How Do I Know If I Have Chlamydia
You cant tell if you have chlamydia just by the way you feel. The only way to know for sure if you have chlamydia is to get tested whether or not you have symptoms.
If youre showing any signs of chlamydia, you should get tested. Testing is also a good idea if youve had unprotected sex or if a partner has chlamydia . In general, people who are sexually active should get tested for STDs, including chlamydia, about once a year. If youre pregnant, get tested for chlamydia at your first prenatal visit. Want to know if you should be tested for chlamydia? Check out this quiz to find out.
Chlamydia testing is pretty easy and painless. The best part about getting tested for STDs? Once you get it over with, it can really put your mind at ease. And if you DO have chlamydia, its best to know right away so you can take medicine and get better as soon as possible.
How You Prevent It
Remember to always practice safer sex and use condoms. This will lower the risk of getting chlamydia or other STIs.
If you find out that you have chlamydia, your partner need to be told that they could have an infection – even if there aren’t any symptoms. If you have concerns about telling your partner, contact a public health nurse.
The public health nurse can suggest ways to handle the situation or they will contact your partner for you. Of course, your name will be kept confidential.
You can get chlamydia from having vaginal, oral or anal sex without a condom, or sharing sex toys with an infected person.
How Do I Know If I Should Get Tested
Here are some instances that would help you figure if you need a screening test:
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Some Of The Best Home Chlamydia Tests
Below, we look at some testing options for individuals to consider. People can take several of the tests at home, whereas others require a lab visit.Please note that the writer of this article has not tried these products. All information presented is purely research-based and correct at the time of publication.
False Positive Vs False Negative Tests
A false positive result is when a test says that a person has a disease when they do not. Conversely, a false negative result is when a test says a person does not have a disease when they actually are infected.
Because STD tests arent perfect, people who design them often have to choose whether its better to have more false positive or more false negative tests. Which is better depends on the severity of the disease, and healthcare providers ability to treat it.
For example, imagine a non-contagious disease where treatment delay doesnt have any long-term consequences but the treatment itself is grueling. In this case, false positives are far worse than false negatives.
The disease isnt going to cause big problems if a case is missed. However, the treatment might be expensive or make people feel very sick. Therefore, its better to under-treat than over-treat.
On the other hand, if early treatment is important for good outcomes, the decision is different. False negatives will cause more significant problems. Healthcare providers dont want to miss an opportunity to treat a condition early. Thats true even if they accidentally treat some people who dont have the disease.
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What Are The Symptoms And When Should You Test
The majority of people affected experience no symptoms, but in some cases, it can cause pain when passing urine, a change in discharge from the penis or vagina, pelvic pain or bleeding between periods or after sex. Chlamydia symptoms can occur at any time, from a few days to many months or even years after infection.
It can take 1 to 2 weeks to show up in tests, from the time of infection, therefore we would recommend waiting at least 2 weeks before you test for chlamydia after having unprotected sex with a new partner.
It can take up to 2 weeks for chlamydia to show up in tests
How Do You Test For Oral Chlamydia
This test does not check for oral chlamydia . But, we also offer an Oral Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea Test, which can detect chlamydia in the mouth and throat.
The Oral chlamydia and Gonorrhoea Test is easy to use and is between 91% and 100% sensitive at picking up infections. You take the test using an oral swab which you then send off in the post.
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What Do I Need To Know About The Testing Process
No matter your sex assigned at birth, gender identity, expression or sexual orientation, if you feel more comfortable with someone else in the room during your examination, tell your health care provider. Everything you discuss with your health care provider is confidential.
They can’t discuss things with anyone unless they:
- have your permission
- are making a referral that you’ve agreed to
- are concerned you may not understand medical advice given or the consequences of your decisions
- suspect child abuse, which they’re required to report to a child protection agency
Positive test results for chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV are reported to your local public health department. However, your personal information isn’t given out to the health department or anyone else, and no one will know you have the infection except you, your health care provider and public health nurse. A nurse may contact you to offer to help with telling your current and past partners that they need to be tested.
