Testing for Chlamydia
Post-Diagnosis: Treatment and Partner Notification
If you test positive for chlamydia, don’t panic. It is treatable. Still, a positive result can produce all kinds of questions, like “How is chlamydia treated?”
Doctors prescribe antibiotics to treat chlamydia infections. Depending on the specific medicine you receive, you might take a single dose or you may need to take it daily (or multiple times a day) for a week. Typically, chlamydia infections clear up within one to two weeks of taking antibiotics.
After completing your antibiotic treatment, your provider may recommend that you test again. Follow-up tests may occur about three weeks after treatment (to make sure the infection is gone) and about three months after finishing treatment (to check for reinfection).
Preventing Reinfection
Repeat infection with chlamydia is common. For that reason, you will need to take steps to prevent catching it again.
Even if you have received treatment, you can still spread chlamydia at first. Avoid any sexual contact until your infection clears. If you took a single-dose antibiotic, this means not having sex for seven days. If you took a seven-day course of antibiotics, don’t have sex until you complete treatment and your symptoms are gone.
In addition, make sure any sexual partners you had in the last 60 days seek screening and treatment, even if they have no symptoms. Otherwise, you may pass the infection back and forth. Avoid sex until all exposed partners receive treatment.
Finally, remember that you can lower your chances of contracting chlamydia by doing the following:
- Having a mutually monogamous sex partner who has tested negative for STDs
- Using condoms properly every time you have sexual intercourse
You can’t get chlamydia from bad hygiene. Having chlamydia doesn’t come from skipping a shower or forgetting to wash your hands after being in public. However, bad hygiene may indirectly lead to catching chlamydia if you engage in certain behaviors like not washing sex toys between partners.