Chlamydia – Should I be Tested

Chlamydia is the most frequently reported sexually transmitted disease (STD), especially among young adults and teenagers. However, most people who are infected do not know that they have the infection, because they may not have any symptoms.

It is known as a "silent" disease because about three quarters of infected women and about half of infected men have no symptoms. If symptoms do occur, they usually appear within 1 to 3 weeks after exposure.

The disease is usually always spread through sexual intercourse and chances of having the infection depends to a large degree on a person’s sexual behaviour. The probability of having an infection increases with the number of partners one has. This is by no means saying that only promiscuous people will ever catch the disease. Many partners simply increases your exposure to Chlamydia but quite simply, it is only going to take having unprotected sex with one person who is infected – for you to get infected as well.

If you have unprotected sex with multiple partners, then you are at real risk of becoming infected with this and other STDs, and these can have some serious implications for your future health and well being. If you are worried about whether you or your partner(s) should be tested for Chlamydia or other STDs, then always play it safe and at the very least get yourself tested.

Younger women are more prone to suffering from serious complications if they have the infection and in fact studies indicate that it is this type of age group that is more likely to catch this infection.

You have a 1 in 10 probability of getting the infection if you are active sexually and are under the age of 25 years. If you fall into this bracket, it might be advisable to get yourself checked out. This risk increases greatly if you are less than 20 years old and are having sex without protection. Similarly, if you are over 25 years of age and have either changed partners recently or had two partners in the space of a year – your chances or getting Chlamydia are also increased.

We don’t seem to know a lot about the probability of infection in males except to say that the group most at risk are aged between 20 and 30 years. Again, even though men might be infected, there are no symptoms so they may not even be aware that they are carriers.

The infection can cause discharge from the vagina of a woman or the penis of a man, and burning when urinating, and various other symptoms. If chlamydia is not diagnosed and treated soon after infection, serious complications may occur in both women and men, including infertility. However, the vast majority of people with chlamydia show no symptoms at all.

Also read our article about Chlamydia: Pregnancy and Protection