It’s a question that gets asked regularly by people receiving chlamydia treatment, Your Sexual Health’s specialist Dr Rashid Bani has the answer…
Should I be having sex during chlamydia treatment?
Sex during chlamydia treatment
Once you’ve been diagnosed with chlamydia you’ll be given a course of antibiotics to clear up the infection. Usually the antibiotic treatment for chlamydia is taken in one single dose, but it still takes up to seven days for the chlamydia bacteria to completely leave your system. Because of this it’s important not to have sex until seven days after you took the medication. If you’ve had a longer course of antibiotics you should wait until seven days after the medication has finished.
Find out more about the treatment for this STD in one of our recent blogs: How do you treat chlamydia?
What about my partner?
If you’re in a relationship where you’ve been sleeping with the same person for a period of time, it’s important that the other person also get tested and treated. There is a very high likelihood that they’ll also have chlamydia and without treatment they’ll pass it back to you once you’re all clear. In these instances it’s important that you don’t have sex until both of you have been treated for the condition.
Can I have PROTECTED sex following chlamydia treatment?
Even though condoms can dramatically reduce the chances of chlamydia passing from person to person they do not completely eliminate the chances of the condition spreading. For this reason it’s important that you completely refrain from sexual intercourse of any kind until seven days after your medication has finished even if you use a condom.
What to do after the seven day period?
Once the seven day period has passed following your treatment the chlamydia should have passed out of your system. In order to be certain, you should complete another chlamydia test to confirm that you’re clear. The test should be taken two weeks after you’ve completed the antibiotic treatment to be absolutely sure.
Once that’s confirmed you can continue having sex, safe in the knowledge that you won’t be able to pass on chlamydia. If your partner was also infected you should wait until they’re clear before having sex again.
Remember that once the infection has passed you can still catch it again if you come into contact with the bacteria so make sure you practice safe sex and follow these steps: –
- Always use a condom when having sex with a new partner
- Get checked regularly, especially if you’ve had sex with multiple partners
- If you’re starting a relationship with a new partner ensure they get tested
If you’ve recently been diagnosed with chlamydia, you might find one of our recent blogs helpful: What to do if you have chlamydia
You can book a private chlamydia test with Your Sexual Health and get tested at one of our clinic locations across the UK. We also offer a prescription service enabling you to get treatment if your test returns as positive. Book an appointment today.
