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Symptoms
By Mayo Clinic staffChlamydia may be difficult to detect because early-stage infections often cause few or no signs and symptoms that might alert you to see your doctor. When signs or symptoms do occur, they usually start one to three weeks after you've been exposed to chlamydia. Even when signs and symptoms do occur, they're often mild and passing, making them easy to overlook.
Signs and symptoms of chlamydia infection may include:
- Painful urination
- Lower abdominal pain
- Vaginal discharge in women
- Discharge from the penis in men
- Painful sexual intercourse in women
- Testicular pain in men
When to see a doctor
See your doctor if you have a discharge from your vagina or penis, have pain during urination, or encounter other signs and symptoms of chlamydia. It's important to treat chlamydia before it leads to other health problems. Also, see your doctor if your sexual partner reveals that he or she has chlamydia, even if you have no symptoms. Symptoms may not occur until several weeks after infection, or may not occur at all.
- Chlamydia fact sheet. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/std/chlamydia/STDFact-Chlamydia.htm. Accessed Feb. 27, 2009.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, et al. Sexually transmitted diseases treatment guidelines, 2006. MMWR Recommendations and Reports. 2006;55:1. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5511a1.htm. Accessed Feb. 2, 2009.
- Stamm WE. Chlamydial infections. In: Fauci AS, et al. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. 17th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Medical; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aid=2895329. Accessed March 2, 2009.
- Zenilman JM. Genital chlamydia trachomatis infections in women. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Feb. 27, 2009.
- Zenilman JM. Genital chlamydia trachomatis infections in men. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Feb. 27, 2009.
- Miller KE. Diagnosis and treatment of Chlamydia trachomatis infection. American Family Physician. 2006;73:1411.
- Miller WC, et al. Prevalence of chlamydial and gonococcal infections among young adults in the United States. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2004;291:2229.
