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. If detected early, chlamydia may be treated with a single dose of antibiotics.
Chlamydia can be cured with antibiotics from a health care provider. 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).
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.
It may take upwards of a year for most people to develop PID, but others can develop it earlier, depending on the severity of the infection.
Chlamydial reinfections are very common—as many as 1 in 5 people will have a repeat infection with chlamydia within the first few months after they are treated for their initial infection.
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. If detected early, chlamydia may be treated with a single dose of antibiotics.
o It is very important to get tested again for chlamydia and/or gonorrhea about three months after you were treated in order to find any new infections early, before they do more harm to your body. You should get tested again even if you are sure that all of the people you are having sex with got medicine.
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.
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.
A positive test for chlamydia, gonorrhoea or mycoplasma genitalium supports the diagnosis of PID.
Flu-Like Symptoms: Fatigue, Fever, Nausea, Vomiting, or Headaches. Fatigue is a symptom of a late-stage chlamydial or gonorrheal infection. It can also be caused by Hepatitis A, B, and C.
If they do get symptoms, the most common include: Pain when urinating. White, cloudy, or watery discharge from the tip of the penis. Burning or itching in the urethra (the tube that carries urine out of the body)
Chlamydia can be cleared up with antibiotics in about a week or two. But don't stop taking your medication just because your symptoms improve. Ask your provider about what follow-up is needed to be sure your infection is gone after you've finished taking your medicine.
If left untreated, gonorrhea and chlamydia can cause serious permanent damage, including infertility (unable to get pregnant and have children). Informing your partners gives them the opportunity to get immediate testing, and if necessary, receive treatment.
Finding out whether you have had the infection in the past is trickier - the bacterium will probably disappear from your system within a year. However the disease may have left scars - and a doctor will be able to pick those up.
If one partner tests positive for chlamydia and the other does not, there are a few possible explanations: The positive test result could be incorrect. The negative test result could be incorrect. The chlamydia might not have transmitted from the person to their partner.
The most commonly used type of chlamydia test is called a Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT). A NAAT detects the DNA of the bacteria that cause the chlamydia infection. You provide a sample of urine.
Symptoms can occur within 2-14 days after infection. However, a person may have chlamydia for months, or even years, without knowing it.
They lack several metabolic and biosynthetic pathways and depend on the host cell for intermediates, including ATP. Chlamydiae exist as two stages: (1) infectious particles called elementary bodies and (2) intracytoplasmic, reproductive forms called reticulate bodies.
Chlamydia can eventually cause excessive damage and scarring to the fallopian tubes, ovaries, or testicles, all of which can contribute to a higher risk of infertility.
Chlamydia does not show in tests straight away. It can take up to 2 weeks (14 days) for it to show in test results. So to get an accurate result, you should wait at least 2 weeks (14 days) after sexual contact before you get a test.
It is also common to get chlamydia more than once, so it may be a repeat infection rather than treatment failure. It is also possible to have a false-positive test result shortly after treatment.
Persons with chlamydia should abstain from sexual activity for 7 days after single dose antibiotics or until completion of a 7-day course of antibiotics, to prevent spreading the infection to partners. It is important to take all of the medication prescribed to cure chlamydia.
But if you do have symptoms, you might notice: • An unusual discharge, with a strong smell, from your vagina. Discomfort when you urinate and when you have sex. Irritation or itching around your genitals. If the infection spreads, you might get lower abdominal pain, pain during sex, nausea, or fever.