STDs that may show signs and symptoms soon after exposure include herpes and gonorrhea. Chlamydia, which is the most commonly reported sexually transmitted disease, may be reactive the next day; however, chlamydia has the ability to remain dormant for years.
Symptoms can develop within a few days or weeks, but sometimes they do not appear until months or even years later. Often there are few or no symptoms and you may not know you have an STI. If there's any chance you have an STI, go to a sexual health clinic or GP for a free and confidential check-up.
Depending on the specific pathogen (disease-causing organism) symptoms of STD may appear within four to five days — or four to five weeks. Some infections might yield noticeable symptoms even months after the initial infection.
Most STDs show symptoms within 3 to 10 days after exposure. The major exception to that “3 to 10 days” timeframe is herpes. “Ulcers for herpes could occur weeks, months, or even years after exposure,” Ghanem says.
Most tests can detect the infection within 5 days to 2 weeks of exposure. If a test is negative shortly after exposure, a doctor may recommend retesting 2 weeks later, particularly if a person has symptoms. Gonorrhea symptoms usually appear from 1 day to 2 weeks after exposure.
Chlamydia Incubation Period: The incubation period of Chlamydia ranges between 7 and 21 days for those who will show related symptoms. Chlamydia Window Period: the window period of chlamydia is between 1 and 5 days.
Most women with gonorrhea don't have any symptoms. If you do get symptoms, they usually show up between 2 and 14 days after having sex with someone who's infected. Symptoms can also show up weeks later.
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.
You can get a chlamydia test at any time – although you might be advised to repeat the test later on if you have it less than 2 weeks since you had sex because the infection might not always be found in the early stages.
Chlamydia Can Show On A Test Seven Days After Exposure
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently estimated that there are currently 110 million cases of STIs in the United States alone.
Symptoms of gonorrhoea usually develop within about 2 weeks of being infected, although they sometimes do not appear until many months later. About 1 in 10 infected men and 5 in 10 infected women will not experience any obvious symptoms, which means the condition can go untreated for some time.
Practice Abstinence
The surest way to avoid STDs is to not have sex. This means not having vaginal, oral, or anal sex.
You're having unprotected sex.
Here's how long after exposure we can get a reliable test result: 2 weeks: gonorrhea and chlamydia (and a pregnancy test too!) 1 week to 3 months: syphilis. 6 weeks to 3 months: HIV, hepatitis C and B.
If you test for an STD too early and the incubation period is not over yet, you may test negative for the disease even if you do have it. In addition, even after the incubation period has passed, there are some STDs that can take months or years to produce symptoms.
Whether or not symptoms are present, testing or screening for chlamydia can be done as early as 24 hours after exposure.
As long as you're sexually active, you should be tested for STDs at least once a year. If you have more than one partner, share intravenous (IV) needles, or don't always practice safer sex by using a condom each time you have intercourse, you should be tested every three to six months.
Typical symptoms of gonorrhoea include a thick green or yellow discharge from the vagina or penis, pain when peeing and, in women, bleeding between periods. But around 1 in 10 infected men and almost half of infected women do not experience any symptoms.
Signs of STD symptoms in women:
Discharge (thick or thin, milky white, yellow, or green leakage from the vagina) Vaginal itching. Vaginal blisters or blisters in the genital area (the region covered by underwear) Vaginal rash or rash in the genital area.