Most people who have chlamydia don't notice any symptoms. If you do get symptoms, these usually appear between 1 and 3 weeks after having unprotected sex with an infected person. For some people they don't develop until many months later. Sometimes the symptoms can disappear after a few days.
Symptoms can occur within 2-14 days after infection. However, a person may have chlamydia for months, or even years, without knowing it.
Sexually active young people are at a higher risk of getting chlamydia. This is due to behaviors and biological factors common among young people. Gay and bisexual men are also at risk since chlamydia can spread through oral and anal sex.
A doctor can test for chlamydia by swabbing the vagina, cervix, rectum, or throat, or by taking a urine sample. If symptoms appear, they usually present within 7–21 days of exposure. A test can normally detect chlamydia within 1–2 weeks of exposure.
Previous data suggest that females are more likely to contract Chlamydia trachomatis from infected males than males are likely to contract it from females.
Myth: You can't catch chlamydia if you've only had sex once. Fact: If you have sex once with a partner who's got chlamydia, you've got around a 30% chance that you'll pick up the infection from that one time.
Chlamydia. Symptoms usually appear after 1 to 3 weeks but can start much later.
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.
Although the symptoms of genital chlamydia differ slightly between people who have penises and those who have vulvas, the time it takes for the infection to show up is the same: Symptoms typically develop 7-21 days after contact with an infected partner.
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.
Unfortunately, chlamydia can return within a few months after treatment. Because of this, you should be checked again after your treatment is finished. Infected men and women who have no symptoms may pass the bacteria on to their sex partners without knowing it, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Chlamydia spreads through vaginal, anal, or oral sex with someone with the infection. Semen does not have to be present to get or spread the infection.
Apart from being infected at birth you can not catch chlamydia without performing some form of sexual act. However, you don't have to have penetrative sex to get infected, it is enough if your genitals come in contact with an infected person's sexual fluids (for example if your genitals touch).
How long can you have chlamydia for? An untreated chlamydia infection can persist for several years. Although this goes for both men and women, it is believed that men are less likely to carry the bacteria for several years. If you remain infected for a long time you have an increased risk of complications.
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.
If your partner has gonorrhea or chlamydia, is it possible to have unprotected sex and not get these infections? While it is possible to have vaginal, oral, or anal sex with an infected partner and not get infected, it's unlikely.
You can get chlamydia by having sex with someone who has it. “Having sex” means having anal, oral, or vaginal sex. If you are a pregnant woman who has chlamydia, you can pass the infection to your baby.
It takes 7 days for the medicine to work in your body and cure Chlamydia infection. If you have sex without a condom during the 7 days after taking the medicine, you could still pass the infection to your sex partners, even if you have no symptoms.
Chlamydia isn't spread through casual contact, so you CAN'T get chlamydia from sharing food or drinks, kissing, hugging, holding hands, coughing, sneezing, or sitting on the toilet. Using condoms and/or dental dams every time you have sex is the best way to help prevent chlamydia.
The bacteria are usually spread through sex or contact with infected genital fluids (semen or vaginal fluid). You can get chlamydia through: unprotected vaginal, anal or oral sex. sharing sex toys that are not washed or covered with a new condom each time they're used.
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.
If you have chlamydia, there is a 30% to 50% chance of your partner catching it every time you have unprotected sex. Since chlamydia often has no symptoms, you probably won't know whether your partner has it. Chlamydia can't spread from toilets, swimming pools or usual contact with people.