Would You Know If You Had Chlamydia

Youre Not Immune To Chlamydia Once Youve Had It

Once youve had some diseases, you cant catch them again. Unfortunately, this isnt true for chlamydia. Repeat chlamydia infections are common.

If youve had chlamydia in the past, you have no immunity against the infection. If youre sexually active with somebody who has the infection, you could catch it again. Since reinfection is common, you should get tested for chlamydia about three months after being treated for the infection.

Symptoms Of Genital Chlamydia

Some of the common symptoms of genital chlamydia include:

• A burning sensation during urination
• Rectal pain
• Pain or swelling in the testicles
• Pain during sex

Often people who have chlamydia in the mouth will not be aware of their condition due to the fact that they are not experiencing significant symptoms.

This is why it is so important to get tested as soon as you think you may have been exposed to the chlamydia. You could have no symptoms but continue to spread chlamydia onto other people.

In this case it is always better to be safe than sorry. Order a home STD test today.

Practice Safer Sex By Using A Condom

When used correctly, external and internal condoms help prevent the spread of many STIs during vaginal, anal and oral sex. Condoms are less effective at protecting against STIs transmitted by skin-to-skin contact, such as herpes simplex virus, genital warts ) and syphilis .

Important things to remember when using condoms:

• Check the condom package for damage. Do not use a damaged condom
• Check the expiry date. Do not use a condom after its expiry date
• Carefully open the package so that the condom does not tear. Do not use a condom that has been torn
• Keep condoms away from sharp objects such as rings, studs or piercings
• Store condoms at room temperature
• Use a new condom every time you have sex. Do not reuse condoms
• Do not use 2 condoms at once. Using 2 condoms together may result in a condom breaking
• Use only water-based lubricants with external latex condoms. Oil-based lubricants, such as petroleum jelly, lotion or baby oil, can weaken and destroy latex
• Water or oil-based lubricant may be used with polyurethane/nitrile condoms
• Use only condoms made of latex or polyurethane/nitrile/polyisoprene rubbers. Latex and polyurethane condoms are the best types of condoms to use to help prevent pregnancy and STIs.
• Avoid using condoms with spermicides containing nonoxynol-9 as it can irritate tissue and may increase the chance of getting an STI

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How Do You Treat Chlamydia In Men

If you test positive, the chlamydia treatment youll be prescribed is an antibiotic called doxycycline, or an alternative one if youre allergic to this. Its very important that you contact all previous partners and make them aware that they, too, may have contracted chlamydia. If youve been diagnosed with chlamydia, you can order your treatment online from our discreet service and have it delivered.

You Wont Immediately Know If You Or Your Partner Have Chlamydia

Chlamydia is a serious disease, but if you or your partner become infected, you might not know right away. Early-stage infections often dont cause symptoms. When symptoms do occur, they can be easily overlooked.

If you have unprotected vaginal, oral, or anal sex, you could get chlamydia. While its possible to get chlamydia through any of these sex acts, the risk varies depending on the type of sex youre having.

For most women with chlamydia, the infection doesnt cause any symptoms. About half of men dont experience symptoms, either. This is why its so important to get tested regularly. For sexually active women under 25, yearly testing is recommended. Women who are over 25 should get tested when they have new partners or have other risk factors for chlamydia.

If symptoms occur, they usually start one to three weeks after infection. In women, these symptoms may include vaginal discharge, pain during sex, or painful urination. For men, signs of chlamydia may include discharge from the penis or pain in the testicles. Since these symptoms are relatively mild, its easy to overlook them.

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How Can I Prevent Chlamydia

It’s easier to prevent an STI like chlamydia than it is to treat it:

• Don’t have more than one sex partner at a time. The safest sex is with one partner who has sex only with you. Every time you add a new sex partner, you are being exposed to all of the infections that all of their partners may have.
• Use a condom every time you have sex. Latex and polyurethane condoms keep out the viruses and bacteria that cause STIs.
• Be responsible. Don’t have sex if you have symptoms of an infection or if you are being treated for an STI.
• Wait to have sex with a new partner until both of you have been tested for STIs.

Can Women Who Have Sex With Women Get Chlamydia

Yes. It is possible to get chlamydia, or any other STI, if you are a woman who has sex only with women. Chlamydia lives in the reproductive tract of an infected woman and can pass to a sex partner, whether male or female.

Talk to your partner about her sexual history before having sex, and ask your doctor or nurse for an STI test if you are at risk.

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How Long Can You Have Chlamydia Without Knowing Years Or Months

How long can you have chlamydia without knowing is a common question after an unprotected sexual contact.

What is chlamydia infection?

