On the other hand, if you don't get tested or don't see a healthcare provider for treatment, chlamydia can live in the body for weeks, months, or even years without being detected. This can lead to long-term complications, including infertility.
The infection can spread into the uterus or fallopian tubes and cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). This happens in about 10 to 15 percent of women with untreated chlamydia. Pelvic inflammatory disease can result in serious complications (including infertility, ectopic pregnancy and long-term abdominal pain).
If chlamydia is left untreated, it can spread to the womb and cause a serious condition called pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). This is a major cause of ectopic pregnancy and infertility in women.
Symptoms can occur within 2-14 days after infection. However, a person may have chlamydia for months, or even years, without knowing it.
Chlamydiae exist as two stages: (1) infectious particles called elementary bodies and (2) intracytoplasmic, reproductive forms called reticulate bodies. The chlamydiae consist of three species, C trachomatis, C psittaci, and C pneumoniae.
There is no clear timeline on how long it may take for this to occur - while one study suggests that after exposure to the bacteria, it can take a few weeks for PID to develop, the NHS estimates that 1 in 10 women with untreated chlamydia could go on to develop PID within a year.
Early-stage Chlamydia trachomatis infections often cause few or no signs and symptoms. Even when signs and symptoms occur, they're often mild, making them easy to overlook. Signs and symptoms of Chlamydia trachomatis infection can include: Painful urination.
Chlamydia often has no symptoms, but it can cause serious health problems, even without symptoms. If symptoms occur, they may not appear until several weeks after having sex with a partner who has chlamydia. A burning sensation when peeing.
There is no time for how long a chlamydia infection must remain in the system to cause infertility, because every body is different. It can take from weeks to two years. Chlamydia can lead to infertility in women due to the amount of scarring it causes to their internal reproductive organs.
Untreated, about 10-15% of women with chlamydia will develop PID. Chlamydia can also cause fallopian tube infection without any symptoms. PID and “silent” infection in the upper genital tract may cause permanent damage to the fallopian tubes, uterus, and surrounding tissues, which can lead to infertility.
But any damage that may have been caused to the reproductive system cannot be reversed. This is why regular testing for chlamydia, and immediate treatment, is important.
If the infection spreads, you might get lower abdominal pain, pain during sex, nausea, or fever. The majority of chlamydial infections in men do not cause any symptoms. You can get chlamydia in the urethra (inside the penis), rectum, or throat. You may not notice any symptoms.
Is chlamydia serious? Although chlamydia does not usually cause any symptoms and can normally be treated with a short course of antibiotics, it can be serious if it's not treated early on. If left untreated, the infection can spread to other parts of your body and lead to long-term health problems, especially in women.
Chlamydia pneumoniae can infect the brain and has been linked to late-onset dementia. Chlamydia muridarum, which infects mice, is often used to model human chlamydial infections.
In the year after untreated chlamydia infection, 9.5% of women developed PID(8); however, as many as 30% of women have developed PID after concurrent gonococcal and chlamydial infection(9). Once women have PID, up to 15–20% subsequently develop infertility(7) with a large proportion of this infertility being TFI(10).
The main symptom of infertility is not getting pregnant. There may be no other obvious symptoms. Sometimes, women with infertility may have irregular or absent menstrual periods. In some cases, men with infertility may have some signs of hormonal problems, such as changes in hair growth or sexual function.
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.
How Long Ago Did I Get Chlamydia? The incubation of a Chlamydia infection is reported to be one to three weeks. It can take up to six weeks in some cases. From one perspective it would be great if one could count back a few weeks to find the culprit-partner.
It is intended for sex partners of persons who have Chlamydia infection. RESUMING SEXUAL ACTIVITY STOP having sex with others until you take the medicine, and DO NOT have sex for the next 7 days after taking the medicine. It takes 7 days for the medicine to work in your body and cure Chlamydia infection.
Leaving a chlamydia infection untreated for years increases the risk of developing serious complications such as pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and further infections. For women, PID can cause: scar tissue that blocks fallopian tubes. ectopic pregnancy.
Dr. White told me if men do have physical symptoms of gonorrhea and chlamydia, they're typically urine-related, like a burning sensation while peeing, frequent urination or a yellow-green discharge. But like in women, the symptoms in men aren't always visible.
Gonorrhea has more severe possible complications and is more likely to cause infertility. Like chlamydia, untreated gonorrhea can cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). Remember, PID can lead to: Ectopic pregnancy.