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Having worked as a sexual health doctor for many years I have noticed that people ask certain questions substantially more than others. So I thought I would answer some of them here.

Many people ask, quite sensibly, whether having caught chlamydia once, they are protected from it in the future. Whilst this does happen with certain infections like chicken pox and measles it is sadly not the case with chlamydia. Just because you have been successfully treated in the past does not mean that you are protected from becoming infected with Chlamydia again in the future. With some infections, our body develops a strong immunity if we’ve been exposed to a particular bug, but this does not seem to happen with an infection like chlamydia and people can keep catching it repeatedly if they have unprotected sex with another infected person. In fact, future infections can cause a far greater immune response with more symptoms and more tissue damage than the very first infection. If you have previously been treated for it, it may be a good idea to do a repeat test after three months, just to make sure you have not been re-infected.

Another common question is whether you need to have a test to check that the chlamydia has gone after treatment. Generally speaking if you took the treatment exactly as instructed you would not normally need a follow-up test. However, you ought to repeat the test if you think you may have come into contact with chlamydia again, if you had unprotected sex with a partner before the treatment was finished, if you did not complete the treatment or did not take it according to the instructions, and if the signs and symptoms don’t go away. You may need to have a second dose of antibiotics to clear it up properly.

Many people are keen to know how soon after treatment for chlamydia they can have sex again. I tend to advise them not to have oral, vaginal or anal sex, or use sex toys, until seven days after you and your partner have both finished the treatment and any symptoms that you may have been experiencing have gone. This is to help prevent you being re-infected or passing the infection on to someone else. If you have been given a single does treatment consisting of 1g of an antibiotic called azithromycin, then you will need to avoid sex for seven days after you have taken the tablets.

Remember that in many cases chlamydia causes no symptoms and so you may have no idea that you are infected. You can only be certain you have Chlamydia if you have a Chlamydia test so don’t delay in getting a check-up.

If you do test positive for chlamydia then it would be strongly advisable for you to go and get checked out for other sexually transmitted infections at a GU clinic.

Chlamydia is certainly the more common STI and so is good to screen for, but being infected with chlamydia means that you might be at risk of catching other infections as well.

If you were exposed to chlamydia during sex then you may have also been exposed to other infections, as most are transmitted in the same way, and also, having chlamydia can make those infections easier to catch. For instance did you know that women with chlamydia are 5 times more likely to get HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, from an infected partner? It’s important to think about these things too.

You can only be certain you have Chlamydia if you have a test so don’t delay in getting a check-up.

If you are still thinking about whether to get tested for Chlamydia or not, let me summarise here the different situations that should prompt you to get a test:

• If you are under 25, have a new sexual partner, or more than one sexual partner in the last year, and have not used condoms.
• If you, or a partner, have or think you might have symptoms.
• If you, or a partner, have had unprotected sex with other partners.
• If a sexual partner tells you they have a sexually transmitted infection.
• If you find that you have another sexually transmitted infection.
• If during a vaginal examination your doctor or nurse notice that the cells of the cervix are inflamed or there is a discharge.
• Finally I would always recommend you get tested if you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy.

Remember that you could still have chlamydia even if a partner has tested negative – you cannot always rely on a partner’s negative test result.

If we are going to look at all the options then the most successful way to avoid catching chlamydia is to not have sex at all – known as abstinence. This is because unless they have been tested at the right times then you can’t know if your partners are infected or not. I appreciate that this is not necessarily the most desirable way to go about things and so the next most important thing you can do is to always use a condom when having sex. Use condoms for all types of sexual contact, even if penetration does not take place. Condoms work by stopping blood, semen and vaginal fluid, which can all contain chlamydia or other STIs, from passing from one person to another. Don’t rely on your partner to have condoms – there is no shame in carrying your own and shows you care about your own health.

Remember that most methods of birth control won’t protect you from chlamydia and other STIs. The contraceptive pill, injections, implants, intrauterine devices (IUDs), diaphragms, and spermicides will not protect you from infections and so you will still need to use condoms. Most ways to prevent catching infections work best when used together. No single strategy can protect you from every type of STI.

There are lots of urban myths about how to avoid catching infections, like washing your genitals before sex, peeing straight after sex, douching after sex, or washing your genitals with vinegar after sex. If you think any of these are useful then think again – none will work.

On top of all these things it is vital that you get tested regularly, especially if you have several partners. The best way is to have a full check up every 6 months or so at a specialised sexual health clinic, but free Chlamydia testing is now available online from freetest.me and I strongly recommend that you get it done. It’s easy, involving either taking a vaginal swab for women, or giving a pee sample for men. The results are quick and accurate and the treatment is also very simple should your result come back positive.

Remember that in many cases chlamydia causes no symptoms and so you may have no idea that you are infected. The damage it can cause if left is considerable and irreversible in many cases. Don’t let it get you.