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.
Most people who have chlamydia don't notice any symptoms.
If you do get symptoms, these usually appear between 1 and 3 weeks after having unprotected sex with an infected person. For some people they don't develop until many months later. Sometimes the symptoms can disappear after a few days.
Chlamydiae exist as two stages: (1) infectious particles called elementary bodies and (2) intracytoplasmic, reproductive forms called reticulate bodies.
In women, chlamydia can spread to the womb, ovaries or fallopian tubes. This can cause a condition called pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). PID can cause a number of serious problems, such as: difficulty getting pregnant or infertility.
It takes 7 days for the medicine to work in your body and cure Chlamydia infection. If you have sex without a condom during the 7 days after taking the medicine, you could still pass the infection to your sex partners, even if you have no symptoms.
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.
Chlamydia is an STI that can cause serious complications if it goes untreated, particularly for females. However, people can easily treat chlamydia with antibiotics.
Symptoms can occur within 2-14 days after infection. However, a person may have chlamydia for months, or even years, without knowing it.
A repeat test can be done 5–6 weeks after the first test. If the chlamydia was in your rectum (back passage), you may need another test around 3 weeks after finishing the treatment. Your doctor, nurse or clinic will let you know if you need another test.
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.
Chlamydia is a common STD that can cause infection among both men and women. It can cause permanent damage to a woman's reproductive system. This can make it difficult or impossible to get pregnant later. Chlamydia can also cause a potentially fatal ectopic pregnancy (pregnancy that occurs outside the womb).
How Long Ago Did I Get Chlamydia? The incubation of a Chlamydia infection is reported to be one to three weeks. It can take up to six weeks in some cases. From one perspective it would be great if one could count back a few weeks to find the culprit-partner.
Untreated, about 10-15% of women with chlamydia will develop PID. Chlamydia can also cause fallopian tube infection without any symptoms. PID and “silent” infection in the upper genital tract may cause permanent damage to the fallopian tubes, uterus, and surrounding tissues, which can lead to infertility.
Your doctor may recommend a different antibiotic if needed. Other antibiotics to treat chlamydia are: erythromycin. levofloxacin.
In the later stages of Gonorrhea and Chlamydia, people often complain about being extremely tired. Along with these infections, fatigue can also be caused by Hepatitis A, B, or C. Associating fatigue with having a busy lifestyle is not a good idea as it can be a symptom of a Sexually Transmitted Disease.
Chlamydia can lie dormant for months or years and it is often detected through screening and routine sexual health testing. If symptoms do develop, it usually takes 1-3 weeks after exposure to notice signs.
Anita Ravi, MD, MPH, MSHP, a practicing family physician in New York City, urges physicians to make STI screenings a routine part of patient care so as to help catch and treat chlamydia, which can have long term health repercussions if not treated. “You could have chlamydia for years and not know it,” Ravi says.
Young, sexually active females need testing every year. Most people who have chlamydia don't know it. Often the disease has no symptoms. You can pass chlamydia to others without knowing it.
Symptoms can develop within a few days or weeks, but sometimes they do not appear until months or even years later.
(Remember, the signs of chlamydia in women and men can be hard to spot.) And don't feel embarrassed or guilty if you do have chlamydia. “There is a sense of shame around sexually transmitted diseases,” Dr. Grifo says.
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).
The bacteria are usually spread through sex or contact with infected genital fluids (semen or vaginal fluid). You can get chlamydia through: unprotected vaginal, anal or oral sex. sharing sex toys that are not washed or covered with a new condom each time they're used.
A couple can't create an STD from nothing — they have to get spread from one person to another. But just because someone hasn't had any genital-to-genital contact with anyone else doesn't necessarily mean they don't have an STD.
Retesting 3 months after diagnosis of chlamydia, gonorrhea, or trichomoniasis can detect repeat infection and potentially can be used to enhance population-based prevention (136,137).