Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) that can sometimes infect the mucous membranes of the throat. It does not usually cause symptoms but may lead to a sore throat. Treatment is typically with antibiotics.
Many people who contract oral or pharyngeal chlamydia (chlamydia in the throat) have no symptoms. Some people may experience a sore throat. Other possible symptoms of a pharyngeal infection with chlamydia bacteria include mouth pain, oral sores (canker sores in the mouth), or pain in the throat when swallowing.
Does oral chlamydia go away on its own? – if chlamydia is untreated, it is thought that up to 50% of people will clear the infection themselves within 12 months.
Chlamydia can usually be treated easily with antibiotics. You may be given a course of doxycycline to take for a week or azithromycin to take once a day for 3 days. If you have doxycycline, you should not have sex (including oral sex) until you and your current sexual partner have finished treatment.
The CDC reports that chlamydia can be easily treated with a course of antibiotics. But this does not mean that amoxicillin is effective simply because it is an antibiotic. The CDC recommends that healthcare providers prescribe either azithromycin or doxycycline to treat chlamydia.
Chlamydia testing is used to screen and diagnose this bacterial infection; samples include urine and swabs of fluid from the vagina, cervix, throat, eyes, or rectum. Depending on the site of the potential infection, samples used for testing may be collected by you or your medical provider.
Signs and symptoms
Both infections result in a sore throat. It's worth noting, however, that chlamydia does not typically cause pain when swallowing, red and swollen tonsils, and/or petechiae or swollen lymph nodes. Infection with Chlamydia trachomatis is often asymptomatic.
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.
People may not notice any symptoms of chlamydia. In those who do, symptoms can appear in the genitals or throat within 1–3 weeks of the person coming into contact with chlamydia. Anyone who notices any symptoms of chlamydia or suspects that they have come into contact with it can see a doctor for testing.
What if You Kiss Someone With a Chlamydia Throat Infection? Although it is less common than chlamydia affecting the genitals, chlamydia can take up residence in the throat after performing oral sex or anal rimming on an infected person. However, there is still no risk you will catch chlamydia from kissing this person.
Symptoms of Oral STDs
Sore throat and difficulty swallowing. Redness with white spots resembling strep throat. Swollen tonsils and/or lymph nodes.
The most accurate method of testing for throat chlamydia and gonorrhea infections will be with Polymerase Chain Reaction, or PCR testing – this looks for specific genetic sequences from the DNA of these bacteria. Standard bacterial cultures are usually insufficient to pick up these infections.
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.
Throat. Similar to other areas of the body, chlamydia symptoms may take about 7-21 days to show up in the throat. Chlamydia in the throat is typically caused by having oral sex with someone who has contracted the infection.
If you have chlamydia, you may be offered another test 3 to 6 months after being treated. This is because young adults who test positive for chlamydia are at increased risk of catching it again.
In order to successfully treat chlamydia, doxycycline must be taken twice a day for 7 days.
If you are diagnosed with chlamydia, your doctor will prescribe oral antibiotics. A single dose of azithromycin or taking doxycycline twice daily for 7 to 14 days are the most common treatments and are the same for those with or without HIV. With treatment, the infection should clear up in about a week.
Official answer. The following antibiotics are used in the treatment of chlamydia: doxycycline, azithromycin, erythromycin, ofloxacin, or levofloxacin. The antibiotic amoxicillin (from the penicillin family) is used for the treatment of chlamydia infections in pregnant women as an alternative to azithromycin.
You can get oral chlamydia through oral sex. It is the same bacteria that causes chlamydia in the genitals or anus. Symptoms include sore throat, fever, fatigue, mouth sores, and swollen tonsil or lymph nodes, but many cases show no symptoms at all.