How long after chlamydia treatment do symptoms go away

How long does it take to get rid of chlamydia?

It depends. If you’re diagnosed with chlamydia, your health care provider will probably prescribe an antibiotic. In some cases, treatment is possible with a single dose of medication in the health care provider’s office. Other medications must be taken for seven days. It’s important to make sure that you take the antibiotic exactly as directed for as long as it’s prescribed — even if your symptoms go away. Avoid having sex until your treatment is complete and the infection is cured. It’s also important to let your sex partner(s) know that you have chlamydia so they can get tested and treated, too. Some health care providers will give you medications to take home to your partner.

Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted infection that’s caused by a type of bacteria called chlamydia trachomatis. Both women and men can get it by having unprotected vaginal or anal sex with an infected partner. It can also be spread from a woman to her fetus during birth, and rarely, from the hand to the eye and, less likely, during unprotected oral sex. Each year, more than three million people of all ages become infected with chlamydia.

You can avoid getting chlamydia the same way that you reduce your risk of getting other sexually transmitted infections — by abstaining from the types of things that transmit infections, or by practicing safer sex if you’re sexually active. Condoms greatly reduce the risk of chlamydia during vaginal and anal sex. For safer oral sex, use a condom to cover the penis or a Glyde dam, cut-open condom, or plastic wrap to cover the vulva.

Tags: STDs, chlamydia

Chlamydia Treatment and Care

Chlamydia is easily cured but can make pregnancy difficult if left untreated.

What is the treatment for chlamydia?

Chlamydia can be easily cured with antibiotics. HIV-positive persons with chlamydia should receive the same treatment as those who are HIV-negative.

Persons with chlamydia should abstain from sexual activity for 7 days after single dose antibiotics or until completion of a 7-day course of antibiotics, to prevent spreading the infection to partners. It is important to take all of the medication prescribed to cure chlamydia. Medication for chlamydia should not be shared with anyone. Although medication will stop the infection, it will not repair any permanent damage done by the disease. If a person’s symptoms continue for more than a few days after receiving treatment, he or she should return to a health care provider to be reevaluated.

Repeat infection with chlamydia is common. Women whose sex partners have not been appropriately treated are at high risk for re-infection. Having multiple chlamydial infections increases a woman’s risk of serious reproductive health complications, including pelvic inflammatory disease and ectopic pregnancy. Women and men with chlamydia should be retested about three months after treatment of an initial infection, regardless of whether they believe that their sex partners were successfully treated.

Infants infected with chlamydia may develop ophthalmia neonatorum (conjunctivitis) and/or pneumonia. Chlamydial infection in infants can be treated with antibiotics.

Treatment Guidelines and Updates

  • 2021 STI Treatment Guidelines – Chlamydial Infections – Includes diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and special considerations. Includes updated treatment and screening recommendations. (July 22, 2021)

Resources for Clinicians

    • Chlamydia Self-Study Moduleexternal icon – An online learning experience that helps users learn how to manage chlamydia. Free CME/CNE available. (November 1, 2017)
    • Expedited Partner Therapy (EPT)

Chlamydia can usually be effectively treated with antibiotics. More than 95% of people will be cured if they take their antibiotics correctly.

You may be started on antibiotics once test results have confirmed you have chlamydia. But if it's very likely you have the infection, you might be started on treatment before you get your results.

The two most commonly prescribed antibiotics for chlamydia are: 

  • doxycycline – taken every day for a week
  • azithromycin – one dose of 1g, followed by 500mg once a day for 2 days

Your doctor may give you different antibiotics, such as amoxicillin or erythromycin, if you have an allergy or are pregnant or breastfeeding. A longer course of antibiotics may be used if your doctor is concerned about complications of chlamydia.

Some people experience side effects during treatment, but these are usually mild. The most common side effects include stomach ache, diarrhoea, feeling sick, and thrush in women.

When can I have sex again?

If you had doxycycline, you shouldn't have sex – including vaginal, oral or anal sex, even with a condom – until both you and your partner(s) have completed treatment.

If you had azithromycin, you should wait 7 days after treatment before having sex (including oral sex).

This will help ensure you don't pass on the infection or catch it again straight away.

Will I need to go back to the clinic?

If you take your antibiotics correctly, you may not need to return to the clinic.

However, you will be advised to go back for another chlamydia test if:

  • you had sex before you and your partner finished treatment
  • you forgot to take your medication or didn't take it properly
  • your symptoms don't go away
  • you're pregnant

If you're under 25 years of age, you should be offered a repeat test for chlamydia 3 to 6 months after finishing your treatment because you're at a higher risk of catching it again.

Testing and treating sexual partners

If you test positive for chlamydia, it's important that your current sexual partner and any other recent sexual partners you've had are also tested and treated.

A specialist sexual health adviser can help you contact your recent sexual partners, or the clinic can contact them for you if you prefer.

Either you or someone from the clinic can speak to them, or the clinic can send them a note to let them know they may have been exposed to a sexually transmitted infection (STI).

The note will suggest that they go for a check-up. It will not have your name on it, so your confidentiality will be protected.

Page last reviewed: 01 September 2021
Next review due: 01 September 2024

How long does it take after treatment for chlamydia to go away?

It is intended for sex partners of persons who have Chlamydia infection. RESUMING SEXUAL ACTIVITY STOP having sex with others until you take the medicine, and DO NOT have sex for the next 7 days after taking the medicine. It takes 7 days for the medicine to work in your body and cure Chlamydia infection.

Can chlamydia symptoms persist after treatment?

If a person's symptoms continue for more than a few days after receiving treatment, he or she should return to a health care provider to be reevaluated. Repeat infection with chlamydia is common. Women whose sex partners have not been appropriately treated are at high risk for re-infection.

How long after taking meds do chlamydia symptoms take to leave?

Diagnosis and treatment Chlamydia typically goes away within 1 to 2 weeks. You should avoid sex during this time to prevent transmitting the disease. Your doctor may prescribe a one-dose medication or a medication you'll take daily for about a week.