The only way to be sure if you have chlamydia, is to get tested. Over 70% of women and 50% of men with chlamydia don’t get any symptoms so it’s a good idea to get tested once a year, or when you change partners.

If you do get symptoms, like unusual discharge, they usually appear between one and three weeks after unprotected sex.

If you develop a temperature, lower tummy pain, or (if male) painful testicles, please seek urgent medical attention.

You can catch chlamydia through unprotected vaginal, anal or oral sex with an infected partner. Or if your genitals touch theirs. You can also get it by sharing sex toys or getting infected semen or vaginal fluid in your eye.

Treatment is always advised, but there’s a small chance that chlamydia will clear up by itself.

If you don’t get treated, the infection could spread to other parts of your body and cause serious long-term health problems. It is likely that you’d also pass it on to your sexual partners.

If you’re a woman, chlamydia can potentially cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) which can cause infertility. If you’re a man, chlamydia can cause fertility problems and a type of arthritis.

If you have chlamydia while you’re pregnant, you could pass the infection to your baby. It’s possible that this will cause complications both for the pregnancy and your baby. You can still get antibiotic treatment for chlamydia but you’ll need to see your GP in person. We don’t prescribe chlamydia treatment online if you’re pregnant and if you’re pregnant you should not take Doxycycline.