, but they cant reverse any harm the bacteria may have caused to your body before treatment. This is why its so important to get screened regularly for chlamydia, to see your provider at the first sign of symptoms, and get treatment immediately if youre infected.

Self Checks And At Home Tests

If you think you may have chlamydia, you may want to go over a symptom checklist. Common signs and symptoms of chlamydia may include discharge from the penis or vagina, a burning feeling while you pee, and/or pain in the rectum and/or testicles.

Because many individuals don’t show any symptoms, ordering an at home STI test may be a good first step. You may want to do so if you are nervous to speak with your healthcare provider about your sexual history, the medical office is far, or if it is difficult to get an appointment.

Research done by individuals from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that:

• More people are likely to get tested using at home tests
• The majority of people prefer to take an STI test at home rather than at a medical office
• The majority of healthcare providers surveyed would be willing to use these at home tests in their office as an STI screening tool, which suggests their comparable accuracy to the traditional tests done in medical offices

Another study supports this accuracy claim when vaginal swabs are self collected from assigned females and urine samples are self collected from assigned males.

Keep in mind that these tests are not FDA approved. However, there are companies that have partnered with clinical laboratory improvement amendments, or CLIA certified labs, which meet federal regulations for diagnostic testing. Others also partner with CAP, or college of American Pathologists, certified labs.

Also Check: Chlamydia Urine Test At Home

Can You Get Chlamydia In Your Throat

Its possible, but not likely, that you could get chlamydia in your throat. To understand how or why it could happen, its important to consider how chlamydia is transmitted.

A person can get chlamydia when their mucus membranes, such as those of the vagina, penis, or rectum, come in contact with chlamydia bacteria. These bacteria enter the mucus membranes and multiply.

Chlamydia doesnt always cause symptoms. However, if not treated, the infection can result in damage that cant be reversed.

The most common way chlamydia is spread is through unprotected anal or vaginal sex. The bacteria typically infect and cause symptoms in the location they first entered the body.

Its possible that chlamydia can be transmitted to your throat if you give oral sex to a partner who has contracted a genital chlamydia infection.

Additionally, getting oral sex from someone who has contracted a chlamydia infection of the throat can potentially transmit the bacteria to your genitals.

You cant get chlamydia mouth-to-mouth kissing.

For a reason doctors dont fully understand, chlamydia bacteria more easily infect the groin area, such as the vagina, penis, or rectum, than the mouth.

• mouth sores that dont heal
• sores around lips and mouth

However, you can contract the infection in both the throat and genital area. In addition to a sore throat, you may have chlamydia symptoms in your genitals.

What Can Be Done To Prevent The Spread Of Chlamydia

• Limit your number of sex partners
• Use a male or female condom
• If you think you are infected or have been exposed, avoid any sexual contact and visit a local sexually transmitted disease clinic, a hospital or your doctor. Either bring your sex partners with you when you are treated or notify them immediately so they can obtain examination and treatment.

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Causes And Risk Factors

Chlamydia is an STI caused by a specific strain of bacteria known as Chlamydia trachomatis.

It is transmitted through vaginal discharge or semen, and can be transmitted through genital contact or oral, vaginal, or anal sex without a barrier method, like a condom.

Chlamydia is more common in women than in men. In fact, its estimated that the overall rate of infection is for women than men in the United States.

Some of the other risk factors for infection include:

• not using barrier methods like condoms consistently with new sexual partners
• having a sexual partner who is having sex with other people
• having a history of chlamydia or other STIs

Can You Get Chlamydia From Drinking After Someone

The belief that you can catch chlamydia from drinking after someone is a myth. In reality, theres no risk of catching the infection when sharing food, water, or cutlery.

You can only catch chlamydia during:

• Unprotected vaginal, oral, or anal sex.
• Sharing sex toys.
• Contact with the genitals of an infected partner.

Also Check: Symptoms Of Gonorrhea Or Chlamydia

Chlamydia From A Toilet Seat

Dear Alice,

Recently, someone in my hall told me that another girl who lives in our hall has chlamydia. I do not know if it is simply a rumor, but what she told me got me worried. I know chlamydia is a sexually transmitted disease, but is there any way I can get it from her considering the fact that we share the same bathroom? What are the ways in which I can get it from her? Could I maybe get it through the toilet if I sit on the toilet seat after she sat there? And, what exactly is chlamydia besides being an STD?

