Symptoms can occur within 2-14 days after infection. However, a person may have chlamydia for months, or even years, without knowing it.
However, it is possible for symptoms to develop months or even years after infection, especially if you develop complications such as Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (in women) or epididymitis (in men). In many people, chlamydia never causes any symptoms.
Chlamydia can lie dormant for months or years and it is often detected through screening and routine sexual health testing. If symptoms do develop, it usually takes 1-3 weeks after exposure to notice signs.
Chlamydia Dormancy Facts
Although some symptoms can appear within weeks of contact, there have been reports of chlamydia remaining dormant for over twenty years. If you have had recent sexual contact and wonder about chlamydia infections, don't hesitate to test.
However, STDs such as Chlamydia can often be asymptomatic. It is reported that nearly 75% of women and 50% of men are asymptomatic when infected with Chlamydia. To reduce the risk of transmission, it is important to regularly test for STDs, particularly if you have multiple sexual partners.
As most people do not have symptoms, it is possible the person (who tested positive) could have had chlamydia/gonorrhea from a previous relationship, and has not passed it to their partner yet. It is never 100% that you will pass an STI when you have sex.
Late-stage chlamydia refers to an infection that has spread to other parts of the body. For example, it may have spread to the cervix (cervicitis), testicular tubes (epididymitis), eyes (conjunctivitis), or throat (pharyngitis), causing inflammation and pain.
Symptoms can develop within a few days or weeks, but sometimes they do not appear until months or even years later.
Most people who have chlamydia don't know it. Often the disease has no symptoms. You can pass chlamydia to others without knowing it.
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.
Yes, Chlamydia can be dormant in the body for several years without any flare-up to trigger a symptomatic infection. This means a person could live with Chlamydia for many years without knowing because the typical symptoms don't appear.
At least half of all men with chlamydia don't notice any symptoms. If they do get symptoms, the most common include: pain when urinating. white, cloudy or watery discharge from the tip of the penis.
“You could have chlamydia for years and not know it,” Ravi says. “That's one of the scariest parts about it-people will say 'I haven't had sex in a long time' and I have to explain that they won't always have symptoms.”
Some refer to chlamydia as a “silent” infection. This is because most people with the infection have no symptoms or abnormal physical exam findings.
In some cases, a person may also have a false-negative test result. This can happen if they test too soon after exposure. For example, if a person tests the day after sex with a partner who has chlamydia, the bacteria may not have had the chance to grow to detectable levels.
People get STDs by having sex with someone who has an STD. Once you are infected, you can infect someone else. Both gonorrhea and chlamydia often have no symptoms. Sometimes only one partner will have symptoms, even though both have the disease.
Can you get an STI in a long term relationship? Yes! Even if you're in a long-term, monogamous relationship, it's possible for you or your partner to have a previously undiagnosed and untreated STI.
Latent STDs can cause someone to remain undiagnosed until symptoms begin to appear. This may put them at risk for long-term complications. Chlamydia, hepatitis C, HIV, HSV (herpes simplex virus), and syphilis can all have periods of latency.
However, if chlamydia is left untreated, it can cause permanent damage. Your risk of getting other STIs, like gonorrhea or HIV, increases. In males, untreated chlamydia can lead to sterility (inability to make sperm).
In women, untreated chlamydia can cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). Some of the complications of PID are: Formation of scar tissue that blocks fallopian tubes; Ectopic pregnancy (pregnancy outside the womb);
If left untreated, chlamydia can cause pelvic inflammatory disease in women, which can lead to chronic pain and infertility. In men, untreated chlamydia can cause pain and swelling in one or both testicles.
Can you develop a chlamydia infection on your own? Fortunately, you can't contract chlamydia on your own because it spreads through sexual contact with other people. Chlamydia bacteria does, however, thrive in vaginal fluid, semen, and pre-ejaculate (the fluids that the penis may release before sexual climax).
How did I get chlamydia if I didn't 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.