It's easy to test for chlamydia. Your doctor may ask you to have a sample taken from the vagina, cervix, throat, anus or penis. Or, you may be asked to produce a urine sample. Once the sample is collected, it is sent to a laboratory for testing.
If you want to get tested for an STI, or have a sexual health check-up, you can choose to find your own doctor or visit a sexual health clinic, family planning clinic, youth health centre, women's health centre or Aboriginal community controlled health services.
Chlamydia is the most frequently reported sexually transmissible infection in Australia.
A swab. A sample from the cervix, vagina, throat or anus is collected on a swab for testing. From the cervix, a member of your health care team collects a sample of the discharge from the cervix on a swab for testing.
A cervical swab provides the most sensitive and specific test result for Chlamydia, and has the added advantage of the physician being able to assess the patient's general genital health.
Chlamydia testing is most often performed using a sample of urine or a swab of fluid collected from the site of potential infection. Both urine and genital swab samples may be collected by you or your medical professional.
For chlamydia testing in men, the sensitivity and specificity were 88% and 99%. respectively, for urine samples compared to urethral samples. For gonorrhea testing in women, the sensitivity and specificity were 79% and 99%, respectively, for urine samples compared to cervical samples.
What is late-stage chlamydia? 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.
Cloudy urine. Abnormal vaginal discharge. Abnormal vaginal bleeding with intercourse or between periods.
Although chlamydia is highly contagious, it does not always transmit to a person's sexual partners. It is also possible to have a false-negative test result. Having more frequent sex with a partner who has chlamydia may increase a person's risk of contracting it.
Symptoms can occur within 2-14 days after infection. However, a person may have chlamydia for months, or even years, without knowing it.
Some GP practices, pharmacies, contraception clinics and young people's services may also provide testing for some STIs. Not everyone with an STI has symptoms. You should get checked if: you have had unprotected sex with a new partner.
You can get an at-home test for just chlamydia or select panel kits that screen for multiple STDs. A standard STD panel might include testing for chlamydia, gonorrhea, HIV, syphilis, and trichomoniasis. Kits that test for chlamydia and gonorrhea are common.
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.
No, Chlamydia infections will not go away on their own. In some cases, a Chlamydia infection can be fought off by the body's immune system, but these cases are rare and should not influence anyone's decisions to get tested or treated.
If your partner has gonorrhea or chlamydia, is it possible to have unprotected sex and not get these infections? While it is possible to have vaginal, oral, or anal sex with an infected partner and not get infected, it's unlikely.
What can be mistaken for chlamydia? Dozens of conditions cause overlapping symptoms similar to chlamydia, including gonorrhea, bacterial vaginosis, urinary tract infections, and yeast infections, to name a few.
Most of the time, people don't even realize they have chlamydia — that's part of the reason it's such a common infection (and why it's so important to get tested). Chlamydia can lead to serious infections and even infertility if you don't treat it. But it's usually easy to cure it with medicine if you catch it early.
The main symptom that chlamydia does not share with UTIs is penile or vaginal discharge. A chlamydial infection can cause a yellowish, strong-smelling vaginal discharge or a watery, milky penile discharge. Urinary tract infections are not known to cause any sort of abnormal genital discharge.
If you recently tested negative for an infection but are still experiencing symptoms, consider getting tested again. STIs can be dangerous to your well-being if left undetected and untreated. When it comes to your sexual health, prioritize testing and visit an urgent care center at your convenience.