Chlamydia infection, caused by Chlamydia trachomatis, is a common sexually transmitted infection that affects both men and women. In the united stated, more than 1.4 million new cases of chlamydia are detected yearly.

Chlamydia can affect the eyes , the joints, the vagina, anus and the penis. It may sometimes cause infertility if left untreated in men and women.

In women, chlamydia infection can ascend up the genital tracts resulting to pelvic inflammatory disease with symptoms like fever, abdomen pain and difficulty conceiving.

Chlamydia trachomatis infection is transmitted through

• Unprotected anal intercourse

If youve had intercourse with these symptoms, then its likely you have chlamydia. You should inform your doctor ASAP or get a chlamydia test kit to detect chlamydia.

Can Chlamydia Go Away And Come Back

If youve had unprotected intercourse, its likely you may not have chlamydia if your partner is not infected. If treated chlamydia can go away and not come back if you abstain or ensure protected sex.

However, dont assume chlamydia will go away without taking medications. You may not have symptoms immediately and may still have chlamydia long-term problems.

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Can You Get Chlamydia In Mouth

Can you get chlamydia in your mouth?

Though it is less common to get chlamydia in your mouth and throat, it is possible.

Chlamydia may be transmitted when someone performs oral sex on someone who has genital chlamydia It is also possible for someone who has chlamydia in the throat to give it to another person via oral sex.

Chlamydia is most commonly spread through unprotected anal, vaginal and/or oral sex.

Its also important to note that contact with chlamydia bacteria from one location to another can lead to the transmission. For example, it would be possible to get anal chlamydia if a person living with vaginal or penile chlamydia used toilet paper in an infected area and then later wiped a non-infected area.

Oral sex is a less common route of transmission, or in other words, chlamydia is less likely to be transmitted during oral sex. The bacteria associated with chlamydia generally targets warm and moist environments such as the genitals. Chlamydia bacteria is more likely to thrive in the genital areas.

Read: What are the symptoms of 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.

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Chlamydia Can Sometimes Go Away On Its Own

Some diseases and infections can go away on their own, so its not surprising that people wonder: does chlamydia go away on its own? The truth is, it sometimes does. In about 20% of people who have no symptoms, chlamydia may resolve spontaneously without treatment. It means that under certain circumstances host immune responses can control chlamydia naturally.

Untreated chlamydia can go on without any symptoms for a long period of time. Thats why its so important to get tested and catch it early. When chlamydia isnt treated, it can cause a number of serious complications. In women, the infection can spread to the uterus and uterine tubes, while in men, it can spread to the prostate gland. Chlamydia can also cause reactive arthritis, which affects your joints and eyes.

When chlamydia isnt treated, it can cause a number of serious complications.

Some people claim that chlamydia can be treated with home remedies like garlic and turmeric, but these methods are unproven and should be avoided. The only proven cure for chlamydia is treatment with antibiotics, which usually clear up the infection in a week or two.

Chlamydia Can Lead To Infertility

A lot of us don’t realize that some sexually transmitted diseases can cause no symptoms, meaning you could have an STD and not know it. And some STDs can silently lead to infertility, ectopic pregnancy, or chronic pelvic pain.

Chlamydia is one of those diseases. CDC estimates that more than 2.8 million people are infected each year.

Chlamydia is most common in sexually active young adults. More than half of all infections involve people ages 18 to 24. You can get chlamydia during oral, vaginal, or anal sexual contact with an infected partner. The disease can cause penile discharge in men and infertility in women. It can also cause serious health problems in newborn babies of infected mothers.

Many women, and some men, are infected with chlamydia but don’t know it. Even without symptoms, the disease can cause complications, particularly infertility. The longer the infection is untreated, the more damage that can be done.

If symptoms do show up, they usually occur within weeks of exposure. Men and women may face painful urination, an abnormal discharge from the urethra, or both. Women also may have abdominal pain, bleeding, and an abnormal discharge from the vagina. Symptoms usually appear within one to three weeks after being infected and may be very mild.

In pregnant women, chlamydia can cause premature delivery, the CDC says. A child born to an infected woman can develop an infection in their eyes and respiratory tracts.

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Does Discharge From Your Penis Mean You Have Chlamydia

Not necessarily the presence of a white, cloudy or watery discharge from the end of your penis is a symptom of chlamydia in men. However, discharge can also be a sign of other issues such as:

• a urinary tract infection
• genital herpes

In cases of chlamydia other symptoms which may occur alongside penile discharge include:

• Pain when you pee
• Burning or itching in the tube that carries urine out of your body
• Painful testicles

If you have discharge it may be:

• Watery
• White
• Yellow and pus like

No discharge doesnt mean no chlamydia it’s important to remember that most cases of chlamydia are symptom-free, particularly in men. If you’ve had unprotected sex, i.e. you didnt use a condom, there’s every possibility you could have caught chlamydia. You should get tested even if you have no symptoms, so you can be sure. If chlamydia is left untreated it can cause serious health complications, including some that could affect your fertility.

