What does chlamydia feel like? Your chlamydia questions answered

It’s natural to feel anxious if you think you’ve spotted signs of chlamydia. But you’re not alone: Chlamydia is a very common sexually transmitted infection (STI), especially among young people. In fact, in the United States, it’s the most commonly reported STI of all. 

Also known as chlamydia trachomatis, the infection is caused by a type of bacteria that’s spread during vaginal, oral, or anal sex. So, how do you know if you’ve got it for sure? 

Get the lowdown on what chlamydia can feel like and how to get it figured out with a bit of help from a Flo expert. Plus, hear about real-life experiences from our Secret Chats community (a safe space in our app where members chat anonymously about all things health).

Key takeaways

• Most of the time, chlamydia doesn’t cause any symptoms.
• Women that do get symptoms can experience things like unusual vaginal discharge, painful sex, and abnormal vaginal bleeding.
• If it’s left untreated, chlamydia can lead to more serious health complications like infertility — but the infection is easily cured with a course of antibiotics. 
• Using condoms can reduce the risk of catching or spreading chlamydia.

What does chlamydia feel like?

Usually, chlamydia doesn’t feel like anything at all. In fact, it’s sometimes called a silent infection, with 50% to 70% of people never experiencing any symptoms. 

But what about those that do get symptoms? “For women with symptoms, they may experience abnormal vaginal discharge, irritation, or odor,” says Flo expert Dr. Renita White, obstetrician and gynecologist, Georgia Obstetrics and Gynecology, US. “Men with symptoms may experience pain with urination or discharge from the penis.”

Let’s look at the possible chlamydia symptoms in women in more detail.

Symptoms of chlamydia 

The following can be signs of chlamydia and are worth getting checked out by your doctor: 

• Discharge from the vagina that’s white, yellow, or gray and may have a strong smell
• Pain when you pee or the need to pee more frequently (chlamydia is often mistaken for a urinary tract infection)
• Pus from your urethra in your pee
• Painful sex 
• Painful periods 
• Abnormal vaginal bleeding, which might happen between periods or after sex
• Bleeding, discharge, or pain from your bottom
• Itching or burning in and around your vagina
• Dull pain in your lower belly

But what can it feel like to have chlamydia? Sharing their story on Secret Chats, one Flo member said they just didn’t “feel right.” They explained: “I had period cramps all the time, plus lower back pain and bloating. I just didn’t feel right, and sure enough, I had chlamydia.” 

People’s experiences of chlamydia symptoms can vary (if they get symptoms at all). For example, another Flo user said they noticed “yellow, chunky discharge and itching down there (meaning in and around their vulva.” 

Finding out you’ve got chlamydia can bring up difficult emotions, too. One Flo member told the Secret Chats community they felt “disgusted” with themselves when they first got it, but over time, they realized they hadn’t done anything wrong. “It’s like catching a cold,” they said. “As long as you’re getting treatment, that’s all that matters.” 

It’s normal to feel guilty or embarrassed about catching an STI like chlamydia, but that doesn’t mean you deserve to feel that way. “I also felt ashamed when I tested positive for an STI,” said another Flo user. “But talking to all my fellow 20-something friends, it’s incredibly common. It’s just that no one talks about it. I’d say most 25-year-olds have had an STI before. Try to remind yourself it’s not something to be ashamed about — it happens.”

Complications of chlamydia 

Even if you don’t get any chlamydia symptoms, the infection can lead to serious health complications if it’s left untreated. These include: 

Pregnancy complications 

If you’re pregnant with a chlamydia infection, it can lead to preterm (or early) delivery and be passed to your baby, making them more prone to illnesses like pneumonia or conjunctivitis once they’re born. All this can sound really scary if you’re pregnant, but it’s reassuring to know your health care provider will test you for chlamydia early on at your first prenatal appointment. This means that even if you do have the infection, there should be enough time to treat it before it causes any problems for you and your baby. 

Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) 

If the bacteria from chlamydia spreads from your vagina or cervix to your reproductive organs, which include your uterus, uterine tubes, and ovaries, it becomes PID. Some of the common symptoms include pain around the pelvis or lower belly, painful sex, pain when peeing, and unusual or heavy discharge — although some women don’t get any obvious symptoms. If PID is left untreated, it can permanently damage the reproductive organs and lead to infertility. It can also increase your chances of having an ectopic pregnancy, which is when a fertilized egg implants in one of your uterine tubes rather than the uterus.  

