If you have a positive chlamydia test a health advisor from the screening office will help arrange your treatment and will discuss informing partners (anyone with whom you have had intimate sexual contact).

There are a number of ways that partners may be contacted confidentially Current partners need to be treated otherwise you may become infected again. Ex- partners also need to tested and treated as you may have had this infection for a while…. Remember if you have no symptoms how do you know for sure when or who you got the infection from? Equally nobody can be certain they got the infection from you either.

Most people do not have symptoms and may have had chlamydia for years without knowing. This means that a partner can pass it on to you without knowing they are infected.

 

If chlamydia is not treated the infection can spread to other parts of the body. Between 10-40% of women will develop complications which could lead to infertility (being unable to have children).  The risk is increased if you get infected again and again

                    

When you are given your treatment it's important that you do not have any sexual contact for at least 7 days. If you are on a longer course of treatment you should not have any sexual contact until both you and your partner have completed the full course.

If you have been treated with Azithromycin or Doxycycline you don’t normally need another test to check that the infection has cleared. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding and have been treated with Erythromycin we suggest that you have another test about 5 weeks after completing the treatment.

To make sure that your treatment is effective you must:

• Complete the course of antibiotics
• Follow the medication instructions carefully
• Not have any sexual contact with your partner-even with a condom- for at least 7 days or if on a longer course of treatment until you have both completed all of your tablets.  If you have sexual contact during the treatment you may re-infect each other.

We recommend getting screened at least once a year or sooner if you change your partner.