Can you be exposed to chlamydia and not get it

Most people who have chlamydia have no symptoms. If you do have symptoms, they may not appear until several weeks after you have sex with an infected partner. Even when chlamydia causes no symptoms, it can damage your reproductive system. Men and women can also get infected with chlamydia in their rectum. This happens either by having receptive anal sex, or by spread from another infected site such as the vagina.

While these infections often cause no symptoms, they can cause. You should be examined by your doctor if you notice any of these symptoms or if your partner has an STD or symptoms of an STD.

STD symptoms can include an unusual sore, a smelly discharge, burning when urinating, or bleeding between periods. Laboratory tests can diagnose chlamydia. Your health care provider may ask you to provide a urine sample or may use or ask you to use a cotton swab to get a sample from your vagina to test for chlamydia.

Yes, chlamydia can be cured with the right treatment. It is important that you take all of the medication your doctor prescribes to cure your infection. When taken properly it will stop the infection and could decrease your chances of having complications later on. You should not share medication for chlamydia with anyone. Repeat infection with chlamydia is common. You should be tested again about three months after you are treated, even if your sex partner s was treated.

You should not have sex again until you and your sex partner s have completed treatment. If your doctor prescribes a single dose of medication, you should wait seven days after taking the medicine before having sex. If your doctor prescribes a medicine for you to take for seven days, you should wait until you have taken all of the doses before having sex.

The initial damage that chlamydia causes often goes unnoticed. However, chlamydia can lead to serious health problems. If you are a woman, untreated chlamydia can spread to your uterus and fallopian tubes tubes that carry fertilized eggs from the ovaries to the uterus. For example, call if:. Call your doctor or nurse call line now or seek immediate medical care if:. Watch closely for changes in your health, and be sure to contact your doctor or nurse call line if:. Enter X in the search box to learn more about "Chlamydia: Care Instructions".

Author: Healthwise Staff. Care instructions adapted under license by your healthcare professional. If you have questions about a medical condition or this instruction, always ask your healthcare professional. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.

It looks like your browser does not have JavaScript enabled. Please turn on JavaScript and try again. Important Phone Numbers. Topic Contents Overview How can you care for yourself at home? How can you prevent it? When should you call for help? Where can you learn more? Top of the page. Overview Chlamydia is a bacterial infection spread through sexual contact. How can you care for yourself at home?

Chlamydia often is treated with a single dose of antibiotics in the doctor's office. If your doctor prescribed antibiotics to take at home, take them as directed. Do not stop taking them just because you feel better. You need to take the full course of antibiotics.

Myth: Your body will just get rid of chlamydia on its own, just like when you catch a cold. This myth can be a dangerous one. Untreated chlamydia can result in Pelvic Inflammatory Disease PID in women — which can cause infertility and higher risk of ectopic pregnancy — and epididymitis and infertility in men too. Chlamydia doesn't work like chick pox.

If you keep putting yourself at risk by having unprotected sex with partners who don't know whether they're STD free or not, you could catch chlamydia over and over. It's recommended that if you or your partner tests positive for chlamydia, you should both abstain from sex until the infection has been treated and your doctor says it's safe.

That goes for chlamydia too. To reduce that risk even further, you should think about getting tested before becoming intimate with a new partner.