What are the symptoms of chlamydia?
It is not possible to diagnose chlamydia purely based on symptoms, especially since most people don’t get symptoms at all. If you think you could be infected, or have had sex with someone who could have chlamydia, you need to get tested. The test will check whether you have chlamydia bacteria. The chlamydia test kit is different for men and women. The test kit for women contains a vaginal swab, and the test kit for men has a container for a urine sample.
If you do get symptoms, note that these can vary between men and women. We’ll explain the differences between both next.
Symptoms in Women
Chlamydia is a very common infection, partly because it is often symptomless. You or your sexual partner could have chlamydia and not know about it. Although chlamydia in women often has no symptoms, sometimes it does come with warning signs.
The possible chlamydia symptoms in women include:
- Vaginal irritation or discharge
- Pain during sex
- Pain or discharge from the rectum
- Abdominal pain
- Bleeding or spotting between periods
- Nausea or fever
- A heavy feeling around the hips.
If a chlamydia infection goes unnoticed, it can spread and cause complications. Most commonly, it spreads from the cervix to the fallopian tubes, resulting in pain or bleeding during sex. Further possible symptoms include unusual bleeding and spotting, nausea and fever as well as abdominal and lower back pain.
Chlamydia Symptoms in Men
The symptoms of chlamydia in men are not dissimilar to those experienced by women. There are a number of symptoms of chlamydia in men, including:
- Pain or burning during urination;
- Tenderness or pain in the testicles;
- Unusual itching around the opening of the penis;
- Clear or coloured discharge from the urethra;
- A low-grade fever.
Even if you do not have any symptoms of chlamydia, you can still pass it on to your partners.