Symptoms can occur within 2-14 days after infection. However, a person may have chlamydia for months, or even years, without knowing it.
Symptoms can develop within a few days or weeks, but sometimes they do not appear until months or even years later.
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.
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.
If chlamydia is left untreated, it can spread to the womb and cause a serious condition called pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). This is a major cause of ectopic pregnancy and infertility in women. Read more about the complications of chlamydia.
Chlamydia can lie dormant for months or years and it is often detected through screening and routine sexual health testing.
Symptoms can occur within 2-14 days after infection. However, a person may have chlamydia for months, or even years, without knowing it.
“You could have chlamydia for years and not know it,” Ravi says. “That's one of the scariest parts about it-people will say 'I haven't had sex in a long time' and I have to explain that they won't always have symptoms.”
Most people who have chlamydia don't know it. Often the disease has no symptoms. You can pass chlamydia to others without knowing it.
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.
There is no clear timeline on how long it may take for this to occur - while one study suggests that after exposure to the bacteria, it can take a few weeks for PID to develop, the NHS estimates that 1 in 10 women with untreated chlamydia could go on to develop PID within a year.
However, it is possible for symptoms to develop months or even years after infection, especially if you develop complications such as Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (in women) or epididymitis (in men). In many people, chlamydia never causes any symptoms.
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. It is never 100% that you will pass an STI when you have sex.
However, if chlamydia is left untreated, it can cause permanent damage. Your risk of getting other STIs, like gonorrhea or HIV, increases. In males, untreated chlamydia can lead to sterility (inability to make sperm).
While some internet rumors state that chlamydia can be “dormant” and go undetected on tests, no reputable sources support this. Chlamydia bacteria can be present in the body without causing symptoms, but it will still appear on laboratory testing. Chlamydia is highly curable with proper antibiotic treatment.
Can chlamydia lay dormant? Yes, chlamydia can lie dormant in the body, causing a low-grade infection without symptoms.
Since Chlamydia often presents no symptoms, the infection can be left undetected for months or even years, during which time you may also pass the infection to your partner(s). If Chlamydia is left untreated, there is an increased risk of acquiring other STIs, including HIV.
Can you develop a chlamydia infection on your own? Fortunately, you can't contract chlamydia on your own because it spreads through sexual contact with other people. Chlamydia bacteria does, however, thrive in vaginal fluid, semen, and pre-ejaculate (the fluids that the penis may release before sexual climax).
Thankfully, it's also curable. But new research suggests that for some people, curing chlamydia doesn't prevent reinfection, even if they're not exposed to it again. Apparently the disease can live inside your gut, and reinfect you out of the blue.
The majority of people who have chlamydia aren't aware of any signs or symptoms, even after several months or years with infection. Nonetheless the impact of untreated chlamydia can be serious for women, causing significant damage to the reproductive organs.
Being tested means that you can be treated, and the proper treatment will help clear up a chlamydial infection in a matter of weeks. On the other hand, if you don't get tested or don't see a healthcare provider for treatment, chlamydia can live in the body for weeks, months, or even years without being detected.
According to the court of law, you cannot file a lawsuit against someone for every type of STD or STI. But most severe STDs like HIV/AIDs let you sue someone and get compensation for the damages caused to your physical well-being and financial health.
The main symptom of infertility is not getting pregnant. There may be no other obvious symptoms. Sometimes, women with infertility may have irregular or absent menstrual periods. In some cases, men with infertility may have some signs of hormonal problems, such as changes in hair growth or sexual function.