Search For Low Cost Or Free Std Testing Locations Belows
If you think you need to be tested for STDs, we can help you find a testing center near you. Public testing is widely available mainly because of the easy-to-access county, state or city resources. However, there may be less privacy, pricing can be income dependent and wait times may be higher.
There are also thousands of private labs in the United States, such as Quest Diagnostics or LabCorp, which you may also be familiar with. The appointments are fast, results usually arrive within 1-2 days and nobody knows why youre visiting so they offer more privacy. These labs have upfront transparent pricing but may end up costing a bit more than the public ones depending on your income.
Use our search and filters below to determine what works best for you.
Looking for a different city or location?
Test Type
Try above search to get nearest location around you.
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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 don’t go away within a few days after finishing the antibiotics.
Public Vs Private Std Testing
Public Testing
- Low-cost or even free, depending on income
- Oral testing often available in addition to traditional tests
- May be able to speak to someone in person about test results
- Instant tests may be available
Cons
- Lack of privacy in public waiting rooms
- Results can take up to 2 weeks
- Walk-ins arent always seen
- Wait times can be up to 2 to 3 hours, even with an appointment
- Business hours often vary
- Not all public clinics are staffed to provide counseling, except with an appointment, due to budget cuts
Private Testing
- Nobody may know why youre visiting, making it more private than some public clinics.
- Results usually take 1 to 2 business days
- Greater variety of STD tests available
- Easy access to a confidential doctor consult by phone and prescription treatment, if needed.
- Usually no anal testing required
Cons
- Can sometimes be more expensive than public testing, depending on income
- Clinics are not always available in your area
- Health insurance may not be accepted
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Why Should I Get Tested
Almost all STIs go undetected. Even though chlamydia can be easily treated, due to the lack of visible symptoms, the younger population often ignore it or have no idea they have it. Individuals who often change partners are exposed to chlamydia and other STIs as well, such as gonorrhea and syphilis.
If left untreated, its incredibly easy to transmit this infection onto your partner and cause numerous problems that can later affect your health.
Home Testing Kits Are The Solution
Home testing kits provide a discrete way for every individual to get tested for chlamydia without having to talk to their doctor face-to-face. Even though this method is not 100% accurate, it does provide a clear picture of your sexual health and whether or not you need medical assistance. Home testing kits for chlamydia are comfortable, convenient, often reliable, and a great way to monitor for STIs.
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How Will I Get My Results
It can take a few days to get your results from a swab test, similar to a Pap smear test in women. If youre a woman, you may also be able to obtain an at-home kit to do the vaginal testing on your own.
Your doctor will call you with the results of your test. Be sure you give your doctor your preferred phone number where you can have privacy, such as a mobile phone number. If you dont want them to leave you a voicemail, be sure you tell them before you leave your appointment.
A urine test is much faster to analyze. Your doctor should be able to tell you the results during the same day as your appointment. The downside is that urine tests may not be as accurate as traditional swab testing.
However, urine testing may be more suitable for men. Its also used for more advanced signs of chlamydia, as your body will have a greater number of bacteria to detect at this stage.
You can obtain a chlamydia test from:
- your primary doctor
- a home testing kit and service
find affordable testing
There are clinics that can perform chlamydia testing at a low cost. In some cases, you may obtain testing free-of-charge. You can find a clinic through the American Sexual Health Associations free locator here. All results are confidential.
Who Should Have A Test For Stis
The CDC advises that sexually active people have an STI test once a year. However, some people may have different testing requirements, so a doctor or another health professional may help determine which tests a person needs.
Some doctors suggest that people who may be at higher risk, such as during pregnancy or those with multiple or anonymous partners, may require more frequent testing.
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What To Think About
- If a chlamydia infection is suspected, do not have sexual intercourse until the test results have come back. If you have a chlamydia infection, do not have sexual intercourse for 7 days after the start of treatment. Your sex partner should also be treated for a chlamydia infection so that you don’t get reinfected and so that others don’t get infected.