If you want to have a baby one day, discovering your fertility could be at risk can understandably be very upsetting. But while untreated chlamydia can lead to PID and fertility complications, it’s not a given — 10% to 15% of women with chlamydia will develop PID, but not all of them will go on to have fertility issues. 

Take what happened to this Flo member, for example. “I got chlamydia when I was 21,” they said on Secret Chats. “My signs were a strange discomfort in my abdomen, spotting between my period, and just having an instinct that I had it. I gave myself anxiety for 12 years because I thought that chlamydia had crushed my dreams of becoming pregnant. 

“Now I’m 32 years old and currently pregnant! It happened without me even trying, and I am ecstatic!! Whoever has or has had chlamydia, don’t worry or stress. Get yourself treated and take care of yourself mentally afterward.”

How long can you have chlamydia without knowing? 

There’s no limit to how long you can have chlamydia without knowing, given it usually doesn’t cause any symptoms. “It is possible to have had chlamydia and never know,” says Dr. White. “Therefore, it is best to get regular STI testing to know your status, whether you have symptoms or not.”

Does chlamydia make you bleed? 

As we learned earlier, chlamydia can make you bleed from your vagina or from your bottom. The vaginal bleeding is often as light as spotting, typically happening between periods or after sex.  

“While one of the potential symptoms of chlamydia is irregular vaginal bleeding, chlamydia treatment does not cause bleeding,” says Dr. White. So if you’re experiencing any light to heavy bleeding after chlamydia treatment, you should get in touch with your health care provider as this needs to be checked out.

Can chlamydia affect your period?

So if it causes bleeding, does chlamydia also delay your period? “Chlamydia doesn’t affect your period, as chlamydia-related bleeding is from the cervix,” says Dr. White. “But because bleeding between periods from the cervix can be a symptom, it may seem to you that your menstrual cycle is being affected.”

If you’re unsure about your menstrual patterns and when your next period is due, tracking your cycle in an app like Flo can help you learn more about your body. 

Can you get chlamydia from having sex on your period? 

“You can get chlamydia anytime you have unprotected sex with someone who is infected with chlamydia,” says Dr. White. “This can happen whether you are on your period or not.”

You may be wondering if period sex makes you more susceptible to infection, but this is not necessarily the case, according to Dr. White. “Infections that are passed through blood (like HIV and hepatitis) may have a higher chance of being transmitted during period sex,” she says. “However, chlamydia is transmitted through bodily fluids in general. So it can be passed during regular sex or period sex.”

Can I take chlamydia medication on my period?

You sure can. There’s no suggestion that it is unsafe to take either doxycycline or azithromycin — the most common medications used to treat chlamydia — while you’re menstruating. 

How to get rid of chlamydia

It can be really upsetting to find out you’ve got any STI, but chlamydia can be easily treated with antibiotics. As mentioned above, the most common types prescribed for this STI are doxycycline (100 mg twice a day for seven days) or azithromycin (one dose of 1g). 

You may be wondering what a confirmed chlamydia infection means for your sex life. Well, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends abstaining from sex for seven days from the start of your chlamydia treatment to avoid passing it on to others. You should also tell any recent sex partners about your diagnosis so they can get tested. We’ve got tips on how to have that conversation.

As one Flo member put it on Secret Chats: “Don’t be afraid to have those serious talks with your partner(s). It’s tough, but it needs to happen. Those serious talks beforehand can help you avoid something like chlamydia or something more extreme. And bottom line, get regular checkups.”

It’s worth flagging that it’s common for women to get reinfected with chlamydia if their partner hasn’t been treated too or if they have sex with their partner during the seven days after either one of them starts treatment. Whether you believe they’ve had their own treatment or not, the CDC recommends retesting for chlamydia three months after your initial treatment. 

There are more measures you can take to reduce the risk of getting STIs like chlamydia again in the future, including using condoms and only having sex within a monogamous relationship. However, as neither of these precautions can completely eliminate the risk, it’s still essential to continue regular STI testing to check for any infections.