Why do most women with chlamydia have no symptoms?
The bacteria can infect the cervix or urethra without causing enough inflammation for you to feel anything. That's one reason chlamydia is the most commonly diagnosed bacterial STI in the UK: it spreads quietly between people who feel completely well.
A silent infection can still be passed to partners, and it can still cause complications over time. That's why it's worth testing after a new partner or unprotected sex, rather than watching for symptoms.
What symptoms can chlamydia cause in women?
When chlamydia does cause symptoms, the usual ones are unusual vaginal discharge, bleeding between periods or after sex, pain or burning when you pee, lower abdominal or pelvic pain, and pain during sex. Each of these has other common causes too, as the table shows.
Can chlamydia affect fertility?
Left untreated, chlamydia can spread from the cervix into the womb and fallopian tubes and cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). PID is a serious infection of the reproductive organs. Around 1 in 10 women who develop it go on to have fertility problems from the scarring it can leave behind. Chlamydia can also raise the risk of ectopic pregnancy.
PID is treated with antibiotics, and testing and treating chlamydia early lowers the chance of it developing. If pelvic pain carries on after treatment, or keeps coming back, a gynaecology review can look at the picture in more detail. An initial gynaecology consultation at Gynae Clinic Harley Street covers persistent pelvic pain.
Can chlamydia infect the throat or rectum?
Yes. Chlamydia can infect the throat after oral sex and the rectum after anal sex, and both are usually silent. A urine sample or vaginal swab only tests the genital site.
So if you've had oral or anal sex, tell the clinician, and we'll swab those sites as well. Each site is tested separately, because a genital result tells you nothing about the throat or rectum.
When should I test after sex?
A chlamydia test is reliable from 14 days after exposure. Test earlier and you can get a false negative, because the bacteria may not yet be at detectable levels.
If you have symptoms, test straight away whatever the timing. A positive result before 14 days still counts, and an early negative should be repeated once you reach the 14-day mark.
What does testing involve?
It's straightforward: a urine sample or a self-taken vaginal swab, both processed by PCR. An internal examination is only needed if a clinician recommends one for another reason. If you've had oral or anal sex, a throat or rectal swab covers those sites.
If you have any of the symptoms above, it's worth screening for other infections at the same visit. Chlamydia and gonorrhoea often turn up together and cause similar symptoms.
Does my partner need to be tested?
Yes. If you test positive, your current sexual partner, and any recent partners, should be tested and treated at the same time. Otherwise you can be reinfected soon after finishing your own treatment, and the cycle starts again.
Your partner can test at a separate appointment, or at a different clinic. If your partner is male, our guide to chlamydia symptoms in men explains what he might notice.
How testing works at our Harley Street clinic
A chlamydia test is £104, from a urine sample or a self-taken vaginal swab, with results within 3 working days. For the most accurate result, try not to pee for 2 hours before the test. Walk in seven days a week at 117a Harley Street, with no GP referral needed. Every visit is confidential, as our page on private STI testing in London explains.
To screen more widely, our women's screening packages start at £250 for Bronze (chlamydia, gonorrhoea, HIV and syphilis). Silver, at £375, adds Mycoplasma genitalium, Ureaplasma, Gardnerella and herpes I & II. Results for blood tests come back in about 24 hours, and urine and swab results within 3 working days.
If you need an answer today, our same-day STI testing includes the FAST Screen Simple (HIV, syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhoea) for £350, and the FAST Screen Complex, which adds hepatitis B and C, for £450. Both return all results in 6 hours. If you only need chlamydia and gonorrhoea, the FAST urine test for both is £124, also with results in 6 hours. Our guide to same-day STI test results explains the FAST options.
Noticed a change, or simply due a check? Book a chlamydia test at 117a Harley Street: £104, results within 3 working days.
References
- Chlamydia (NHS.uk condition page)
- Chlamydia: uncomplicated genital (NICE CKS)
- UK National Guideline for the Management of Genital Tract Infection with Chlamydia trachomatis (BASHH)
- Sexually transmitted infections and chlamydia screening in England: official statistics (UKHSA)
- Pelvic inflammatory disease (NHS.uk condition page)
