Certain STIs will show up on a test within a couple of weeks of infection, while others will take much longer. This means if you test too early for certain STIs, the infection might not show up. In other words, it's possible to have an STI even if you tested negative the first time.
This is because the bacteria needs enough time to multiply within your body in order for it to reach a detectable level when taking a chlamydia test. For chlamydia this is often 14 days. If you test before that 14 days is over, you may test negative, but you could still pass the bacteria on following your test.
However, STD tests aren't perfect. It is possible to get a negative test result and still have an STD. Given the potential impact of some STDs—from genital warts to fertility issues to cancer and more—it may seem unlikely that you could have one and not know it. But very often, that's the case.
The most common way to get false negative chlamydia and gonorrhea tests would be from testing too soon after you had sex or by urinating too soon if testing with the urine test. With gonorrhea, most results are accurate after 7 days. With chlamydia, most results are accurate after 2 weeks but it can take up to 6 weeks.
Your STD test results may indicate “reactive,” “not-detected,” “non-reactive” or a reference range. Not detected and non-reactive mean the STD was not detected in your system. The reference range indicates whether the STD value is high enough to be considered positive; if not, it returns negative.
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.
No STD test can claim it is accurate 100% of the time. Urine testing is currently primarily used to detect bacterial STDs, such as chlamydia and gonorrhea. These tests can identify bacterial DNA usually within hours.
These tests have limits. For example, if a person gets a blood test too soon after an infection, the result could be wrong. A wrong result is also possible when the person has a low risk of infection. If you're sexually active, talk openly and honestly with your provider about testing for herpes and other STIs.
If the test says that you do not have chlamydia, this result is accurate for around 99 in every 100 people. On the other hand, if the test says that you do have chlamydia, this result is accurate for at least 90 people in every 100.
Chlamydia Dormancy Facts
Although some symptoms can appear within weeks of contact, there have been reports of chlamydia remaining dormant for over twenty years. If you have had recent sexual contact and wonder about chlamydia infections, don't hesitate to test. Listen to your body.
Depending on the type of test, it can take days or weeks for a person infected with gonorrhea to test positive. For this reason, a negative result does not rule out a gonorrhea infection if the test is taken too soon after potential exposure.
Urinating within 1 to 2 hours of collecting the urine sample may affect the results. Taking antibiotics can also affect your test results. If you are female, your test results could be affected by douching or using vaginal creams within 24 hours of testing.
The two sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) medical providers can detect using a urine test are chlamydia and gonorrhea.
Do normal blood tests show STDs? A normal blood test is typically a complete blood count (CBC), which can indicate a possible presence of a sexually transmitted disease or infection based on the patient's white or red blood cell level.
A urinalysis can give clues to the presence of sexually transmitted infections. A positive dipstick for leukocyte esterase or increased numbers of white blood cells in the microscopic exam is suggestive of chlamydia or gonoccocal infection.
How soon after I had sex can I get tested for STDs? It depends. 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.
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.
If 2 people who don't have any STDs have sex, it's not possible for either of them to get one. A couple can't create an STD from nothing — they have to get spread from one person to another.
Some refer to chlamydia as a “silent” infection. This is because most people with the infection have no symptoms or abnormal physical exam findings.
It is often difficult to detect chlamydia without routine or regular testing due to the prevalence of asymptomatic cases. Chlamydia is sometimes referred to as a silent STD because it can lie dormant for long periods.
New diagnostic accuracy studies without major methodological limitations indicated that false-positive rates for gonorrhea and chlamydia were 3 percent or less, and false-negative rates ranged from 0 to 9 percent for gonorrhea and 0 to 14 percent for chlamydia across all NAATs and specimen types.