Most people with chlamydia don’t know they have it. About 75% of women and 50% of men with the infection have no symptoms at all, which is why chlamydia is sometimes called a “silent” infection. The only reliable way to know for sure is to get tested, but there are signs that can tip you off.
Symptoms in Women
When chlamydia does cause symptoms in women, they tend to be subtle enough to mistake for something else, like a yeast infection or a urinary tract infection. The most common signs include unusual vaginal discharge (sometimes yellowish or with an unfamiliar smell), a burning feeling when you pee, and bleeding between periods or after sex.
Pain during sex is another common sign. If the infection has spread to the reproductive organs, you may also feel a dull ache or tenderness in your lower belly or pelvis. That kind of deeper pain can signal pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), a more serious complication that develops in roughly 10 to 15% of women whose chlamydia goes untreated.
Symptoms in Men
Men are somewhat more likely to notice symptoms than women, though half still won’t. The telltale signs include a watery or milky discharge from the tip of the penis, burning or stinging during urination, and itching or irritation around the urethral opening. Some men also develop pain or swelling in one or both testicles, which can indicate the infection has spread.
Rectal and Throat Infections
Chlamydia doesn’t only affect the genitals. It can also infect the rectum (from receptive anal sex) or the throat (from oral sex). A rectal infection may cause discharge, bleeding, or pain, though it often causes nothing noticeable. Throat infections are almost always silent, rarely producing even a sore throat. Because these infections are easy to miss, testing at the specific site of contact matters. A standard urine test won’t catch an infection in your throat or rectum.
How Quickly Symptoms Appear
If you are going to develop symptoms, they typically show up several weeks after exposure. This delay is one reason chlamydia spreads so efficiently. You can be infectious and pass it to a partner long before you notice anything wrong, and many people never notice anything at all.
The Only Way to Know for Sure: Testing
Because chlamydia is so often asymptomatic, testing is the only definitive answer. The standard test uses a technique called nucleic acid amplification (NAAT), which is the most accurate option available and the one the CDC recommends for routine screening. For most people, it’s simple: you either provide a urine sample or a healthcare provider takes a swab from the cervix, urethra, rectum, or throat, depending on where the infection might be. Results usually come back within a few days.
Many clinics, Planned Parenthood locations, and health departments offer chlamydia testing. At-home test kits that use the same NAAT technology are also available, typically requiring a self-collected swab or urine sample that you mail to a lab.
Who Should Get Screened Routinely
The CDC recommends annual chlamydia screening for all sexually active women under 25, regardless of symptoms. Women 25 and older should be screened annually if they have risk factors like a new partner, multiple partners, a partner with other partners, or inconsistent condom use. All pregnant women under 25 should also be tested.
Men who have sex with men should be screened at least once a year at every site of contact (urethra, rectum), and every three to six months if they’re on PrEP, living with HIV, or have multiple partners. For heterosexual men at low risk, routine screening isn’t strongly recommended, though it may be offered in high-prevalence settings like STI clinics or correctional facilities. Transgender and gender-diverse individuals should follow screening recommendations based on their anatomy.
What Happens If It Goes Untreated
Chlamydia is easily curable with antibiotics, but the longer it goes undetected, the more damage it can do. In women, untreated chlamydia can silently travel into the fallopian tubes and uterus, causing PID. Even without noticeable symptoms, this “silent” upper genital tract infection can permanently scar the fallopian tubes, leading to infertility, chronic pelvic pain, or a higher risk of ectopic pregnancy (where a fertilized egg implants outside the uterus).
In men, the infection can spread to the tube that carries sperm from the testicle, causing pain and swelling. In rare cases, this can also affect fertility. For both sexes, having chlamydia increases vulnerability to other sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
The gap between how common chlamydia is and how rarely it causes obvious symptoms is exactly why screening exists. If you’ve had unprotected sex with a new partner, or if a partner tells you they’ve tested positive, getting tested is the straightforward next step, even if you feel completely fine.