It can take 3 months for HIV to show up on a test, but it only takes a matter of days to a few weeks for STDs like gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis to show up. Practicing safer sex lowers your chances of getting or spreading STDs.
It depends on which sexually transmitted infection (STI) you have. 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.
Chlamydia is a bacterial infection of your genital tract. Chlamydia may be difficult to detect because early-stage infections often cause few or no signs and symptoms.
Nearly every sexually active person will have HPV at some point. It is the most common sexually-transmitted infection in the U.S. More than 40 types of HPV can be spread sexually. You can get them through vaginal, anal, or oral sex.
Usually, this starts with a phone call from the clinic. If results are negative, you might be asked to be have tests again in 3–6 months. If results are positive, you'll be asked to see the doctor about treatment. Test results are usually available within 48 hours.
Several of the more than 20 types of STDs can lie dormant for months, years, or even decades. Dormant STDs and STIs highlight the importance of sexual health testing, as only a test can determine if an asymptomatic infection is present. Here are four of the most common STDs that can stay dormant.
In some cases, hepatitis B and C may not cause any obvious symptoms for years. If they do appear, hepatitis B usually produces signs within 6 weeks to 6 months. Hepatitis C symptoms may appear as early as 2–6 weeks, but can sometimes take as long as 6 months.
HPV is the most common STI in the United States, but most people with the infection have no symptoms. HPV can cause some health effects that are preventable with vaccines.
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.
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.
There may be an overload of samples. In the case of an initial positive, they run a retest (a differential) assuring false-positives aren't sent out. A delay in chlamydia and gonorrhea tests could be due to a lack of materials to sample.
The "window period" for the chlamydia and gonorrhea NAAT test is unknown. It may range from ~5 days up to 2 weeks. If patients have a known exposure, they should be tested and treated. If there was a risk exposure, they should be tested at time of visit.
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.
Asymptomatic STIs are more common than not. There is a very high prevalence of symptom-free sexually transmitted infections. People can be, and often are, living with an STI for many years without knowing it. During that time, if they're not careful, they can transmit the infection to some or all of their sex partners.
The upshot is that it's possible for some — not all — STDs to go away by themselves, but it's also possible for STDs to persist for months, years, or the rest of your life. If you could have been exposed to an STD, the best thing to do is get tested — not to hope that if you did get something, it'll just go away.
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. Even though the STD is asymptomatic doesn't mean that it is not present in your system or that it can not be spread through sexual contact.
All STI testing should include both HIV and syphilis testing. Repeat if recent exposure (6-week window period if Ag/Ab test). If recent exposure, repeat at 12 weeks and presumptively treat.
But, today many STIs can be diagnosed with blood tests, including genital herpes, HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis B. Even so, STIs like chlamydia, gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis require a swab for diagnosis. Swabs are also an option for syphilis and herpes.
This test detects a chlamydia infection, the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the United States. A chlamydia test looks for the bacteria that cause the infection (Chlamydia trachomatis). For this test, you provide a urine sample.
Some refer to chlamydia as a “silent” infection. This is because most people with the infection have no symptoms or abnormal physical exam findings.
Gonorrhea has progressively developed resistance to the antibiotic drugs prescribed to treat it. Following the spread of gonococcal fluoroquinolone resistance, the cephalosporin antibiotics have been the foundation of recommended treatment for gonorrhea.