It is not possible to know exactly how long you have had chlamydia, because the infection often has no symptoms and a test cannot determine the duration of the infection.
Can you tell how long you've had chlamydia? For most people, symptoms of chlamydia show up between one week and three months after unprotected sex. But, it can take longer than three months. Your healthcare provider may learn more about the infection when they diagnose it.
You may need to be tested again after treatment to check you no longer have chlamydia. If you're pregnant, you'll be tested again 4 weeks after treatment.
Doxycycline is an antibiotic tablet that can be taken to treat chlamydia. A 7-day course is up to 95% effective at clearing the infection. Doxycycline is a generic medication, and the usual dose for chlamydia is one 100mg capsule taken twice a day for 7 days.
If you don't treat your infection, there is an increased risk of permanent damage to the reproductive organs. A long-term chlamydia infection may also increase your chances of contracting other STIs and more severe medical conditions like HIV.
A significant number of men do not typically show symptoms for STDs such as chlamydia although they are very capable of spreading the disease. 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.
The general rule is: The quicker you treat it, the better. However, the fact that you have had chlamydia for several years does not necessarily mean that you are infertile. Many people carry the bacteria for a long time without suffering consequences.
Only antibiotics can destroy the bacteria that cause chlamydia. To make sure you don't pass the infection on, it's important to stop having sex until the end of the treatment. If you take a one-day course of treatment, you shouldn't have sex for one week afterwards.
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.
Symptoms of Chlamydia trachomatis infection can include:
If you follow the instructions and take it correctly it should treat the infection. Sometimes, you might need to do another chlamydia test 6 weeks after you've had treatment. This is to check that you no longer have the infection. It's sometimes called a 'test of cure'.
Chlamydia is known as a “silent” infection because most infected people have no symptoms. If symptoms do occur, they may not appear until several weeks after exposure.
A person can spread the disease from the time he/she is infected with chlamydia, until properly treated. Re-infection is common if partners are not adequately treated in a timely manner.
Most people who have chlamydia do not have any symptoms. This means you or your partner can be infected for months or years without knowing. If you do get symptoms, they usually appear 2 – 14 days after you have had unprotected sex.
Chlamydia can infect the cervix, urethra, anus, throat and eyes. Chlamydia is effectively treated with antibiotics. If left untreated, chlamydia can cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) in people with a vagina and lead to chronic pain and infertility.
Overall, chlamydia can come back for various reasons, including inadequate treatment, reinfection, and immune system issues. To reduce your risk of recurrence, it's important to practice safe sex, get tested regularly, and communicate with your sexual partners about any STDs you may have or have had in the past.
Chlamydia can cause eye infection, such as inclusion conjunctivitis or trachoma, and if left untreated, it could lead to permanent damage like corneal scarring and blindness. Chlamydia can also cause trachoma, which is responsible for over 6 million cases of blindness worldwide.
If you still have symptoms after treatment, they are probably from another chlamydia infection rather than from a failed treatment. To prevent reinfection, sex partners need to be checked and treated. Some doctors recommend retesting 3 to 12 months after treatment.
A urine test is about 87% accurate, but a swab test is about 94% accurate.
Chlamydia is a bacterial infection (like strep throat or an ear infection), which means that once you've been treated and tested negative for it (to make sure the antibiotics worked), it's gone.