Many people assume that they cannot become reinfected with an STD while they are receiving treatment for that STD. While this may be true for some diseases, chlamydia is not one of them.
Can you reinfect yourself with chlamydia while on antibiotics? Yes — if you have sex with someone who has an active chlamydia infection. You may also believe you have been “reinfected” if the infection never fully cleared up with treatment.
Understanding how chlamydia reinfection works is important to protect yourself against future infections. You’ll need to take extra precautions while on treatment for chlamydia to avoid reinfection. Some populations — such as young women — are also at a higher risk for reinfection.
Learn everything you need to know about chlamydia reinfection below. Then order a rapid STD test to make sure your chlamydia is no longer present before having sex with a partner.
Chlamydia Reinfection: Can Chlamydia Come Back?
Before we explain the causes of chlamydia reinfection, let’s start with how chlamydia spreads in the first place.
Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted infection that commonly affects sexually active individuals who are 24 or younger, though anyone can contract it. Chlamydia is the most commonly reported bacterial infectious disease in the U.S.
Chlamydia can spread through anal, vaginal, and oral sex, and can affect the vagina, penis, anus, and eyes. Many people with chlamydia experience no symptoms, which is why undergoing a 10-panel STD test regularly is important for individuals with more than one sexual partner. You may have contracted chlamydia from someone who was not aware they had it.
When symptoms are present, they may include:
- Abnormal vaginal discharge
- Pelvic pain
- Discharge from the penis
- Itchy, red eyes
- Rectal pain
Chlamydia reinfection is common while on antibiotics and within the months after treatment. One report estimates that 20% of sexually active women who underwent treatment for chlamydia experienced reinfection.
The most common method of reinfection is having unprotected sex with someone with untreated chlamydia. You could also become reinfected with this bacterial infection because you did not finish your antibiotics. If you don’t complete the antibiotic treatment, the infection will remain in your body.
While you can’t contract chlamydia from a shared toilet seat or by kissing an infected person, you can become reinfected from using an unwashed sex toy that another person with chlamydia used.
Immunity to Chlamydia
Some people who experience a chlamydia infection will have partial immunity to future infections, but this effect is not guaranteed.
The number of patients who become immune to chlamydia seems to vary by country, potentially due to varying treatment methods and prevention measures. While immunity is only present in around 7% of individuals in the U.K. with a previously treated chlamydia infection, this rate may be as high as 33% in the U.S.
Can chlamydia come back after 10 years? Yes — unless you are in the minority of people who developed immunity, you are at risk for reinfection as soon as you finish treatment. But chlamydia won’t come back on its own; you would need to have sexual contact with someone who has untreated chlamydia.
Retesting for Chlamydia
Can you reinfect yourself with chlamydia while on antibiotics? Yes, or you may have believed that your chlamydia had cleared up when it really had not. That’s why retesting after completing treatment is vital before having sex with a partner. You don’t want to assume that the infection is no longer present and accidentally infect your sexual partner or neglect further treatment.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), you should retest for chlamydia around three months after completing treatment. The easiest way is through same-day STD testing, though you can use whatever method of testing you originally used to identify the chlamydia.
The CDC recommends retesting because of the high rates of reinfection in the first few months following treatment. Statistically speaking, people who have tested positive for one STD are more likely to test positive for multiple, which is why completing a full-panel STD test may be most beneficial.
You should also retest for chlamydia because treatment failure may occur. Bacterial resistance is one of the main causes of treatment failure.
Studies have shown that as many as 41.4% of chlamydia strains may be drug resistant. If yours is, your doctor may prescribe a few different antibiotic treatments to tackle the infection from several angles. A single dose may not treat all of the mutations within your chlamydia strain.
You must also ensure that you take every dose of chlamydia medication your doctor prescribes. Stopping your antibiotics early may lead to future resistance to antibiotics and prevent the chlamydia from fully clearing up.
Can You Still Have Chlamydia After Being Treated?
Yes, you can still have chlamydia after treatment — watch out for these potential signs of chlamydia reinfection:
- A burning feeling while urinating, which may feel like a urinary tract infection
- Abnormal discharge from the penis, vagina, or anus
- Pelvic or rectal pain
You may experience these symptoms even if they were not present during your initial infection.
Be sure not to retest for chlamydia within 14 days of beginning treatment. Chlamydia may continue producing a false-positive test result within this period because nucleic acid amplification tests cannot distinguish between nonviable and viable forms of chlamydia.
Test of Cure
Your health care provider may recommend a test of cure within four weeks of completing treatment to ensure that your initial chlamydia infection has cleared up. A test of cure is not the same as retesting; it only looks for the initial infection.
You may need a test of cure if your chlamydia symptoms persist or if you suspect reinfection. You may also benefit from this test if you know you did not adhere to the prescription recommendations closely or did not complete your antibiotics.
Avoiding Chlamydia Reinfection
After finding out that you have a chlamydia infection, you should take steps to prevent reinfection. Chlamydia can be uncomfortable, and you won’t be able to enjoy sex with a partner until it has cleared. Contracting chlamydia several times can also increase your risk of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID).
PID is an infection of the female reproductive organs and may affect the uterus, ovaries, and fallopian tubes. An untreated infection, such as chlamydia or gonorrhea, may lead to a PID diagnosis. Symptoms of PID may include:
- Abdominal pain
- Fever
- Unusual discharge
- Bleeding during sex or between periods
- Pain while urinating
In many cases, PID produces no initial symptoms.
While PID responds well to treatment, you may not be able to undo the damage to your reproductive organs that the infection caused. Failing to treat PID early can lead to complications such as ectopic pregnancy, tubal blockage, long-term pelvic pain, and even infertility.
If you notice any symptoms of PID, visit a Rapid STD Testing sexual health clinic or your primary care doctor immediately. Retesting for chlamydia within three months of your treatment can identify reinfection and treat it before PID develops.
To prevent chlamydia reinfection, follow your physician’s instructions for your chlamydia treatment to a T. Don’t miss any doses, and be sure to take your medication with food or water if instructed. If you accidentally miss a dose, contact your physician for assistance.
You should also understand how you contracted chlamydia in the first place to avoid future infections. The most effective methods for preventing STDs include:
- Mutual monogamy
- Using latex condoms during sex
- Abstinence
The National Chlamydia Coalition does not recommend water-based spermicides as effective in preventing chlamydia. Be sure to use other forms of protection when having sex with a new partner.
Understand that chlamydia can spread through oral sex and sexual intercourse. You should use protection to prevent skin contact from the beginning of a sexual encounter until the end, as chlamydia can pass between partners even without full penetration.
Retest for Chlamydia with a Same-Day STD Test
Now that you know the answer to “Can you reinfect yourself with chlamydia while on antibiotics?” you can take the necessary measures to avoid reinfection. Don’t assume that your chlamydia has cleared up; retest within three months to be sure. Be proactive about seeing medical attention if you develop symptoms after treatment, as they could indicate reinfection or a more serious condition, such as PID.
Stay on top of your sexual health by taking STD tests regularly. Order a same-day test or a 10-panel test from Rapid STD Testing today, then learn whether you can catch chlamydia without cheating.
The post Can You Reinfect Yourself With Chlamydia While on Antibiotics? appeared first on Rapid STD Testing.
from Rapid STD Testing https://www.rapidstdtesting.com/chlamydia-reinfection-while-on-antibiotics/
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