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Table of Contents
Types of Chlamydia Tests
What to Expect During Testing
Testing Frequency
Differential Diagnosis
Frequently Asked Questions
Next in Chlamydia Guide
While chlamydia can be self-checked at home, it’s still a good idea to see yourhealthcare providerfor an official diagnosis.
Sexually transmitted infections are sometimes referred to as sexually transmitted diseases, or STDs.
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This article explains how you can find out if you have chlamydia. It also covers what to expect during the diagnostic tests, as well as next steps after you get your results.
What Tests Can Detect Chlamydia?
There are a few different tests that look for the presence ofChlamydia trachomatis, the bacterium that causes this STI. These tests can be performed if you have symptoms or as aroutine screeningif you are sexually active.
These tests can be run on a:
If you’ve been tested or treated for other STIs, don’t assume that a chlamydia test was included. Not only does chlamydia require its own test, but thetreatmentsfor some of the other STIs are ineffective against chlamydia.
Keep in mind that aPap test, a routine procedure that screens forcervical cancer, does not detect chlamydia.
Self Checks and At-Home Tests
If you think you may have chlamydia, you may want to go over a symptom checklist. Common signs andsymptoms of chlamydiamay includedischargefrom the penis or vagina, aburning feelingwhile you pee, and/orpain in the rectumand/or testicles.
Because many individuals don’t show any symptoms, ordering anat-home STI testmay be a good first step. You may want to do so if you are nervous to speak with your healthcare provider about your sexual history, the medical office is far away, or it is difficult to get an appointment.
Another study supports this similar accuracy when vaginal swabs are self-collected from assigned females and urine samples are self-collected from assigned males.
While self-checking for symptoms and/or performing an at-home STI test may be a more convenient way to see if you have chlamydia, it’s always best to follow up with your healthcare provider.
What to Expect During Chlamydia Test
The way that healthcare providers test for chlamydia will depend on your genitalia and sexual history. This is due to the different locations the bacteria can infect.
How Do They Test for Chlamydia in Individuals With a Vagina?
For an endocervical swab, your healthcare provider will insert aspeculum, a device that helps keep your vaginal walls open, to view yourcervix, or the lower end of the uterus. They will use a thin swab to retrieve a sample from your cervix, which will then be sent to a lab.
Less commonly, a vaginal swab may be done, which requires inserting a swab into the vagina and gently rotating it to collect a sample.
If you aren’t comfortable getting an endocervical or vaginal swab, you can request a urine test. Keep in mind that urine samples tend not to detect chlamydia as accurately as vaginal and endocervical swabs.
How Do They Test for Chlamydia in Individuals With a Penis?
Your healthcare provider will either ask you for a urine sample or collect a sample from inside the head of your penis using a small swab. This sample is then sent to a lab for analysis.
Not all practitioners perform urine tests for chlamydia. However, if you aren’t comfortable getting swabbed, you can ask for a urine test.
Tests often come back within just a few hours, allowing for rapid treatment of infections.
What About Rectal and Oral Swabs?
Rectal swabs and oral swabs may also be considered for those who havereceptive anal sexorunprotected oral sex. These tests are known as extragenital, or outside of the genital region, testing. These tests are important to do if chlamydia is suspected but your urine test came back negative.
Rectal and oral swabs can be collected at home and dropped off the same day at a lab, or done in a medical office or lab.
Oral (Throat) Chlamydia: Symptoms and Causes
How Often Should You Get Tested?
It’s currently recommended that you should be tested:
Being at an increased risk can mean you have a new sexual partner, have multiple sexual partners, your current partner has an STI, or you haveHIV.Other risk factors may include:Having anal, vaginal, or oral sex without a condomHaving anonymous sex partnersHaving sex while under the influence of drugs or alcohol (as it can lower inhibitions and result in greater sexual risk-taking)
Being at an increased risk can mean you have a new sexual partner, have multiple sexual partners, your current partner has an STI, or you haveHIV.
Other risk factors may include:
Screening has been found to be very effective and to significantly lower the risk of an assigned female developingpelvic inflammatory disease (PID), an infection that can lead to infertility and other serious health concerns.
In assigned males, screening can help lower the risk of developingurethral infectionsand swollen and painful testicles from untreated chlamydia.
When to Request Testing
There are a number of reasons why healthcare providersfail to test for STIsand why you may need to request testing yourself. Even with screening guidelines in place, many cases go untested and undetected.
Make sure to request a chlamydia test if one of your partners has been diagnosed with an STI, or if you have an increased risk of getting this infection.