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.

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Can Chlamydia Lie Dormant And Not Show Up On A Test

A significant number of men do not typically show symptoms for STDs such as chlamydia although they are very capable of spreading the disease. Even though they are generally asymptomatic or dormant, they will still test positive for the STD. Most STDs that are in a dormant stage can be detected with a test.

What To Think About

Some people who have chlamydia may also have gonorrhea. In that case, treatment includes antibiotics that kill both chlamydia and gonorrhea. For more information, see the topic Gonorrhea.

Reinfection can occur. Symptoms that continue after treatment are probably caused by another chlamydia infection rather than treatment failure. To prevent reinfection, sex partners need to be evaluated and treated.

Repeated chlamydia infections increase the risk for pelvic inflammatory disease . Even one infection can lead to PID without proper treatment. Make sure to take your antibiotics exactly as prescribed. Take the full course of medicine, even if you feel better in a couple of days.

Some doctors recommend retesting 3 to 12 months after treatment to reduce the risk of complications from reinfection.footnote 4

If you have chlamydia, your doctor will send a report to the state health department. Your personal information is kept confidential. The health department may contact you about telling your sex partner or partners that they may need treatment.

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How Do You Test For Chlamydia

Nucleic Acid Amplification The three NAA tests described below work by finding the DNA of chlamydia bacteria. Because NAA tests search for the bacterias genetic material, it is very unlikely that a false-positive test result will occur. The incubation period for chlamydia is 1-5 days, so wait at least five days after potential chlamydia exposure before getting tested to ensure the most accurate results possible.

Urine samples

• Testing via urine samples needs to consist of first-catch urine . Patients should not include more than the first-catch in the collection cup to avoid diluting the sample.
• Patients should not urinate for at least one hour prior to providing a sample.
• Female patients should not cleanse the labial area prior to providing the specimen.

Swab cultures

• Neonates conjunctival swab

Why shouldnt you get tested for chlamydia via a blood test?

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay Antibodies, IgM

• IgM antibodies are found mainly in the blood and lymph fluid they are the first antibody to be made by the body to fight a new infection.
• This blood samples results should not be used as a diagnostic procedure without confirmation of the diagnosis by another medically established diagnostic product or procedure.

Enzyme immunoassay Antibodies, IgG

• IgG antibodies are the most abundant type of antibody they are found in all body fluids and protect against bacterial and viral infections.

How Long Until Chlamydia Causes Damage

Symptoms usually appear within one to three weeks after being infected and may be very mild. If not treated, chlamydia can lead to damage to the reproductive system. In women, chlamydial infection can spread to the uterus or fallopian tubes and cause pelvic inflammatory disease , according to the CDC.

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What Are The Potential Complications

If treated in time, chlamydia causes no lasting concerns. Untreated chlamydia can lead to complications as the infection spreads to other areas of the body.

Untreated chlamydia may cause sexually-acquired reactive arthritis, which includes skin, eye and joint problems. It is also associated with a higher chance of getting HIV.

In women, complications may include difficulty getting pregnant, ectopic or tubal pregnancy or pelvic inflammatory disease . See HealthLinkBC File #08c Pelvic Inflammatory Disease for more information.

In men, complications may include an infection in the testicles, which can lead to infertility.

Frequently Asked Questionsexpand All

• What is a sexually transmitted infection ?

  A sexually transmitted infection is an infection spread by sexual contact. There are many STIs. This FAQ focuses on chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis. These STIs can cause long-term health problems and problems during pregnancy. Having an STI also increases the risk of getting human immunodeficiency virus if you are exposed to it.

• What is chlamydia?

  Chlamydia is the most commonly reported STI in the United States. Chlamydia is caused by a type of bacteria, which can be passed from person to person during vaginal sex, oral sex, or anal sex. Infections can occur in the mouth, reproductive organs, urethra, and rectum. In women, the most common place for infection is the cervix .

• What are the risk factors for chlamydia?

  The following factors increase the risk of getting chlamydia:

• Having a new sex partner

• Having more than one sex partner

• Having a sex partner who has more than one sex partner

• Having sex with someone who has an STI

• Having an STI now or in the past

• Not using condoms consistently when not in a mutually monogamous relationship

• Exchanging sex for money or drugs

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