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The most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) amongst both men and women is Chlamydia, particularly amongst sexually active teenagers and young adults.
If you’re under 25, and live within the Barnsley and Wakefield districts, you can request your free chlamydia and gonorrhoea testing kit by filling out the form here.
Chlamydia is a bacterial infection that can live in the uterus, vagina and cervix, the urethra (tube where urine comes out), the rectum and sometimes the throat and eyes.
The infection is usually passed on through sexual contact and you get the infection if you come into contact with semen or vaginal fluids.
You can get chlamydia through:
- unprotected vaginal, anal or oral sex
- sharing sex toys that aren’t washed or covered with a new condom each time they’re used
- your genitals coming into contact with your partner’s genitals – this means you can get chlamydia from someone even if there is no penetration, orgasm or ejaculation
- infected semen or vaginal fluid getting into your eye
Chlamydia can’t be passed on through casual contact, such as kissing and hugging, or from sharing swimming pools, toilet seats or cutlery.
Most people don’t have any symptoms, so they are unaware they have chlamydia. If they do have symptoms, the most common ones are:
In women:
- An unusual vaginal discharge
- Pain/burning when urinating
- Pain in the lower abdomen
- Pain when having sex
- Bleeding after sex and in between periods.
In men:
- A white, cloudy or watery discharge coming from the tip of the penis
- Pain/burning when urinating
- Painful and/or swelling in your testicles.
It’s also possible to have chlamydia in your rectum (bottom), throat or eyes.
- There are rarely symptoms if the infection is in the rectum, but it may cause discomfort and discharge.
- Infection in the eyes causes pain, swelling and irritation.
- Infection in the throat usually has no symptoms.
The only way to be certain you have chlamydia is to get tested.
If you think you might have chlamydia, go for a test straight away. A test can be carried out straight after unprotected sex but you may be advised to re-test two weeks after having sex. Don’t forget, chlamydia often has no symptoms so the only way to know for sure if you have it, is to get tested.
What does a chlamydia test involve?
Women:
- You may be asked to use a swab yourself around the inside of your vagina.
- A doctor or nurse may take a swab during an internal examination of your vagina and cervix (entrance to the womb).
Men:
- You may be asked to provide a urine sample. Before having this test you may be advised not to pass urine for 1–2 hours.
- A doctor or nurse may use a swab around the entrance of the urethra (tube where urine comes out).
If you’ve had anal or oral sex the doctor or nurse may swab your rectum or throat or you may be given the choice to do self-swabs. These swabs are only routinely recommended for men who’ve had sex with men, and women with anal symptoms.
Cervical screening tests and routine blood tests don’t detect chlamydia.
A chlamydia test can be done at:
- a genitourinary medicine (GUM) or sexual health clinic
- your general practice
- contraception and young people’s clinics
- some pharmacies.
If you are under 25 years old, you can also request a free chlamydia test kit to be sent to you at home with a free-post bag and label.
If left untreated, the infection can spread to other parts of your body and lead to long-term health problems, such as pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), epididymo-orchitis (inflammation of the testicles) and infertility. It can also sometimes cause reactive arthritis. If you are infected with chlamydia during pregnancy it can be passed to your child at delivery and cause complications such as conjunctivitis and pneumonia.
It’s important to get tested and treated as soon as possible if you think you might have chlamydia –don’t wait for symptoms to appear.
If you test positive for chlamydia, the treatment is antibiotics, to take either all on one day, or for a week.
- It is important that whilst you are taking treatment that you do not have any sexual activity (even using a condom) until at least one week after treatment has finished. This helps prevent you being re-infected or passing the infection on.
- If you are diagnosed with Chlamydia, we will help you to contact your partner(s) to ensure they also access treatment.
Learn more about Chlamydia by downloading this leaflet