If asking your healthcare practitioner for the test is hard for you, keep in mind that chlamydia is one of the most common STIs.It’s important to find a healthcare provider who you feel comfortable discussing your sexual history with.
If you do get a positive test result, it’s important to talk to any sexual partners you’ve had in the past two months and suggest that they see a healthcare provider for testing and treatment.
As with any form oflab tests, there is the potential for errors. Even though the sensitivity of chlamydia tests used today is good, they may still miss infections. This is known as a false-negative result.What this means is that if you have any symptoms, you should follow up with your practitioner—even if you tested negative.
There is also a small risk of false-positive results, in which a person gets a positive chlamydia test result but does not actually have the infection.This is of less concern in general, as most people tolerate the treatments for chlamydia well.
Understanding False Positive or False Negative STI Test Results
When Should I Test Again for Chlamydia?
Getting retestedabout three months aftertreatment for chlamydiais recommended for both assigned males and assigned females. This should be done even if your partner was also treated.
Reinfectionis possible, and most cases that are found after treatment are because of this possibility, rather than the failure of the treatment itself.
Pregnant individuals should be retested three weeks after treatment is completed. Pregnant individuals at high risk should also get tested again in the third trimester.
How You Can Get Chlamydia and STIs Without Cheating
Vaginal discharge has many causes other than chlamydia. Some may include infections likebacterialvaginosis(BV)oryeast infections, as well as hormonal changes. Likewise, there is a wide range of conditions that can causepain with intercourse,bleeding between periodsor during intercourse, and more.
For all individuals, pain and burning with urination can have many possible causes, includingbladder infectionsand other STIs.
So, while a healthcare professional may suspect one issue or another, if you present symptoms at all, lab tests are essential to making an accurate chlamydia diagnosis and choosing the appropriate treatment.
In addition, it’s possible for someone to have chlamydiaandanother infection at the same time, or aco-infection. Testing can help sort out if that’s the case.Persons who receive a diagnosis of chlamydia should be tested for HIV, gonorrhea, and syphilis. Men who have sex with men (MSM) who are HIV negative with a rectal chlamydia diagnosis should be offered HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).
In addition, it’s possible for someone to have chlamydiaandanother infection at the same time, or aco-infection. Testing can help sort out if that’s the case.
Persons who receive a diagnosis of chlamydia should be tested for HIV, gonorrhea, and syphilis. Men who have sex with men (MSM) who are HIV negative with a rectal chlamydia diagnosis should be offered HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).
Summary
Chlamydia is a common STI that often has no symptoms. Urine or swab tests are typically used to detect the presence of the bacteria that cause this STI.
It’s always best to follow up with your healthcare provider if you believe you may have chlamydia.
Frequently Asked QuestionsChlamydia may not cause symptoms. However, some individuals may experience discharge from the penis or vagina, as well as burning during urination.While blood tests typically aren’t used to detect chlamydia, they can pick up antibodies related to this STI. Urine tests may be used for both assigned females and assigned males to diagnose chlamydia.Chlamydia has an incubation period of seven to 21 days, so it’s best to get tested at least one week after exposure.The length of time it takes for results to come back depends on the type of test used. Urine samples may take two to five days. Swab tests may take two to three days.Screening guidelines are different depending on your age, sex, and sexual history. It’s best to speak with your healthcare provider about how often you should get tested.
Chlamydia may not cause symptoms. However, some individuals may experience discharge from the penis or vagina, as well as burning during urination.
While blood tests typically aren’t used to detect chlamydia, they can pick up antibodies related to this STI. Urine tests may be used for both assigned females and assigned males to diagnose chlamydia.
Chlamydia has an incubation period of seven to 21 days, so it’s best to get tested at least one week after exposure.
The length of time it takes for results to come back depends on the type of test used. Urine samples may take two to five days. Swab tests may take two to three days.
Screening guidelines are different depending on your age, sex, and sexual history. It’s best to speak with your healthcare provider about how often you should get tested.