- Only one laboratory test is needed to diagnose chlamydia. Your doctor can choose which test to use.
- Screening for and treating chlamydia can help prevent pelvic inflammatory disease . To learn more about the treatment of a chlamydia infection, see the topic Chlamydia.
- Other sexually transmitted infections may be present at the same time as chlamydia. So it is important to be tested and treated for all STIs. Chlamydia as well as other STIs can also increase the chance of getting human immunodeficiency virus . An HIV test may be offered at the same time as a test for chlamydia or other STIs.
How Often Should I Get Tested
The CDC recommends that sexually active women younger than 25 years old get tested for gonorrhea and chlamydia every year. Women 25 years and older with a new partner, multiple partners, or a partner who has an STI should also get tested annually.
Sexually active gay and bisexual men should be tested for syphilis, chlamydia, and gonorrhea annually. In cases of frequent sexual encounters with multiple partners, the CDC recommends testing every 3 to 6 months.
If youre experiencing any symptoms of an STI, you should get tested immediately.
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What Are Chlamydia And Gonorrhea
Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted disease, affecting both men and women all over the world. It is a bacterial infection, transferred when having unprotected sex: anal, vaginal and oral. It affects all ages and can be easily passed from an infected person to another. The only way to prevent it is by not having sex. Other preventive measures include using a latex condom, consistently, every time you have sex limiting the number of sex partners, getting checked regularly and avoiding douching. Gonorrhea, also, is a bacterial infection considered to be a sexually transmitted disease. It is normally spread through unprotected sex with an infected person, whether its oral, vaginal, or anal.
Chlamydia symptoms, very similar to the gonorrheas, can be numerous, ranging from an abnormal vaginal discharge, and itching as well as burning sensation in the vaginal area, to having bleeding between periods and feeling pain during sex and urination. For men, symptoms are different and consist of a cloudy discharge, burning and itching at the tip of the penis, as well as feeling some pain and swelling around the area of the testicles. While the symptoms of both STDs are similar, the treatment plan is different.
How Long Will It Take For Chlamydia To Show Up In Women
Symptoms of chlamydia in individuals with vulvaswill need around 1 to 3 weeks to show up, but sometimes it can take upto a couple of months. The reason for that is the bacteria. Bacteria is aliving organism, which means it will have an incubation period that willpredetermine its effect before the infection becomes a real problem.
The incubation period will vary depending ondifferent factors like:
- Howlong does it take for the chlamydia to reproduce
- Areyou exposed to a lot of bacteria
- Whereis the bacteria, does it infect the throat, anus, or genitals
- Isyour immune system well-equipped to protect itself against the bacteria
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Yes You Can Get Online Treatment For Chlamydia
Reviewed by Theresa H. Care Delivery Manager & Family Nurse Practitioner
Often called the silent STI chlamydia is a super common, highly treatable sexually transmitted infection . In fact, its the most commonly reported STI in the United States. Whether you want to get tested for chlamydia and other STIs or have a partner who recently tested positive, you can get the care you need online.
At Virtuwell, we have the answers and support you need to get diagnosed and treated for chlamydia discreetly, affordably and quickly.
Can I Get An Sti Without Intercourse If We Are Just Fooling Around
Yes, you can get some STI just by intimate skin-to-skin touching or kissing of an infected area.
All kinds of sex, including oral, vaginal and anal intercourse, can transmit infections. They’re also contracted through body fluids like blood, semen, saliva, vaginal secretions and breast milk.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re heterosexual, gay, bisexual, transgender, two-spirit or questioning. STI can be transmitted by anyone.
Drugs and/or alcohol can impair judgement and lead to risky behaviour. When you or your partner are impaired and ‘caught up in the moment’, you may be more likely to have sex without a condom and take other risks that can increase your exposure to STI and unplanned pregnancy.
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Most STI have no obvious symptoms , so you may not know if you or your sexual partner has an infection. That’s why practising safer sex and getting tested regularly is so important.
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