I have chlamydia?

[DK1214]

I just got diagnosed with Chlamydia but both my partner and I have not cheated and we were both tested before entering our relationship, is that possible?

[Purple_Fox]

Hi. It depends when you got tested before entering your relationship. It takes 2-3 weeks for chlamydia to show up on a test after being infected, so if either you or your partner got tested very soon after being infected, the test would not have been able to detect it and you would have got a negative result despite having it 👍

[Galen70 in reply to Purple_Fox]

Yes there are limitations to the PCR test, but in most UK clinics 2 weeks is thought sufficient to test. There is evidence that these highly sensitive tests may detect infections much earlier .

[selonuk]

Like Purple Fox says if one of you had it in but still in the incubation period which is normally about a week, otherwise one of you in all reality must have cheated!

[Galen70 in reply to selonuk]

Unless it is a false positive result . If both partners test and both are positive, it is highly unlikely a false positive result exists.

[Anon_562]

This happened to me about a month ago. When I was in ICU (had 1000 other issues on top of PID and Chlamydia) I talked to the doctor and asked if if could've been contracted from my partner and I messing around with toys and other areas. He said absolutely! Chlamydia is the same bacteria as Pink eye. It's rare but it can come from being unhygienic during sex

[Galen70 in reply to Anon_562]

Chlamydia can only be passed through unprotected sexual contact. I don't know what you mean about being "unhygienic " when having sex.

[Anon_562 in reply to Galen70]

You can contract it by using toys anally and then vaginally without washing or cleaning the toys inbetween.

[Galen70 in reply to Anon_562]

Ah ok I understand what you mean now. But a partner has to have it in the first place - it is not a normal part of vaginal or gut flora.

[Anon_562 in reply to Galen70]

But can you contract it from feces? My partner and I have been monogamous for 12 years and I had tested positive but he did not and I have not had intercourse or sexual contact with anyone else. They also said I was positive before the test results even came back so my situation was just very odd I guess.

[Galen70 in reply to Anon_562]

No you cannot . Chlamydia trachomatis is not a normal gut organism. It cannot be passed from exposure to normal faecal material. If you had a positive test there are several possibilities 1 it is a false positive result - the infection is not there but the DNA test has flagged as positive for another reason 2 it is a true positive result and your partners test failed to detect it - a false negative result. I do not understand what you mean that they told you were positive before the results came back - that's simply not possible.

[Anon_562 in reply to Galen70]

It takes a few days for the results to come back. My doctors told me I was positive almost as soon as I took the test.. not the best doctors I was being seen by

[Galen70 in reply to Anon_562]

Well chlamydia is the commonest sti in the UK and most countries, so if you were presenting with PID, it might be they were presuming it was going to be chlamydia related. But in a long term monogamous relationship , its much less likely.

[Galen70 in reply to Anon_562]

So I am sorry , if that doctor told you that , they were completely incorrect ( that chlamydia can come from normal gut bacteria )

[Galen70 in reply to Galen70]

BV can cause PID , and that could be caused by contamination from gut bacteria. So anal/vaginal toy insertion could trigger that .

[Anon_562 in reply to Galen70]

I have been driving myself crazy! When the results did come back they only said "levels slightly higher than normal" so idk what a "normal" level of Chlamydia is... it seemed like they just wanted a quick answer to pass me off. I was treated, my partner was not. I was tested again after treatment and after having intercourse with my partner again and tested negative.

[Galen70 in reply to Anon_562]

If you are in the UK - the test is a PCR analysis - it is either positive or negative. There can sometimes be equivocal results, but the lab would not report this , and instead use a different platform to test, and then issue a final result.

[Anon_562 in reply to Galen70]

I am in the US where again it is most common. And I did have PID but I was most frustrated they said I tested positive for something before even getting the test results. Thank you for the information and the help

[Galen70 in reply to Anon_562]

You are welcome . Uk guidelines on management of PID : " Because many cases of PID are not associated with gonorrhoea or chlamydia, broad

spectrum empirical therapy should also be offered to male partners e.g. azithromycin 1g single

dose (Grade C [IV]).

Partners should be advised to avoid intercourse until they and the index patient have

completed the treatment course (Grade C [IV]). "

bashh.org/documents/3572.pdf

CDC guidance - USA - To minimize disease transmission, women should be instructed to abstain from sexual intercourse until therapy is completed, symptoms have resolved, and sex partners have been adequately treated (See chlamydia and gonorrhea sections). All women who received a diagnosis of acute PID should be tested for HIV, as well as GC and chlamydia, using NAAT.

cdc.gov/std/tg2015/pid.htm

[Galen70]

Again , your management was incorrect here. If you had a positive test, your partner should have been treated at the same time regardless of whether he had a positive or negative test, for the reasons I mentioned. ( false positive/false negative tests )