13 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Mania-Pramanik J, Kerkar S, Sonawane S, Mehta P, Salvi V.Current chlamydia trachomatis infection, a major cause of infertility.J Reprod Infertil.2012;13(4):204-210.Meyer T.Diagnostic procedures to detect chlamydia trachomatis infections.Microorganisms. 2016;4(3):25. doi:10.3390/microorganisms4030025Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About chlamydia.Pearson WS, Kreisel K, Peterman TA, et al.Improving STD service delivery: Would American patients and providers use self-tests for gonorrhea and chlamydia?Preventive Medicine. 2018;115:26-30. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2018.08.007Lunny C, Taylor D, Hoang L, et al.Self-collected versus clinician-collected sampling for chlamydia and gonorrhea screening: A systemic review and meta-analysis.PLoS ONE. 2015;10(7):e0132776. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0132776MedlinePlus.Chlamydia test.Stanford Medicine.STI testing self-collection kit.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Screening recommendations and considerations referenced in treatment guidelines and original sources.U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.How to prevent STIs.Das BB, Ronda J, Trent M.Pelvic inflammatory disease: Improving awareness, prevention, and treatment.Infect Drug Resist. 2016;9:191-197. doi:10.2147/IDR.S91260Department of Health.Chlamydia (chlamydia trachomatis genital infection).Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About STIs and pregnancy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Chlamydial infections.
13 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Mania-Pramanik J, Kerkar S, Sonawane S, Mehta P, Salvi V.Current chlamydia trachomatis infection, a major cause of infertility.J Reprod Infertil.2012;13(4):204-210.Meyer T.Diagnostic procedures to detect chlamydia trachomatis infections.Microorganisms. 2016;4(3):25. doi:10.3390/microorganisms4030025Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About chlamydia.Pearson WS, Kreisel K, Peterman TA, et al.Improving STD service delivery: Would American patients and providers use self-tests for gonorrhea and chlamydia?Preventive Medicine. 2018;115:26-30. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2018.08.007Lunny C, Taylor D, Hoang L, et al.Self-collected versus clinician-collected sampling for chlamydia and gonorrhea screening: A systemic review and meta-analysis.PLoS ONE. 2015;10(7):e0132776. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0132776MedlinePlus.Chlamydia test.Stanford Medicine.STI testing self-collection kit.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Screening recommendations and considerations referenced in treatment guidelines and original sources.U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.How to prevent STIs.Das BB, Ronda J, Trent M.Pelvic inflammatory disease: Improving awareness, prevention, and treatment.Infect Drug Resist. 2016;9:191-197. doi:10.2147/IDR.S91260Department of Health.Chlamydia (chlamydia trachomatis genital infection).Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About STIs and pregnancy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Chlamydial infections.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Mania-Pramanik J, Kerkar S, Sonawane S, Mehta P, Salvi V.Current chlamydia trachomatis infection, a major cause of infertility.J Reprod Infertil.2012;13(4):204-210.Meyer T.Diagnostic procedures to detect chlamydia trachomatis infections.Microorganisms. 2016;4(3):25. doi:10.3390/microorganisms4030025Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About chlamydia.Pearson WS, Kreisel K, Peterman TA, et al.Improving STD service delivery: Would American patients and providers use self-tests for gonorrhea and chlamydia?Preventive Medicine. 2018;115:26-30. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2018.08.007Lunny C, Taylor D, Hoang L, et al.Self-collected versus clinician-collected sampling for chlamydia and gonorrhea screening: A systemic review and meta-analysis.PLoS ONE. 2015;10(7):e0132776. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0132776MedlinePlus.Chlamydia test.Stanford Medicine.STI testing self-collection kit.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Screening recommendations and considerations referenced in treatment guidelines and original sources.U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.How to prevent STIs.Das BB, Ronda J, Trent M.Pelvic inflammatory disease: Improving awareness, prevention, and treatment.Infect Drug Resist. 2016;9:191-197. doi:10.2147/IDR.S91260Department of Health.Chlamydia (chlamydia trachomatis genital infection).Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About STIs and pregnancy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Chlamydial infections.
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About chlamydia.
Pearson WS, Kreisel K, Peterman TA, et al.Improving STD service delivery: Would American patients and providers use self-tests for gonorrhea and chlamydia?Preventive Medicine. 2018;115:26-30. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2018.08.007
Lunny C, Taylor D, Hoang L, et al.Self-collected versus clinician-collected sampling for chlamydia and gonorrhea screening: A systemic review and meta-analysis.PLoS ONE. 2015;10(7):e0132776. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0132776
MedlinePlus.Chlamydia test.
Stanford Medicine.STI testing self-collection kit.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Screening recommendations and considerations referenced in treatment guidelines and original sources.
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Das BB, Ronda J, Trent M.Pelvic inflammatory disease: Improving awareness, prevention, and treatment.Infect Drug Resist. 2016;9:191-197. doi:10.2147/IDR.S91260
Department of Health.Chlamydia (chlamydia trachomatis genital infection).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About STIs and pregnancy.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Chlamydial infections.
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