â Contagious?

Dear Contagious?,

The short answer is no you can get Chlamydia from John but not from using the john. Chlamydia, a common sexually transmitted infection , is caused by the bacteria Chlamydia trachomatis. The only way chlamydia is spread is by sexual contact â specifically, when infected fluids come into contact with mucous membranes. Both men and women can get chlamydia through vaginal, anal, and, less frequently, oral sex with an infected partner. Using a condom or dam during sex can reduce the risk of transmission. However, you cant get chlamydia by sharing the same bathroom or toilet seats with someone whos infected: the bacteria cant live for long outside of the body, and its pretty unlikely that a person could come into contact with someone elses body fluids, even in the bathroom.

What It Looks Like

Symptoms of oral chlamydia look very similar to tonsillitis or strep throat. The throat will be red, and the tonsils will be swollen. White spots might appear on the back of the throat. In addition, a person might feel swollen lymph nodes on the sides of the neck.

The most accurate way to know whether you have oral chlamydia is through swab testing. Testing for chlamydia outside of the genital area is not a routine part of STD screening, which means that throat infections can go undiagnosed and untreated.

Untreated chlamydia of the throat could be a reason for the ongoing spread of the disease.

Recommended Reading: How Effective Is Chlamydia Treatment

Female Complications Of Untreated Chlamydia

Some women develop PID, an infection that can damage the uterus, cervix, and ovaries. PID is a painful disease that often requires hospital treatment.

Infertility is also possible if chlamydia is left untreated because the fallopian tubes may become scarred.

During pregnancy, the infection can to babies during birth, which can cause eye infections and pneumonia in newborns.

How Does A Chlamydia Test Work

The most commonly used type of chlamydia test is called a Nucleic Acid Amplification Test . A NAAT detects the DNA of the bacteria that cause the chlamydia infection. You provide a sample of urine. Or your provider collects a sample of secretions from the vagina or urethra . The lab tests the sample for signs of the bacteria.

Less often, providers use a cell culture to test for chlamydia. Your provider swabs your vagina, urethra or anus to collect a sample of fluid and cells. They send the cells to a lab to test. If bacteria are present, they will grow, which indicates an infection. Providers may choose this type of chlamydia test to detect infections in the anus. Or they may use a cell culture to see how chlamydia treatments are working.

Read Also: How Long Can You Leave Chlamydia Untreated

How Does Someone Get Chlamydia

Chlamydia is passed through oral, anal, or vaginal sex. Chlamydia can be passed from one person to another even if the penis or tongue does not go all the way into the vagina or anus.Eye infections can occur when discharge caries the disease into the eye during sex or hand-to-eye contact.

Chlamydia can also be passed from mother to newborn as the baby passes through the infected birth canal. This can result in eye infections, pneumonia or other complications.

Getting A Medical Diagnosis

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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

Also Check: How Can You Contract Chlamydia

Signs And Symptoms Of Chlamydia

Chlamydia is known as one of the silent diseases which can produce no symptoms for a long period of time. Approximately 7095 percent of women and 50 percent of men with chlamydia do not observe chlamydia symptoms at all. The symptoms can also be mild and almost unnoticeable.

Another reason why symptoms are not the best way to determine the infection is that it is often confused with gonorrhea as the symptoms are very much alike. Asymptomatic nature of chlamydia makes it difficult to estimate how long a person remains infectious and this period is commonly believed to last until full recovery.

Chlamydia symptoms show up between 1 and 3 weeks after the contraction.

Also Check: Best Test For Chlamydia And Gonorrhea

How To Tell Your Partner You Have Chlamydia

The first thing you need to do when your test comes back positive is to tell your partner. Your sexual partner should know about the infection so that they too can be tested and treated. If you dont tell them about your condition, youre risking getting reinfected.

Here are some tips for handling the conversation:

• Educate yourself about the STD youve contracted so you can thoroughly explain to your partner what exactly you have, the treatment, and how you plan on keeping them safe.
• Inform your current or most recent sexual partner about a positive STD test by telling them face-to-face, or by calling them. Sending them a message is not the most respectful way.
• When telling them the news, stay calm and collected. Sit them down and tell them youve been tested. Tell them that the results are positive and discuss the next steps.
• Make sure you keep your partner from getting infected. Use condoms at all times, take antibiotics, and abstain from intercourse during your treatment.