Chlamydia often causes no symptoms at all. Roughly 75% of women and 50% of men with the infection never notice anything wrong, which is why it spreads so easily and why routine screening matters. When symptoms do appear, they typically show up one to three weeks after exposure, though some people don’t notice them for months.
Symptoms in Women
The most common signs in women are abnormal vaginal discharge and a burning sensation when peeing. The discharge may have an unusual smell or color compared to what’s normal for you. Some women also experience bleeding between periods or after sex, which can be easy to dismiss as a minor hormonal issue.
If the infection moves deeper into the reproductive tract, it can cause pelvic inflammatory disease, or PID. At that point, symptoms shift to lower abdominal pain, pain during sex, and sometimes fever. PID is a serious complication that can lead to chronic pelvic pain, infertility, and ectopic pregnancy (when a fertilized egg implants outside the uterus). In pregnant women, untreated chlamydia raises the risk of premature birth and low birth weight.
Symptoms in Men
Men who do have symptoms typically notice discharge from the penis, a burning or stinging feeling while peeing, and itching or tingling around the opening of the urethra. The discharge can range from clear and watery to thicker and cloudy. Some men experience symptoms without any visible discharge at all, with only burning or itching as a clue.
Left untreated, chlamydia in men can spread to the epididymis, the coiled tube behind each testicle. This causes one-sided testicular pain, swelling, and tenderness. In rare cases, it can affect fertility.
Rectal and Throat Symptoms
Chlamydia can infect any area that comes into contact with infected fluids, not just the genitals. A rectal infection can cause pain, discharge from the bottom, and bleeding. Some people also experience diarrhea, abdominal cramps, or pain during bowel movements. A throat infection is usually milder and may just cause a persistent sore throat, though many people with oral chlamydia have no symptoms whatsoever.
Eye Infections
Chlamydia can reach the eyes through contact with infected fluids, typically by touching your eye after touching infected genital secretions. This causes redness, swelling, and a discharge that can be watery, pus-like, or even bloody. The infection usually affects one eye and tends to follow a mild but prolonged course. Newborns can also pick up the infection during delivery, which causes similar symptoms in the first few weeks of life.
Why Screening Matters More Than Symptoms
Because the majority of infections are silent, waiting for symptoms is not a reliable strategy. You can carry and transmit chlamydia for months or years without knowing. During that time, the bacteria can quietly damage reproductive tissue and increase your vulnerability to other sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
Testing is simple. The gold-standard method uses a nucleic acid amplification test, which is highly accurate and works on a urine sample or a swab. For women, a vaginal swab (which you can often collect yourself) performs just as well as a cervical swab taken during a pelvic exam. For men, a urine sample works as well as, or better than, a urethral swab. Rectal and throat infections can be tested with swabs from those sites.
What Treatment Looks Like
Chlamydia is curable with antibiotics. Treatment is straightforward: a short course of oral antibiotics, typically lasting about a week. Most people clear the infection completely with no lasting effects, as long as treatment happens before complications develop. Sexual partners need to be treated at the same time to prevent passing the infection back and forth. You should avoid sex until both you and your partner have finished the full course of medication.
Retesting about three months after treatment is recommended, since reinfection is common. Having chlamydia once does not give you any immunity, so you can get it again immediately if exposed.